I'm going to move all of my manuscript stuff to a new blog Offworldstory. So, if you are interested you can ring in on the ideas and processes as I try to get my new project going.
http://offworldstory.blogspot.com/
-Matt
Friday, December 28, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve 7:06
My entire Puerto Rican family came over from Miami for Christmas this year since my wife is unable to travel due to the baby. As I write they are sitting in the living room watching what I can only decribe as Latino Musica videos. These videos are not the MTV run of videos but more akin to watching Sinatra or Tony Bennet in concert (on dvd). Since I probably wouldn't watch Sinatra or Tony Bennet on DvD (actually there are precious few musicians I would watch on dvd) and I understand what they are saying due to English being my mother tongue I decided to take a break from the festivities and blog a little bit. Have no fear though my Spanish is improving poco y poco (little by little and I can follow a conversation now and at least get the gist of it.
We put an addition on our house in order to make more room for baby William and after Christmas I will be moving the computer and our mini-library to the new study. It's supposed to be in the mid 70's tomorrow. I have been in Florida since 2000 and I have never gotten used to the Christmas season down here. "Dashing through the grass," never worked for me and it never will. Ah well, you take the good with the bad. No black ice, no sleet, no slush, no "warming up the car" it's a fair trade off.
I've seen Mike and Tim back online and it warms my heart. Not that they are playing video games but that I get to talk with them and interact with them a little more even if it is in a limited way.
After the music videos we are going to a party at Frank's house. Frank is the guy who put in our new floors and the addition to our house. He is a friend of the family and a great guy. After the party we are coming back to the house for...more latino music videos and then who knows.
Well, I'm off for more frivolity and fun, talk you all later.
We put an addition on our house in order to make more room for baby William and after Christmas I will be moving the computer and our mini-library to the new study. It's supposed to be in the mid 70's tomorrow. I have been in Florida since 2000 and I have never gotten used to the Christmas season down here. "Dashing through the grass," never worked for me and it never will. Ah well, you take the good with the bad. No black ice, no sleet, no slush, no "warming up the car" it's a fair trade off.
I've seen Mike and Tim back online and it warms my heart. Not that they are playing video games but that I get to talk with them and interact with them a little more even if it is in a limited way.
After the music videos we are going to a party at Frank's house. Frank is the guy who put in our new floors and the addition to our house. He is a friend of the family and a great guy. After the party we are coming back to the house for...more latino music videos and then who knows.
Well, I'm off for more frivolity and fun, talk you all later.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
So tired
I was up until 12:30 this morning painting and now, 12 hours later I give you "An Ode to Groginess."
I hate you grogginess
Dragging me down
Like starving jackals
Pulling at the tender nose
Of my wildebeest calf
Which is sleep
Dragging me down
Begone Jackals!
I hate you grogginess
Dragging me down
Like starving jackals
Pulling at the tender nose
Of my wildebeest calf
Which is sleep
Dragging me down
Begone Jackals!
Peeps
This is really rough. It's looks a little like stream of consciousness writing. Anyway, here it is.
Of Men:
Midlanders
Ebresh
Easterns
Podes
1: Midlanders
An agricultural society inhabiting the fertile plain that dominates the middle of the continent, Midlanders tend to be of average height (5’10” to 5’11” for males and 2 to 3 inches shorter for females). Midlanders have pale to brown skin and are usually sun darkened from working outside. The Midlands are the bread-basket of the continent and as such most Midlanders are farmers, shepherds or herdsmen. They are widely known for their hospitality but also for their stubborn nature and their colloquial wisdom (snow like meal, snow a great deal). Midlanders society is made up of independent farms each governed by a family and sometimes supporting several families on larger farms. Midlanders meet once a week at the local market (usually a collection of tents and booths clustered in a field) to trade and socialize. There are no cities as such in the Midlands though some farms have grown large enough to resemble small towns. The most famous of these farms is the Linkton Farm in the North Midlands. Midlanders are shrewd traders and supply many of the countries surrounding them with goods. They are constantly in danger of bandit attack and each farm employs it’s own fighting force usually trained by a former soldier or elder militiaman. The Midlands also enjoy special protection from surrounding countries due to the nature of the land and the value of the people that work it as the Midlands provide nearly all the food for the surrounding countries. As stated before Midlanders are fiercely independent and do not take sides when nations go to war choosing instead to profit from supplying both armies with food and goods. Some Midland farmers are wealthier than the kings that buy their goods but due to the nature of the people of the Midlands one would never know it.
2: Ebresh
A tribe of hunters and warriors residing in the High North, the Ebresh are a dying race. They are the tallest of the tribes of men and men over seven feet tall are not uncommon. Ebresh men ten to wear well-trimmed beards while the women keep their hair in thick braids. A man’s beard is symbol of his authority and to have one’s beard shorn is a sign of deepest humiliation. For the women hair is much less important than having children according to the Ebresh a truly blessed woman will bear more than ten children, more than thirteen children is considered a sign of divine favor. The Ebresh are hunters and subsist by hunting and foraging in the northern forests they call home. They are great breeders of dogs and often cross their own fierce breeds with the massive wolves that share the forests with them. Typical Ebresh family society is man and usually two wives. One wife a man takes when he is young, in his early twenties is typical marrying age for young men, for women it is typically younger (15-19). When an Ebresh man is old (in his late 50’s to early 60’s) he takes another wife to comfort him in his old age and to assist the fist wife with the work. When an Ebresh man dies his possessions pass on to his second wife who is responsible for caring for his first wife until she dies. When only the second wife and the man’s children are left a brother of the dead man who has no second wife takes the widowed second wife of his brother to himself and raises the firstborn son of the dead man to take over the house which then passes to him upon marriage to his first wife at which point the cycle is repeated. The Ebresh share the High North with the vicious Shogar and are at constant war with them raiding back and forth and killing as they may. Both races have suffered greatly from the constant battle and now the Shogar have been pushed high into the tundra while the Ebresh live in scattered bands throughout the vast forest. The Ebresh are accomplished metal workers and craft marvelous coats of mail, swords spears and axes. They are the greatest archers and trackers in the realm and are often called upon by southern kingdoms to catch criminals or scout for military campaigns.
3: Easterns
The Easterns are shorter than both the Ebresh and the Midlanders and their skin ranges from dusky brown to bronze to nearly black. They are a sea people, builders of boats, navigators, shipwrights, fishermen and explorers. The people of Manslin are Easterns. Eastern families are typically small with three children being considered a large family. This is due to the fact that Easterns are great builders and the largest cities on the continent lie on the Eastern shore. Easterns are an urban people and consider the Ebresh to be barbaric and the Midlanders simple. They are typically a wealthy people taking pearls and coral from the sea and trading their wares for gems, gold and dry goods. Both men and women wear jewelry in the form of rings in the ears and nose as well as necklaces, bracelets and finger and toe rings. The men are frequently tattooed on their backs, forearms, and chests with images of the sea, sea creatures, or runes. Women wear their hair unbound in various styles and are often tattooed at the small of the back, ankles, wrists and around the navel. Easterns are great traders and convey goods up rivers and down coastlines to the farthest corners of the continents. Easterns ships are the largest and fastest on the water and the Shipping Guild closely regulates who and what is ferried about in them.
Note: Mansliners are sometimes considered a sub group of Easterns as they focus all their maritime efforts on fishing and do very little trading or exploring. They are by far the most insular of Easterns.
Podes:
Ran out of time.
More to come...
Of Men:
Midlanders
Ebresh
Easterns
Podes
1: Midlanders
An agricultural society inhabiting the fertile plain that dominates the middle of the continent, Midlanders tend to be of average height (5’10” to 5’11” for males and 2 to 3 inches shorter for females). Midlanders have pale to brown skin and are usually sun darkened from working outside. The Midlands are the bread-basket of the continent and as such most Midlanders are farmers, shepherds or herdsmen. They are widely known for their hospitality but also for their stubborn nature and their colloquial wisdom (snow like meal, snow a great deal). Midlanders society is made up of independent farms each governed by a family and sometimes supporting several families on larger farms. Midlanders meet once a week at the local market (usually a collection of tents and booths clustered in a field) to trade and socialize. There are no cities as such in the Midlands though some farms have grown large enough to resemble small towns. The most famous of these farms is the Linkton Farm in the North Midlands. Midlanders are shrewd traders and supply many of the countries surrounding them with goods. They are constantly in danger of bandit attack and each farm employs it’s own fighting force usually trained by a former soldier or elder militiaman. The Midlands also enjoy special protection from surrounding countries due to the nature of the land and the value of the people that work it as the Midlands provide nearly all the food for the surrounding countries. As stated before Midlanders are fiercely independent and do not take sides when nations go to war choosing instead to profit from supplying both armies with food and goods. Some Midland farmers are wealthier than the kings that buy their goods but due to the nature of the people of the Midlands one would never know it.
2: Ebresh
A tribe of hunters and warriors residing in the High North, the Ebresh are a dying race. They are the tallest of the tribes of men and men over seven feet tall are not uncommon. Ebresh men ten to wear well-trimmed beards while the women keep their hair in thick braids. A man’s beard is symbol of his authority and to have one’s beard shorn is a sign of deepest humiliation. For the women hair is much less important than having children according to the Ebresh a truly blessed woman will bear more than ten children, more than thirteen children is considered a sign of divine favor. The Ebresh are hunters and subsist by hunting and foraging in the northern forests they call home. They are great breeders of dogs and often cross their own fierce breeds with the massive wolves that share the forests with them. Typical Ebresh family society is man and usually two wives. One wife a man takes when he is young, in his early twenties is typical marrying age for young men, for women it is typically younger (15-19). When an Ebresh man is old (in his late 50’s to early 60’s) he takes another wife to comfort him in his old age and to assist the fist wife with the work. When an Ebresh man dies his possessions pass on to his second wife who is responsible for caring for his first wife until she dies. When only the second wife and the man’s children are left a brother of the dead man who has no second wife takes the widowed second wife of his brother to himself and raises the firstborn son of the dead man to take over the house which then passes to him upon marriage to his first wife at which point the cycle is repeated. The Ebresh share the High North with the vicious Shogar and are at constant war with them raiding back and forth and killing as they may. Both races have suffered greatly from the constant battle and now the Shogar have been pushed high into the tundra while the Ebresh live in scattered bands throughout the vast forest. The Ebresh are accomplished metal workers and craft marvelous coats of mail, swords spears and axes. They are the greatest archers and trackers in the realm and are often called upon by southern kingdoms to catch criminals or scout for military campaigns.
3: Easterns
The Easterns are shorter than both the Ebresh and the Midlanders and their skin ranges from dusky brown to bronze to nearly black. They are a sea people, builders of boats, navigators, shipwrights, fishermen and explorers. The people of Manslin are Easterns. Eastern families are typically small with three children being considered a large family. This is due to the fact that Easterns are great builders and the largest cities on the continent lie on the Eastern shore. Easterns are an urban people and consider the Ebresh to be barbaric and the Midlanders simple. They are typically a wealthy people taking pearls and coral from the sea and trading their wares for gems, gold and dry goods. Both men and women wear jewelry in the form of rings in the ears and nose as well as necklaces, bracelets and finger and toe rings. The men are frequently tattooed on their backs, forearms, and chests with images of the sea, sea creatures, or runes. Women wear their hair unbound in various styles and are often tattooed at the small of the back, ankles, wrists and around the navel. Easterns are great traders and convey goods up rivers and down coastlines to the farthest corners of the continents. Easterns ships are the largest and fastest on the water and the Shipping Guild closely regulates who and what is ferried about in them.
Note: Mansliners are sometimes considered a sub group of Easterns as they focus all their maritime efforts on fishing and do very little trading or exploring. They are by far the most insular of Easterns.
Podes:
Ran out of time.
More to come...
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Off World
Thanks for the encouraging and helpful replies to my last post. The Ahmzad are my dwarf type race and I have yet to figure out who side they are on and what special abilities they have. Right now they are a wild card race. If you've read the post "I gotz teh ideaz" or whatever messed up title I had for that post you'll know that Eldrick is a War Wizard and he was taken from his family at a young age to the Blackspire which is where War Wizards learn to be, well, themselves. It's on an island and is surrounded by a small fishing town.
My original idea was to have Eldrick return home to find that his family had been abducted by vampires for larder stocking purposes and that his younger sister had actually been turned. That idea has been shelved.
A while ago I wrote a couple of short stories titled "War Planes" about these plane jumping armies battling on hundreds of different worlds. I've combined a couple ideas (thanks Orson Scott Card) and now I have...
The Shogar are, in truth, trying to burst through Lorin's Gap into the Midlands (the breadbasket of Eldrick's homeland)(thanks Phil) they are not however raiding. They are being displaced by a rogue battalion of the Telek Army led by General Ian Gin (a name I used in a previous manuscript). No one believes the Shogar's land is being overrun because they are thought of as savages by the people of the South and mortal enemies of the people of the North, the Ebresh. In fact, the Ebresh have been fighting the Shogar for so long that they are actually dying out as a people due to decades of war.
The war wizards are called in to help save the Midlands from certain destruction at the hands of the giant Shogar. That is where Eldrick comes in. As a war wizard he is sent to the front only hours after being secretly married to a village girl named Niah who he has loved since arriving on the island as a child.
Thanks to the Eladii (think Tolkien's Elves but more exclusive and warlike)who arrive to assist their long time allies the Ebresh the Shogar are stopped and one of their head men, Golga, is captured and packaged to return to the Balckspire for questioning. Golga warns his captors about the Telek but to no avail.
Upon their return to the Blackspire the War Wizards find their fortress leveled and the town under the domination of a Telek Captain and the 3rd Mechanized Infantry. Most of the War Wizards are dead, some escaped to hidden lairs off the island. The majority of the townsfolk have been taken to various prison camps for transport off-world and the few that remain try to go about their business ignoring the roar of Telek Starstrikers overhead and the earth shaking rumble of Telek Destroyers as they search the ruins of the Blackspire for signs of survivors and powerful artifacts.
Eldrick and an Eladii he has befriended, Omeym, escapes discovery by a Telek patrol and suddenly Golga doesn't sound so crazy after all. Eldrick is sick with worry and is set on finding Niah before she is taken off-world. Omeym's people rarely leave their homeland in the far west and have magically barred the gates to their realm from the rest of the world. Only a small group of volunteers left Sol, City of the Sun to aid the Ebresh at Lorin's Gap and once the Shogar were stopped all of the Eladii returned home save Omeym as it was deemed necessary for him to stay to guard such a powerful being as Golga until he was secure in the Blackspire. Omeym chooses to help Eldrick and they loose Golga in order to increase their chances of escaping the Telek blockades and patrols.
Golga simply wants to kill all the Telek he can and return to his homeland to reclaim what is left of the High North and begin rebuilding what the Telek destroyed. He needs the support of the War Wizards in order to defeat the Telek, however, and he believes that Eldrick can help him gain what he needs.
More to come...
My original idea was to have Eldrick return home to find that his family had been abducted by vampires for larder stocking purposes and that his younger sister had actually been turned. That idea has been shelved.
A while ago I wrote a couple of short stories titled "War Planes" about these plane jumping armies battling on hundreds of different worlds. I've combined a couple ideas (thanks Orson Scott Card) and now I have...
The Shogar are, in truth, trying to burst through Lorin's Gap into the Midlands (the breadbasket of Eldrick's homeland)(thanks Phil) they are not however raiding. They are being displaced by a rogue battalion of the Telek Army led by General Ian Gin (a name I used in a previous manuscript). No one believes the Shogar's land is being overrun because they are thought of as savages by the people of the South and mortal enemies of the people of the North, the Ebresh. In fact, the Ebresh have been fighting the Shogar for so long that they are actually dying out as a people due to decades of war.
The war wizards are called in to help save the Midlands from certain destruction at the hands of the giant Shogar. That is where Eldrick comes in. As a war wizard he is sent to the front only hours after being secretly married to a village girl named Niah who he has loved since arriving on the island as a child.
Thanks to the Eladii (think Tolkien's Elves but more exclusive and warlike)who arrive to assist their long time allies the Ebresh the Shogar are stopped and one of their head men, Golga, is captured and packaged to return to the Balckspire for questioning. Golga warns his captors about the Telek but to no avail.
Upon their return to the Blackspire the War Wizards find their fortress leveled and the town under the domination of a Telek Captain and the 3rd Mechanized Infantry. Most of the War Wizards are dead, some escaped to hidden lairs off the island. The majority of the townsfolk have been taken to various prison camps for transport off-world and the few that remain try to go about their business ignoring the roar of Telek Starstrikers overhead and the earth shaking rumble of Telek Destroyers as they search the ruins of the Blackspire for signs of survivors and powerful artifacts.
Eldrick and an Eladii he has befriended, Omeym, escapes discovery by a Telek patrol and suddenly Golga doesn't sound so crazy after all. Eldrick is sick with worry and is set on finding Niah before she is taken off-world. Omeym's people rarely leave their homeland in the far west and have magically barred the gates to their realm from the rest of the world. Only a small group of volunteers left Sol, City of the Sun to aid the Ebresh at Lorin's Gap and once the Shogar were stopped all of the Eladii returned home save Omeym as it was deemed necessary for him to stay to guard such a powerful being as Golga until he was secure in the Blackspire. Omeym chooses to help Eldrick and they loose Golga in order to increase their chances of escaping the Telek blockades and patrols.
Golga simply wants to kill all the Telek he can and return to his homeland to reclaim what is left of the High North and begin rebuilding what the Telek destroyed. He needs the support of the War Wizards in order to defeat the Telek, however, and he believes that Eldrick can help him gain what he needs.
More to come...
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