A few new ideas about Amnar: The Awakening

Io: by me (2009 - Painter X)

“I’ve decided,” I said to my friend Fran while we were in her car. “I don’t think I have depression. I’m going to call it Boris Johnson.”

A few people have been in touch to remark that I don’t seem to have updated Amnar: The Inheritance on Podiobooks. All I’ve been able to do, for most of the last few months, is update the podcast on my own site, a task that takes ages simply because of the strange complications of my mind. I’ve been in a state, for ages, where big decisions are impossible. It can take hours to choose whether or not I want a cup of tea, or what to have for dinner. Bigger matters, such as going outside for anything, let alone big life choices, are impossible.

I’ve never actually been in such a state before. I move around and seem normal, but anybody who has been with me in an environment where I need to make a decision about anything, and I just freeze up. It means I struggle to be creative in any way whatsoever. Effectively, I have writing block. But because writing is like breathing to me, the solution has been to simply write about what I’m experiencing on my Holosync blog, Zen in Heels.

Very, very occasionally, a thin beam of light in the form of an idea comes to me. They flit about like moths, and disappear before they become clear, and long before I have a moment to make any use of them. Still, they are emerging and I’ve been considering them carefully. Because very gradually, while I’m unable to actually write Amnar, something new and possibly better than ever before is starting to develop.

For a while, I’ve had a sense that even as I was developing a better Io, there was still something missing. It’s been nagging at the back of my mind as I try to deal with everything else in my life. Very, very slowly, it is starting to emerge, however.

The Awakening plot basically deals with Io’s struggle to decide between the Amnari and the Tiomke. But although we see Io’s side of it, and the side of the Amnari trying to convince her not to side with a totalitarian dictatorship, we don’t see the perspective of the Tiomke, except through the eyes of the other two sides (either when Daar and Io meet Captain Vasha, or when Zoriel spies on Destorva and the senior officials in the Gap Chamber).

So I’ve been debating whether to either re-write or insert the view of the Tiomke, introduce Tiom himself, and guards who are trying to find Io. I think this might add a missing element to the whole story, although it will lengthen it.

Sometimes there are advantages to having writer’s block. Not being able to write at all has at least given me time to get some perspective on the story as a whole. Although I’ll probably annoy fans who have been through several versions of The Awakening, it is a development I’d like to explore, once my current situation improves.

Amnar Structure 15: At last, the dragons and dragonlords

This is the latest in a series of posts about Amnar, shedding light on the background to the world. This time, we’re looking at the dragons and dragonlords.

Introduction and history

Dragons (Draegunad), and the larger Dragonlords (Draegunim) are not native to Amnar, and were not in fact discovered until the first explorers from the newly founded mountain city of Nas Isca had been established encountered them. Nas Isca itself was originally intended to be an outpost to watch over the Gap that opened in the skies there, but there was no initial evidence of activity on the other side as there was at the Duum Gate and Nas Trinitari Gate.

At this point, there were only a few Capillites, and it was the original Guardian Defender who was part of the contingent who were suddenly presented with the appearance of a massive flying lizard-like creature coming through what became known as the Iscan Gate. For their part, the dragons had no initial interest in the Amnari, but had ventured through the Gate between the two planets because they had heard reports that intelligent species were establishing a civilisation there.

The dragons and dragonlords also wanted little to do with the Amnari, and it was down to progressive negotiations between the Guardian Defender that led to the appointment of a Capillite Guardian of the Dragon Realm from amongst the Guardian Defender’s team of warriors. The post was ratified by the High Ashad Isha.

The Sabat Draegunim (The Dragon Civilisation)

The dragons, having met with Isha herself, decided that the Amnari were sufficiently intelligent enough to communicate with. It was several generations before they became what I suppose we would consider the jumbo jets of the Amnari world. They considered this a form of service to the Amnari system, although it was entirely voluntary. Their presence in the Amnari world made it possible for the effective running of the educational and healthcare systems, not to mention allowing people from all over the Empire to attend whichever academy they wanted and to travel more freely.

Dragons themselves are not conscious in the same sense as humans, although they can and do happily communicate with Amnari, this is unusual. They live far longer than Amnari, and therefore may well spend time with tens of different dragonmasters and dragonriders in the course of their lives. They also came to serve on the line at Nas Trinitar, since they considered the Amnari civilisation worthy of protection.

Their motivations for flying Amnari about happily, fighting with them and aiding relief efforts during famine periods in places like the Nahabi and the Red Deserts, are not entirely known. Successive Guardians of the Dragon Realm have failed to find clear reasons, but it appears that the dragons simply want to, and find it an entertaining thing to be doing. Very little is known, similarly, about the structure of the Sabat Draegunim, the world of the dragons, since it is almost entirely uninhabitable for Amnari.

Dragonmasters and dragonriders

Both Dragonmasters and Dragonriders train at the Nas Iscan Academy, and are split into two groups. Civilian dragonmasters and riders only work in the main of Amnar, whereas those who have completed undergraduate warrior training at Duum are able to fight on the line at Nas Trinitar. All trainees start with an initial qualification as a dragonrider, able to fly dragons. Those who continue as postgraduates become dragonmasters who work with dragonlords.

The special skills required to build up a relationship with one dragon or dragonlord are developed, along with telepathy (Nas Isca also trains flight telepaths), the unusual forms of communication needed to understand dragon logic and certain aspects of the dragons’ culture. Masters take several years to build up a relationship with their beast, and are considered to be as expert as senior warriors on the line.

Dragonriders and masters both provide services to the civilian Uskele population, including the provision of Desert and Mountain Rescue teams in various states, and will carry individuals to and from the more remote settlements, especially those research stations like Cir Nafairu in the Nas Trinitari mountains, for example. They and their dragons provide the backbone to transport throughout the Empire.

The most senior Dragonmasters are those who serve the Caipashad Capillites, such as Naszha and Sadarin. Otherwise, dragonriders and masters follow a similar path through life as other Ta Dasi, although because of their frequent long-distance flights for those in the civilian corps, it is often difficult for them to maintain strong family ties. The most senior Dragonmasters relate most strongly to the Servants, for the reason that they by law cannot have children.

 

Amnar Structure 14: The Amnari academic education system

This is another in a series I’m writing about the world of Amnar, bearing in mind that many of the topics covered here apply to Amnar but not its former capital, Amin Duum, from 4742 to 4785 SA.

The basic structure of Amnar consists of two levels, the global level of the Empire, and the local, that of the of the individual city states. Education is one of those aspects of Amnar that is for the most part handled at the level of the Empire. Education in Amnar itself has two levels, that of standard education and the Academic System, which provides the Empire with Ta Dasi, Servants and various auxiliary staff.

There are several academies, each based in one of the major city states (the word ‘academy’ is ‘dashkad’ in Amnari):

Dashkad Düma: The Duum Academy, based in the High City of Amin Duum, training warriors of all levels from the age of five. Up to 4742, it also had an attached infirmary, the Dedicated Gap and Academic, which specialised in training line support watchers and specialists in warrior health. This academy was the centre of the academic system up to 4742, and was then abandoned in 4765 at the expulsion of the Amnari from Amin Duum. The academy was then relocated and amalgamated with the NALCA (discussed below).

Dashkad Nazran: The Am Rune Academy, in the state capital of Am Rune in the south, trains Servants and Ta Dasi to become watchers. It also takes adult students wishing to become nurses or infirmary auxiliaries.

Ai Dashkad Urgat: Am Urga’s two academies, unified as one, trains Sifradan, Ta’Sifradan and Zurasim. It also provides a preparatory school for those who will go on to serve at the Nas Ashca.

Ai Dashkad Ulgai: Rad Ulga’s academy, which for the most part trains Seers and auxiliary staff. Some Zurasim are also trained here.

Sudna Dashkad Ruinn: Referred to as a “sub-academy”, because it does not train very young children, the base at Rad Ruinn trains warriors, watchers and auxiliaries who specialise in dealing with the territorial wars across the borders of Amnar in the Red Desert.

Sudna Dashkad Nas Trinitar: Provides graduate training to Ta Dasi and other auxiliary staff in the line at Nas Trinitar. Does not take young children.

Dashkad Iscava: Formerly an extension of Dashkad Düma, the Nas Iscan Academy became independent to train Dragonriders and Dragonmasters in the middle of the First Age, when Caipashad Capillites required a dedicated Dragonmaster on their staff. It now takes children from the age of five, but also specialises in the training of Mountain Rescue, medical triage, and flight telepathy.

Sudna Dashkad Nas Ashca: The Nas Ashca Lower Complex Academy (NALCA) is a graduate training facility at the Nas Ashca, taking graduates of Dashkad Düma, Dashkad Iscava and Dashkad Nazran, for postgraduate specialisation.

Ai Dashkad Nas Ashca: The Nas Ashca Higher Complex Academy (NAHCA) trains those who have graduated as either Ta’Sifradan or Ta Zurasim either become Ai Ta’Sifradan or Ai Ta Zurasim, the most senior academic posts in Amnar.

All of the big academies also provide training for teachers who work in the cities, settlements and establishments of Amnar and train those who do not attend an academy.

Selection for the main academies at Am Rune, Amin Duum, Am Urga and Rad Ulga is based on sponsorship by former graduates. They can be Servants, Ta Dasi or any other occupation, as long as they have graduated from the academy to which they wish to sponsor. There are no entrance examinations, but sponsors take on the onus of recommending children. Sponsorships can also be given by any Capillite.

Sponsors tend to have a strong connection to their charges throughout their academic life and beyond. This is especially true for Servants and Capillites, who can often see them as surrogate children, given that they can have families of their own. It should be noted here that Gadasim cannot sponsor their own children, but have responsibility for locating and communicating with a suitable sponsor.

Sponsorship fosters communication between generations, and also between social groups like the Uskele and the Ta Dasi, who often make an effort to find Uskele children to become future Ta Dasi. Children often correspond regularly with their sponsor, who in turn helps the Gadasim to find them an appropriate starting point for their career, or handle issues such as injury or sickness. Even Servants tend to take a great interest in anybody they have sponsored. The only Servant who does not publicly sponsor students is Arandes Nashima, because of the burden he felt that this would put on the child’s shoulders.

Amnar Structure 13: The life and times of the Uskele

This is partly in response to a reader’s question from yesterday. Who – or what – are the Uskele?

The word Uskele

The word “Uskele” is used to refer to anybody who isn’t a Capillite, Servant, Ta Dasi or any of the other named hierarchies like the Sifradan or Zurasim. Its literal translation is “higher mortal”, which is meant to distinguish creatures with self-awareness (i.e. they have an “I” sense of self) from those that don’t. However, it doesn’t refer to primates. Uskele is used to refer to those who do not become something else in the course of their lives.

The prefix Us means “higher”, “above” or “aware”, and Kele is derived from the verb kel, which means being, or in some cases the state of being alive. It is also a noun which means “being”.

The term uskele generally means anybody, and for most people who use it (the Ta Dasi etc) it can also include the various tribes who aren’t Amnari (Taija, Tingalu, Nimoleh etc). However, some of these tribes regard themselves as distinct from the Amnari uskele, such as the Taija who sometimes refer to themselves in formal language as the Taijil Uskele.

The lives of the Uskele

Everybody in Amnar is born Uskele, even if their parents are members of the Ta Dasi or other social groups. Joining other groups depends on education or selection. In the case of the Ishcai-Nashim (the Servants), the Sifradan and Zurasim, this largely depends on selection or as in the case of young Capillai-nisi, being identified as such by the Samedim-Ishcavei.

Warriors are identified at the age of five or in some cases six, but the Amnari education system prohibits anybody training as a warrior who starts after that age. Watchers, Sifradan and Zurasim can be selected up to the ages of nine or ten. Late entry nurses and auxiliary staff can be selected at any time in their lives when they choose to change career.

It is important to note that entry into the Ishcai-Nashim or Ta Dasi orders is not contingent on belonging to the main Amnari (Adnashi) tribe. Selection representatives from all the main Academies make special journeys out to visit the smaller tribes, including the nomadic Nimoleh and Tingalu in order to give their children an opportunity to train.

For those who do not gain a formal training at one of the Academies, education is managed until the age of twenty, usually organised by the Academy itself, despite not allowing formal admission. Young Uskele will learn a huge variety of skills, from advanced literacy to the survival skills necessary to inhabit a world that is, essentially, wild.

The objective of education for young Uskele is to identify their own skills and strengths to contribute to wider society. Rather than shunting people into whatever career is required, Amnari focus on what the individual strengths of its people can provide. There are a huge range open to Uskele, and this continues into adulthood.

Many Uskele take advantage of the opportunity to provide service in a city’s Holy Complex. As maids, stewards, messengers and junior cooks, young Uskele have the advantage of daily interaction with members of the Ishcai-Nashim and Ta Dasi. This can open up opportunities to retrain as infirmary auxiliary staff at any of the big training infirmaries or even Am Rune Academy itself.

Others become highly skilled artisans, or take the long, winding path into civilian authority – becoming a politician. There is no such thing as ‘political science’ in Amnar, so youngsters with an eye to leadership tend to make their way early into situations close to the Holy Complexes. As all the big city states require vast numbers of staff to support them, not to mention the additional numbers needed to run the Nas Ashca itself, there is no shortage of opportunity.

Many others ignore these routes and become what we might call farmers. Given the unusual state of agriculture in Amnar, which does not favour mono-cropping, hunting and gathering are considered vital to the civilisation’s survival. Indeed, even those who rise to the senior Ta Dasi ranks and Servants themselves consider hunting a central part of their lives. Some polycropping is common in Amnar, and it is considered a highly skilled occupation.

Uskele, like all other Amnari (with the exception of Ishcai-Nashim and Capillites) are considered eligible to become Gadasim. In small settlements and villages, the traditional approach organised between families is preferred, but in bigger cities, this is organised at a higher level. Positioning Ta Dasi who become Gadasim with Uskele families and children is meant to encourage social mobility, to give those who do not usually mix with Ta Dasi the opportunity for their children to attend one of the academies. Of course, having a Ta Dasi Gadasim is no guarantee that the child will eventually attend an Academy.

Amnar Structure 12: The State of the Amnari Empire

It’s been several months since I’ve done this, but it seems appropriate to head back into writing about Amnar background, for those who are interested. And to start with we have a look at the Amnari Empire’s long history, having already covered aspects of its structure.

Foundation

The start of what is called The First Age was marked by the establishment of a union between the seven states that had grown up over the vast stretch of what became known as Amnar. Starting at Duum, the Adnashi-Amnari had spread outwards, augmenting their numbers by peaceful agreements with local tribes and other groups. By the time of the Foundation and Establishment, the landscape of Amnar was characterised by vast swathes of unpopulated territory in between the seven big states of Duum (central north), Nas Isca (north), Nas Trinitar (far west), Am Rune (far southwest), Am Urga (mid north), Rad Ulga (central south), and Rad Ruinn (far southeast).

Each state had developed its own system of governance, but at the Foundation of the Empire all states agreed to be managed by a representative Capillite, acting as a kind of spiritual leader and adviser who then took the issues specific to that area to an overarching council at the Nas Ashca in the newly acquired territory of the Tis Nafir mountains, once the seat of the Empire of Cir Nacayjil.

Over the course of the 5000 years or so of the First Age, there was a gradual democratisation of each of the seven states. As science, political science and artistic development continued, the role of the Capillite in each state diminished to the point of being less a ruler and more of an adviser. The growth of a standard Academic education system that supplied each state with a compliment of warriors and watchers, not to mention all the auxiliary roles that came to be embodied under the title Ta Dasi initially gave the Empire a strong feeling of unity.

The Second Age

As political and economic shifts changed the nature of political heirarchy in each state, it was felt by Isha and her legal mastermind Alix that the states no longer needed such guidance from the Capillites. The New Establishment, which marked the beginning of the Second Age, brought about sweeping changes in law which recognised the respective autonomy of the Empire’s Ta Dasi and Servants (Ishcai-Nashim) and the right of the states to self-determination.

This created a two-tier effect in Amnari politics. Each state now had a civilian authority and leadership that was independent of the larger Empire’s control. The Ta Dasi and Servants still operated in the same way, but now provided representatives to the civilian leadership for the interest of their own people living within the city state. The states used the Capillites as negotiators for support and supplies from the larger Empire, which focused its authority between Duum – then being led by Ashad Amin – and the Nas Ashca, where Isha had her seat as Empress.

The only state that did not develop a form of democratic leadership without the direct leadership of a Capillite was Duum. The biggest state, managing sprawling territories that reached as far west as the Trinitari Sea and to the eastern boundary with Am Urga, then stretching right down into central southern Amnar, had developed very differently, with an executive committee whose members repeatedly insisted on the maintenance of Ashad Amin as their head.

Duum had cultural reasons for refusing to demote their resident Capillite to the role of a mere adviser. During the latter years of the First Age and the early Second Age, Amin had developed a reputation for fair but compelling leadership, taking a strong interest in the affairs of the Uskele he represented. As the city that contained within its boundaries one of the deadliest Gaps, the Duum Gate, and the Academy that not only trained the Empire’s warrior elite but also controlled the entire education system with sub-academies providing expertise in Line Support that the Watchers’ Academy at Am Rune simply couldn’t offer (given that the Am Rune Gate was a dormant Gap by the Second Age), its pride in being the centre of the Empire superceded any democratisation to a fully Uskele leadership.

Amin’s leadership was one based solidly on his charismatic personality and intimate understanding of the complex nature of life in Duum. The city had had its share of suffering from the Duum Gate during its most active periods, and the people who lived there were understandably reluctant to see anybody but a fully qualified warrior hold its most senior post.

Consequently, Ashad Amin’s death left a vast hole in Duum politics. The simmering tensions between Taija and Amnari extremist groups made it difficult to establish a coherent leadership. Although both Lilatysia and Arandes stepped into the breach in some respects, because Arandes was not a political figure with the same power as Amin, his reach was largely limited to the Ta Dasi with whom he worked and any Uskele who happened to cross his path. Without any political responsibility in the same sense as his former master, Arandes had initially little reason for interacting on a daily basis with Uskele outside his remit until the rioting of the 4700s in the South City made his powerful presence more obvious.

Lilatysia, meanwhile, was too divisive a figure to keep the battling tensions of the Taija and extremist Amnari Scorian groups under control. She did not have the authority that Ashad Amin had held, was a member of the committee as ‘the eyes of Isha’ but not its leader. The inheritors of Scorian hated her as much as he had for her refusal to back their fundamentalist views about the nature of Adnashi-Amnari blood and its superiority to the zealous Taija.

Meanwhile, the other states had happily adjusted to self-management, and the Capillites pulled back to take up roles that revolved around providing nodding support. Although they met officially to discuss matters that affected all Amnar, or assisted in trade between the big states, the Ai Ta’Sifradan were the formal eyes and ears of the woman whose role at the heart of the Empire had almost religious significance.

By the time of Duum’s collapse into totalitarian dictatorship under Tiom, the concept of the Amnari Empire had become less about practical politics that could be managed between the various Uskele state executives, but about an almost religious devotion. The concept of Amnar was framed around the provision of Ta Dasi warriors, watchers and auxiliaries, whose devotion was service to an overarching idea of unity, and to the idolising of the woman who had once prevented breakdown into war and ignominy: Isha herself.

TGIAD 2.0: Worlds of race and tribes

I have to apologise that over the last couple of months, when I’ve been overwhelmed by major changes in my life, I haven’t kept up with this blog, or the TGIAD tradition.

This week, however, I thought I’d get back into it by talking about the tribes residing in Amnar. I would love to give you a full history and rundown of the life of Arist – which is partially covered in this week’s podcast – but because it’s pertinent to the plot, I can’t. So, tribes it is, mostly because there’s a loose link to the Tingalu mentioned in this week’s chapter.

I’ve been scratching my head over the matter of Amnar and race. Trying to explain the nature of race and culture in a world where a certain social position (Capillite) is partially defined by unusual appearance. After all, the defining physical characteristics of the Capillite are white skin, black hair and black eyes.

The Amnari world doesn’t recognise difference in skin as much as we might, just as it doesn’t describe people by their sexuality. Amnari wouldn’t, for example, understand the current furore over Jan Moir’s comments in the Daily Mail which appear to suggest that Stephen Gately died of being gay or having I guess people of her type would call a “homosexual lifestyle”, which implies far more than just which gender you prefer to have sex with. The sex you prefer to fuck is not a crucial issue to Amnari. You wouldn’t define yourself as gay, or straight, or bisexual, because it simply isn’t an issue to Amnari.

The Empire itself is dominated by the Amnari tribal group. They themselves are made up of four inter-mingling smaller tribes originally called the Adnashi. Having white skin (as pale as a classic blonde or redhead like me, say), is very rare, but more common in the northern mountain areas like Nas Isca.

Skin descriptions are very rarely used, referring to people as ‘white-skin’, ‘golden-skin’, ‘brown-skin’ and ‘black-skin’. This is more common amongst the smaller tribal groups as a means of defining the very large, amorphous Amnari groups. When the Servant Tishca was first found as a baby by the Tingalu people, for example, the rumour went around that they had found a ‘golden-skin’ baby.

Aside from the Amnari, who include people of all colours of skin and a variety of other physical characteristics, there are hundreds of smaller tribes living in the massive area of the Amnari Empire. The Tingalu, for example, are semi-nomadic, living in a large area stretching from the Duum Canyon to the furthest western reaches of the Nahabi Desert. Other groups, like the Nimoleh, live a fully nomadic life, trading with the Amnari settlements on the southeastern Raignlands.

The Capillites are almost unique in having a very pale complexion. After all, since the Amnari live in hot climates, having skin that burns easily is a distinct genetic disadvantage (believe me, I have personal experience of this). Capillites do not only have white skin, however. Previous incumbents of various of the five Caipashad positions have been ‘black-skin’ and completely bald. The only other ‘white-skins’ featured in the Awakening series are Talija, the Second Servant of Isha, and Sjaadan, Second Servant of Icaan, the Guardian of the Dragon Realm.

The ‘look’ of the Capillites, arranged with the cunning use of the energy Sifira, was chosen because it was so unusual, modelled after the pale appearance of Isha herself. She was an unusual sight amongst a tribe of people living on the sunbaked Sandlands to the east of the land currently referred to as Amnar. Giving the Capillites a distinctive physical look made it easy to identify them as a separate spiritual group.

Next week, we’re back to Amin Duum, to find out what Tascha has been doing, and indeed, the latest travails of Vasha. This week’s episode is here.

An idea for Nanowrimo

I’ve been asked several times if I’m doing National Novel Writers’ Month (NaNoWriMo).

I never normally decide whether I’m doing it or not until the last moment, when the idea downloads into my head and off I go. My problem is this (and I’ll sound arrogant for saying it): I’ve already written 18 books.

Nanowrimo is meant to be an opportunity for people who’ve always wanted to write a book but for a million and one reasons haven’t finally sat down and got on with it. There’s no need to worry about plot, structure or characterisation. It gives people a chance to write something nearly the size of a thesis, just to have a go.

Last year, I wrote two books for Nanowrimo, Nenja and Zoriel.

They are a pair, and come as a pair. Two perspectives on the collapse of Duum in 4765. The latter remains open to being extended into a fullsize novel of 120,000 words.

There’s a lot going on in my life at the moment, mostly in my head. I’ve been going through a time when just about every thought I’ve ever had has come back up for reassessment. Holosync has pushed hard and I am feeling very uncertain about my future. I don’t really want to challenge myself to Nanowrimo in case I find myself overwhelmed.

If I do it, it has to be fun. It has to be something I can enjoy doing rather than feel pressured to complete on top of launching my new business and podcasting and coping with what Holosync has been doing to me lately.

I was doubtful about it, but I do have a possible idea. To break completely from the darkest years of Amin Duum, what about going back to the events surrounding the coronation of Lilatysia, Ai Ta’Sifra Duma and consort to the Guardan Defender, Ashad Amin?

Part love story, part political intrigue, it would offer a very detailed insight into the workings of the most secretive and highest order of Amnar, the Ai Ta’Sifradan who directly serve the Empress of Amnar herself, Isha.

Lilatysia is mentioned a few times in the early books of The Awakening series, but she has one hell of a story in her own right. It’s very tempting to take it on, and set myself the challenge of 100,000 words in November.

Characters: You have to spend time with them

Firstly, a plug. Amnar: The Inheritance with sparkling new prologue is now available on Podiobooks.com.

I promised a couple of days ago that I would spend time going over one chapter here to give readers an insight into the development of Io, the character at this series’ heart. As she is, she pulls everything down, and I don’t give her an opportunity to shine until The Inheritance.

I decided that I would need to go over and redo sections of Amnar: The Awakening to beef her up a bit. I know that most of the other characters are well done, and I don’t worry about them. For some time, I’ve been trying to work out how to improve on Io, and it occurred to me that I really need to start taking my own advice.

The way I work with characters is to spend time with them. The background characters in Amnar are so finely developed because I happily imagine them all the time – when out running, walking, at the gym. I’ve dedicated a lot of time to seeing them in contexts outside those of the story.

I haven’t done this with Io.

This is probably because I’ve developed her around me, I feel closest to her, so she’s also oddly the most distant. I haven’t ever seen her out of context, or just worked with her for the fun of it. And that’s why it’s caused such a problem.

I’ve resolved to spend time with Io outside of the central story. Anybody who follows The Inheritance over the next few weeks will see that she has improved – she certainly stands up to the Servants pretty well – but after taking time over the earliest chapters of The Awakening, I’ve begun to get a clearer idea of how Io really is when she has a chance to shine.

Instead of a brow-beaten, emotionally retarded Io, she should open The Awakening as thoughtful and quiet. She’s been through the Junior Youth Movement, and she has an understanding of the Tiomke regime but she isn’t that invested in it. She can’t get away from the fact that she works with two young boys from the Taija, who have borne witness to the harm that the State is doing first hand.

Her first interaction with the guards (when she follows Arandes into the High City), doesn’t involve her feeling wounded and broken and only worried about her own pain. Instead, she’s frustrated. Her position at this point is that the Tiomke aren’t brilliant, but everything she knows about the Amnari suggests they are worse.

The guards’ violence towards her is unnerving; that doubtful voice gets louder. But she’s still trapped because she doesn’t know the Amnari are any better. Her interactions with Arandes, toward the second act break and after the arrest of her elder sister, suggest that she is taking everything on evidence and not prepared to listen to anybody’s arguments until she has made up her own mind. She very firmly insists that her sister is her top priority – she’ll worry about giving Arandes the chance to prove himself worthy when she’s handled that situation.

Besides simply spending time with Io and allowing her the chance to shine as intelligent and strong rather than emotional and childish, there are edits to be made. These are easier than I expected. It’s mostly a matter of changing how she says things, what she does when and what she’s thinking. In fact, I’ve removed a lot of the introspection. We now see the world without the fog of her emotional response in the way.

Unfortunately, in the middle of planning all of this additional work on Io, the rest of my life has rather taken over. If you read my Zen In Heels blog, you’ll be aware that after six or so months of depression, I finally caved in and saw a doctor. Ironically, I had to get better to take the time to go and see one. Right now, I’m adjusting to medication after a five year break, so it’s holding up my writing and any other work I’m doing.

Nevertheless, as much as I can I’m carrying on as normal (or as close to normal as is possible). I really appreciate all the kind comments I’ve had at Zen in Heels and privately. I am hoping to do a podcast tomorrow but it will depend on how well I adjust to the medication over the course of tonight.

Amnar: The Inheritance on Podiobooks (with new prologue)

Just a brief one today. Amnar: The Inheritance, with new prologue, has just launched on Podiobooks.com.

You can check it out here.

Enjoy!

A plan, a possibly cunning one

I have no idea how well this is going to work.

I’ve been feeling awkward about the fact that I’m making major edits to Amnar: The Awakening after its release on Podiobooks. However, I have struck on a way to make this useful.

It’s an opportunity to get an insight into the growth of a protagonist across a book that has been through several drafts.

What I’m going to do is post up the different drafts of one chapter, so you can see how changes were made. I’ll try to put in some notes that explain why those changes were made and what they mean for the story. I’ll start tomorrow with as close to the original version of this chapter as I can find.

So, just to be really cheesy, I hope you’ll join me for that process.