Building Mernac 2 god lore (half raw version)

Building Mernac # 2 – Lore – Lets talk about the Gods.

Mernac’s long term story, a more than 10,000 season (year) journey, will be many things. Among these things, it will be a challenging, heartbreaking, and adventuresome tale that joins a group of characters finding and understanding their souls, accepting their fates in a larger picture, and understanding that elusive “why” all sentient creatures ask themselves at one time or the other.

10,000 is a nice number, but it’s completely inadequate to the task of encompassing all of Mernac’s history. The 10,000 seasons refer only to time’s passage after the birth of “man”. The gods, and indeed much other history and lore, will have stories dating long before the advent of “Man”. (Ie. Siberlee Good). How long the history stretches was never a concern, as the original intention did not include giving specific dates. If you think this a mistake, please comment in the associated forum.

I thought it better to be a little ambiguous like we see in the Bible and other real world religious texts. Just as scientists and most religious leaders do not think God literally created the world in 7 days, future Mernac ages will not always believe in the literal creation stories. Like most mythology, these stories are fully intended to be metaphoric. In the early ages, up to Steampunk and approx 3000, these creation stories are treated literally.

After the advent of Man, the groups mentioned in the first paragraph, the 20 Gods of Mernac, takes on the mantle of The Mothers and The Fathers. Disciples and other Mernac characters will also go on meaningful spiritual and literal journeys, but Mernac is very God-centric. The gods’ personalities, idiosyncrasies, and desires have huge impacts upon the races, classes, religions, and even geography.

Where do the god’s come from will be mapped out in Siberlee’s Good and the subsequent creation series. (Terees, these will be closed saplings under my name and can only really be completed by me). Each God comes from another world; they do not just “appear”. To quote Siberlee, Mother of Nature and all that is Good, the gods come from “a world not unlike Mernac”. Each in their world was originally a Mortal who became a Disciple or a Champion of the world they come from.

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• Terees – New list – “Lore that Rick needs Completed”

Here I will identify the lore that need to be completed and give the base info. We will also assign this or ask for volunteers.

Add to this List

Disciples (Volunteers – must be a God)

Champion Of Mernac (re-write)

Disciples Lore Story

(this should be added to the Scribe notes at the bottom of the closed sapling_

1. The first disciple belonged to Siberlee and his name was Onas.
2. Each of the seven Mothers has 20 disciples. Each of the thirteen Fathers has 10 disciples with the exception of Barak, who has 20. Thus, “Good” and “Evil” have equal Disciples.
3. Disciples are immortal.
4. Each Disciple has one “godlike power”.
5. There is always a “Trauncha” (consequence) to the God for creating a disciple and to the Disciple for becoming one. For Example, Siberlee must choose her Disciples from a different Race of Mernac. In addition, her Disciples have all been love by her and died on a task for her. After being resurrected as a Disciple, their Trauncha is that they and Siberlee may never physically touch again, upon pain of “ceasing to have ever existed”. Also, Siberlee’s Disciples age to the point when they would have naturally died at which time the process reverses and they get younger with each season until they reach the age when they became a disciple. This cycle continues for all time.
6. Disciples will appear in stories throughout the history, however, they will mainly be featured in stories belonging in the Age for the god of whom they are a Disciple.
7. Disciples (unlike Gods) are free to walk Mernac with no consequences
8. Disciples further the work and wishes of the God on Mernac.
9. Disciples (like the Gods) are not 100% black and white of “Good” or “Evil” characters. They lean one way or the other according to the god they serve, but at times, they will help the other side according to their own values and circumstances.
10. Each disciple has one weakness or “Chanuart”. Any foe who discovers it will be victorious over the Disciple. A disciple defeated by their “Chanuart” is out of commission for 200 seasons. The Fathers’ Disciples fall to the underworld to further learn from the Fathers. The Mothers’ Disciples go to the Heavens to learn from the Mothers.
11. Gods decide on the same Trauncha for all their disciples. Disciples decide their own individual “Chanuart”, and these should be different for each character.

Champion of Mernac Lore story

Each age will have 7 Champions of Mernac. At the time, only one set in Siberlee’s age is identified, and only Five of Seven have been discovered. Each age feature a major battle between “Good” and “Evil”. The Champions are the “Good guys” who save, or attempt to save, the day.

1. To become a Champion, the character must make the “Decision of Good”, which places the greater good above something that would have benefited the character.
2. The champions are always directed by one of the Mothers, often by Siberlee herself.
3. The champions usually, but not always, hail from the races of the light (good).
4. Occasionally, just as with Disciples, The One selects a Champion to start their own world and be a God. In Siberlee’s Good, we find that Siberlee was once a Disciple and Barak a Champion of the world they came from, Chandralee.
5. In each set of seven Champions, one will be corrupted by Barak and betray the others. Though this always happens, each set of Champions has no knowledge of it, and the stories will hide the betrayer well.
6. Upon betraying the others, the rogue Champion earns immortal and a place among Barak’s Avengers, a group that counterbalances Siberlee’s Champions.
7. Champions are often gifted with a power, weapons, and/or magic to help them in their battles against evil. For example Mootill receives the Staff of Caljeron in Five of Seven part 3
8. Champions are forbidden to be intimate or romantically involved with each other.

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With the exception of Barak and Siberlee, both from Chandralee, and Quont and Kala, both from Quontas, all the gods come from a different world. Their mortal experiences shaped their personalities and motivations. The individual Gods, aside from Barak, Siberlee, Quont and Kala, will decide what world they originally came from and how many flashbacks the god has to that other world. Many of Mernac’s words and cultures are imported from the gods’ home worlds.

Each God has a dominant trait or two that overshadows their personalities. The Mothers tend to have two, while the Fathers tend to have one. For example, Quont is the God of Lust, and Terees is the Mother of Wisdom and Harmony. The traits will be motivating factors which dictate nearly everything that god does. Siberlee’s Good creation series will expound upon the gods and their traits. The Gods are brought to Mernac each “Chandralee” as the result of the last dream or thought Siberlee and Barak have after making love. The trait (and what they are god of) is somewhat different when they are gods than when they are a Mother and Father.

The Gods (Mother and Fathers) are introduced to Mernac is as follows:

1) Siberlee and Barak

2) Sola

3) Elsen

4) Trajen

5) Quont and Kala

6) Werk

7) Abuba

8) Tul

9) Terees

10) Roadius

11) Picu

12) Gorb

13) Canola

14) Tellen

15) Bu

16) Dulan

17) Linthur

18) Witriss

Each God is a matron or patron to a specific race that shares many qualities and values esteemed by that god. As with all things, gray areas exist. For example, the Kezians, a geographical subsection of Siberlee’s Race of Man, tend towards evil. In addition, each God has specific God powers that correlate to what they are the God of and often correlates to the Class or Classes they will be patron/matron of. The Gods, with the exception of Siberlee and Barak, cannot learn or use the powers of another God. So Bu, Father of Death and Destruction, cannot simply use Dulan’s healing god powers.

Siberlee’s Good shows us some limits to Gods’ powers. When Sola, Goddess of Light and Life, can only make so much life in a given day, she says, “Each of us has only so much Ga.” The limit to the gods’ powers can be most keenly felt in situations of obtaining power over life and death. Gods cannot simply bring back the dead, creature or person, with that being’s soul intact. This limit is pivotal to the Mernac overstory and sparked the conflict that spilled onto the land. The gods, particularly Sola can all creat plants and animals, but they have trouble creating life on a higher order, that is with intelligence equal to the Races or with souls. Creating Disciples, an exception to this rule, costs them deeply as we have discussed.

The gods and all magic users on Mernac have a magic reserve of energy called Ga. The stronger the magic they do, the more Ga is used. Ga returns very slowly, and thus, it acts as a limiting factor to the gods. Mortals almost never realize the gods’ limits.

Led by Bu, who eventually becomes the Father of Death and Destruction, Wolves, Lions, and Dragons are created with the ability to think. This partially explains why Siberlee slept with a Wolf, a Lion and a man all in the same night to bear a child for the barren Dulan to create the Fur race. Though sentient, these creatures still possess no soul, so when they die, they simply cease to be.

Dragons, the first and most successful of these experiments, can think, speak, and sometimes even write. Many dragons seek to find their soul. In this case, that has become synonymous with finding Truth. Dragons seek truth and are evaluated every 1000 years by the Mothers for The One. Dragons who discover “truth” are awarded souls. The most famous dragon, Kalos the Fire dragon, helped Onas Brushstroke and Sara Dragonmist write the fabled One Book. For a reward every 1,000 seasons the Mothers will evaluate him for The One.

Wolves and Lions however are only sentient sometimes. A sentient Wolf or Lion only has a one in five chance that their children will be. It will also often skip a generation or two. After the first age (elsens’) if is quite rare that a wolf or a lion is sentient, however it does happen on occasion all the way until the end of recorded time.

The Gods’ inability to create or restore life extends to themselves as well. Therefore, the various couplings between male and female gods, which happen quite often as they tend to be quite amorous, never result in a child. To a certain extent, this affects all the gods in the time before man. Siberlee, however, desires a child with Barak above all else and becomes very depressed, even feeling betrayed by The One, about her inability to conceive. The One had promised, “You will soon have your child, Siberlee, and that child will become the Race of Man, but it may not come as soon as you would like - or in the way you expect.” To add to her depression she discovers that her Love, has slept with all the different Mothers (her sisters) and not remained faithful as they had agreed. This contradicts the prev sentence about all the gods sleeping around…pick one and stick to it

Although several childless millennia Siberlee leaves Mirdoren, home of the Gods, and travels to Mernac to live with the creatures and the beasts who could have children. Siberlee places Winds Reflection spell on herself so that the other Gods cannot find her. During this time, she teaches Wolves, Lions, and Dragons. Meanwhile, the heavens go into chaos without the balancing force of Siberlee’s “Good”. Under Terees’s direction they come up with a plan to give Siberlee a “Child”. To create this child, what will become the Race of Man, the gods must sacrifice the portion of themselves they hold most precious.

The Divine Sacrifices:

Sola – eyes, though light and sight were most dear to her
Kala – heart, though love that originate from the heart is her passion
Canola – ears, though music and the ability to hear it is what makes her whole
Dulan – Womb, though like Siberlee her desire is to have children
Witriss – hair, Etc. Etc.
Terees – memory; part of capacity to learn quickly (Hence Terees’s penchant for keeping lists on everything)

Barak – Soul
Elsen – legs
Roadius – one eye, one ear, thumbs and first 2 finger of each hand
Quont – manhood (genitals)
Werk – limbs
Tellen – compassion
Bu – blood
Trajen – face and skin
Gorb – muscles
Abuba – bones
Tul – throat and neck
Picu – liver
Linthur – nose, sense of smell

With these parts and precious entities, Siberlee’s child, the Race of Man, came to be. Thrilled, Siberlee returned to Mirdoren and beseeched The One and The Other to reward her bothers and sisters. The One and the Other, seeing that they have erred in not giving the gods the ability to created sentient life, give the Gods the power to create one race. They still lack the ability to resurrect life.

STOPPED HERE

The Gods The all go about creating their different races (there should eventually be a lore story for each races and how it was created. These should be metaphoric in nature. The Gods still can not bear children with each other. So they will couple with the various creatures and beasts in Mernac to start their race. Most of the Gods try and create a race in their likeness…. Or more to the point in the likeness of the race they were in the world they came from before coming to Mernac.

All but 3 races are created within a few seasons of the Creation of Man. Man by the way was born (created) on Bella 1^st in the year one (the beginning of recorded history). This is where the Mernac expression meaning a self-evident truth comes from: “It has been that way since the first day of the first month of the first year”

The Three Races that were not created immediately were

Furs – Dulan

Dark Elves – Elsen

Undead – Barak

Furs

Furs will be created in the 101^st season. This is when Siberlee decide to help Dulan have a child (who gave up her womb for the creation of Man) by sleeping with a Wolf a Lion and a Man, all on the same night. The result was the Race of Furs.

Dar Elves

Dear Elves – the first Dak elves also come about in the early 100’s. As a Dark elf is the rare union of a true Elf and a fae and only determined after the 80^th season, the first Dark Elf took a little come to be conceived. The first Dark Elf is likely to be the Union of Elsen (whose original race was an Elf) and Sara Dragonmist (a Fae). Elsen will further develop this Lore.

The Undead:

The

Undead are the only reace to be created outside the first age (Elsen’s). Just as Siberlee held her decision of what would be her contribution to “The 20 Wonders of Miroden” for just the right time, barak saved choosing his race for just the right time. The Undead first come about in 666 when the fathers are being kicked out of the Heavens. Baraks Son Canu (from a lowly human peasant) is mortally wounded – Barak makes him “undead” and creats the Race of undead. Undead live for many thousand of seasons. They are all spawn by one of Barak’s diciples. Baraks Disciples are all people that have died valiantly in his service. Each disciple (like Siberlee) must come from a different race. Each grows the race by spawinging or spreading the race. This is done in a variety of ways depending on the Sub-race of undead the disciple is. The most common way is by drinking of blood (yes vampires) – if a disciple drinks the blood three times of another race they also become “Undead” and vampires. And those new vampires recruit others in the same way, and so on and so on ever expanding the network. The Lore here is that if a Vampire is killed (and we need to develop lore here) then all the vampires under him are released from being vampires (sets up some nice plotlines to save loved ones who become vampires).

There are other type of Undead. Warewolf (type thingsd at least), Zombies, and other thing that go bump in the night in the RW. The Undead Race is meant to be a Mernac solution for those that tend to write horror.

Another quality about the undead (and one of the resons Barak created them when he did), they tend to be resistant to the Magic of the Mothers and the Fathers. – not immune but resistant. Undead Disciples and completely immune (but are not immune to the magic from other Disciples). The undead like other races roam Mernac. Their prime directive is to capture a Mother. Which they do in 681. This is Canola (who is eventually save by the “Champions of Mernac” in the Age of Bu. On her release in 683 The One mandates that Mernac is no longer safe for the Mothers to freely roam and mandates that from that point on, the Mothers can only walk Mernac on Chandralee (the rare time when not one but Both of Mernac’s Moons are full in the sky.) and the eve of Chandralee.

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Terees

The current Lore Undead needs to be updated with this information. This is your lore so why don’t you take a crack at it. I would also like to get a volunteer to write the sub-race lore for Vampires. – I think good choices would be Elsen or Freelancer. But any good writer if they seem to have knowledge of Vampires.

Closed Sapling – Vampires

Of all the Undead, the most common are the Vampires. Though it is not thought that these creatures are immortal, it is known by the Scribes and Sages that know of such things that they live for many thousands of Seasons. Like all Undead, they seek a way to keep their soul and the energy which it gives, for if they do not, they will eventually die. For Vampires, they must replenish themselves by drinking the blood of a healthy creature with a soul. On the third time of partaking, the victim also becomes a vampire forever bound to do the bidding of the Vampire who brought them into the fold.

Vampires are incredibly strong and can not easily be killed. A vampire can only be killed in one of three ways. The first is…

Scribe notes:

Clean up note from above and place in that section.

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The Mothers then all must come up with a way or ways they can keep tabs of Mernac. For example, Siberlee often uses a small calico cat to be her eyes and ears on Mernac. Alternately she often inhabits the body of “Soosa, the old Woman from the Woods”. In these forms (as with whatever other devices the Mothers come up with for themselves, their magical power is almost non existent (thus they are almost defensless).

Back a few hundred seasons to BM.

Before the advent of man the 20 gods were pretty much a very close knit group. There were the occasional spats and problems but pretty much they lived together well. Most of the darker side of the Fathers eventual traits are pretty subdued – they show every once in a while – but in this time it is very subdued and subtle.

During this time, once most of Mernac has been completed, the Gods decide to create a place for them to live. This is the Heavens of Mirodan. As for a reward for their work on creating Mernac The One and The Other gift Miroden with 20 Magical Qualities or what becomes to be known as “The 20 Gifts of Mirodan” Each of these gifts or qualities of the Heavens is chosen by each god (one each) – all the Gods, With the exception of Siberlee immediately choose a gift or a quality of Miroden. Siberlee feels there is on gift that will need to be given that will be the most important and decides to wait until it is revealed. These are the Gifts.

Here are the 20 Gifts of Miroden

Canola

Miroden shall be filled with the best of the arts. Painting and storis shall be apart of its fiber. Statues and carving of the highest quality shall be plentiful. The Halls shall be full of music, each hearing the music that lifts their soul the most. The outer Coutyard shall be a place of dance to celebrate Mernac and the arts.

Sola

The center of Miroden shall be in the same place but a different plane that the exact spot where Siberlee and Barak made love on the Glowing Cliffs and brought forth each of the gods. Though each of the windows on its Eastern side the view will be the same as that spot of Mernac. Over the ocean, this is where the most spectacular sunrises on Mernac have always been found.

Dulan

The Palace of Miroden shall be 20 palaces all connected by a great hall. All in all the will be 1,000 rooms each decorated in its own fashion but each having elements that tie them togethers, these elements are polished black oak found in Cathall and the polished red, pink and purple marbles founds in abundance in the mountain of Garran.

Kala

Miroden shall always be a place of Love and desire where all inhabitants can love and couple with who they choose. Behind the palace of Miroden shall be large heated pond for that purpose. Here hot bubbling flows of water shall sooth and seduce all that enter. Any two or more who bath in this this pond together shall be instantly and irrevokably filled with love and desire for those they choose to bath with.

Witriss

Miroden shall now and forever be a place to gain strength through virtue. The longer one spend in Miroden the stronger they will become is relation to the virtuous deeds that have preformed. This strength will be in the form of magical powers or physical attributes.

Terees

Miroden shall now and forever be shielded and protected for external Magic. Magic performed outside the shores of Miroden shall have no effect on any who reside ther

The Fathers

Barak

Miroden shall be the only place in the cosmos where Shadows do not fall, for in Miroden only things fully illuminated will be permitted

Quont

Miroden shall be a place of fertility. If any creature, plant or animal can not reproduce in Mernac, if taken to Miroden they can immediately become with child.

Tellen

Miroden shall be impenetrable by any who do not belong or are invited. Surronding the main palace shall be silver walls 20 paces in height. Thes walls will be of the stongest of metals and as slick as sheets of ice beginning to thaw.

Bu

Miroden shall have a great hall at its center, a round room with a round table in its center. The Table shall have 20 chairs, one for each of the Gods, the room shall have 22 doors, one for each of the gods, which will lead to their own palace. One shall lead to the Temple of The One, where Siberlee can go to speak with The One, the last shall be to the Temple of The Other, so that Barak may receive guidance from The Other.

Trajen

Miroden shall be an island in the skies far above Mernac, but taking the same space, both at the same time. It shall float upon clouds and at its edges, the clouds will lap upon its shores just as water laps the shores of a crystal blue lake.

Gorb

All in Miroden shall be constructed of the finest riches Mernac has to offer. The wall shal be ligerally decorated with gold, silver and other precious metals. Gemstones will decorate the floors and ceilings and the furnature shall be carves of the finest of woods and stone.

Werk

Physical pain and disease is non existent in Miroden, for any creature lucky enough to visit the heavens any pain or symptom of desease shall be abated during their visit.

Abuba

The grounds of Mernac shall mimic the greenest and most lush geograghy in Mernac. From the edges to the palace shall be 20 paths that lead to the center. Each of ther paths shall be lined with fruit tree, each bearing fruit and flowers of a different hue. Thes paths will be long to the point it would take 20 days for a grown lion to travse then, but for a god it shall only take but an hour.

Tul

In the many gardens that lay between the paths that lead to the place of Miroden shall be the Guards of the Heavens, these creatures shall be called Dragows and are thr result of the coupling of a wolf and a Dragon. Dragows shall be calm loving creatures to the gods and their guests, but near indestructible opponents to any that may come uninvited.

Elsen

In the inner courtyard in the entrance to Miroden shall be 10 fountains. Each shall not be of water but of ethereal energy, one each for the 10 ethereal elements that were used to Creat Mernac. These fountains shall be eternal and a source for the Gods to replenish themselves. The eternal nature of the fountains is crucial to the existence of Mernac, for if even one ceases to flow, so does Mernac cease to exist*

* Elsen this will set up some collaboration between the Mothers and the Fathers after the break when occasionally one of these fountains begins to faulter.

Roadius

With the exception to the 22 doors in the great hall of the palace, each Door in Miroden leade to every room in Miroden. Those that pass through and know the secret will simply will where they wish to arrive. Those who do not know the secret shall be forever trapped in an endless maze where they randomly arrive at a new location each time they pass through a door

Picu

The bounty of Mernac shall always appear in the Kitchens and cellars of the Palace of Miroden, whithout the gathering. By passing through the doors to the cellar, on has but to desire the bounty they wish for and the room where they arrive shal be full of that bounty.

Linthur

The Grounds of Miroden shall be dotted with ponds lakes and streams of crystal waters. Thos invited to Mernac can swin in these waters with the greatest of pleasure as the water is always clear and perfect in temperature. Those not invited will fall to a like body of water on Mernac, instantly leaving the Heavens.

The Last Gift

Siberlee

Miroden shall now and forever only be open the Seven mothers and those they choose to invite. Any Father, or servant of the Fathers shall cease to exist upon entering the sacred grounds of Miroden.*

This “gift” was decided by Siberlee in 666 and is how the fathers were ultimately extricated from the heavens…. After a few battles that is.

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Terees, We need a closed sapling for Miroden – basically covering the Above. As for completing it I would like Quont of Elsen to volunteer if they have time – besides me, they know the lore of Mernac (particularly as it relates to the Mythological aspects – better than anyone else.

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Gods and relationships

In early times before man and before guilt and jealousy the Gods interacted with each other freely, as friend, as brothers and sisters and as Lovers. In the earliest of times the Gods would work together during day and couple with each other at night – very often with different parties each time.

As time moved on (and often instigated by Traejen) special relationships and love triangles developed (Quont, Elsen, Terees please edit and make correction here as you have all written) In much of the time BM, though there were the occasional lustful relationship most of the Gods entered into love triangles with one Mother and two fathers in each.

Siberlee – Barak
Sola – Bu and Elsen
Kala – Trajen and Gorb (and each of the Mothers at some time or the other)
Canola – Quont and Tellen
Dulan – Werk and Roadius
Witriss – Abuba and Linthur
Terees – Tul and Picu

* In the stories throughout history much of the relationship between the various fathers will be impacted by the love triangles. Ther is always an unspoken dislike, distrust, and jeolouse between the fathers that shared a mother. For example, Bu and Elsen (who shared Sola) have a secret (sometime not so secret despise for each other) and so on for the rest of the triangles. The Mothers will use this fact to turn gods against each other or do things for spite against the father they have a discourse with. It will introduce some interesting plots

Special Notes:

Barak – Primarily Siberlee however over time (an usually secretly) he couples with all the seven Mothers and half of the Fathers.

Picu – has always had a secret passion for Siberlee which was never returned. This is one of the main reasons he sided with the fathers.

Sola Though she also coupled with Elsen secretly loves bu far more.

Kala – true free spitit and lover of all. Kala is a pure bisexual and prefer neither male of female more than the other and believes all should be alble to love all without consequences. She is often conflicted with this as she finds herself jealous of Traejen on numerous occasions and comes to learn that there is a difference between love and desire.

Canola – thought she loves Quont and to a lesser extent Tellen. She come to find that Kala is the one she desires the most and is shattered that Kala will not dedicate herself to her. This by the way absolutely drive Quont crazy.

Werk is completely infatuated with Dulan… Dulan loves him back and they often make love but it is always with far less passion and desire than what Werk would like.

Siberlee – completely in love and lust with Barak – she does however publicly has an affair with Quont (The Father of Lust) to rub Barak’s nose in it and in attempts to make him jealous. She even “marries” Quont for a brief time and he becomes her first husband (kinda like Lillith in Genesis and more to the point many Jewish texts) and is why Quont (symbolically) becomes a creature of lust not fertility and is portrayed that way throughout history. Quont is sometime referred to as “the forgotten husband” much to his chagrin.

(I am sure we will develop other relationships as we move forward)

To end this part on Lore – or more to the point god lore I want to identify the different “stats” the gods have. These are all thing that should be coverered in in their God character story. I would also like to develop a page that lists all of the Gods and their stats – the “stats” are what make up the core personality of the Gods and their motivations.

Siberlee’s Stats:

God of: Mother of Nature and all that is Good

Home World: Chandralee

Religion in her Honor: Natures Own

Matron Race: Man

Matron Faction: The Greater Good

Matron Guild: Priazza (guild of non combative Magic users)

Matron Title: Champion of Mernac

2 Matron Classes: Tember, Scribes

3 Marton Places: Glowing Cliffs of GoldMont, Hooklock Mountains, Traddlbow*

* any place but no continents

3 Matron Creatures: Wolf, Lion, Dragon

Trauncha:

Each of Siberlee’s Disciples is required to be from one of the 20 different Races. Each is someone that she has loved. Each Disciple is someone who is killed (usually when on a task for Siberlee). Each is resurrected from death in order to become a Disciple. The Trauncha is that in exchange for them becoming a Disciple, they and Siberlee may never physically touch again. If they do, the Discple “ceases to have ever exist”. The Second part of the Trauncha for Siberlee’s Disciples is that they continue to age to the point when they would have naturally died. At this time the aginf process reverses and with each season they get younger until they reach the age when they were made a disciple. Then they begin to age again. This cycle continues for all time.

One Desire: To be able to have a true child of her own with a “Good” mad that she loves.

1^st half of One Book Page: To come to truly love at least one from each of the 20 races (many will become her disciples)

Well that about wraps it up for the Gods and the God lore for now. I have no doubt that I have forgotten something, so please post it in the associated forum and I will comment on it.

The Next installment Building Mernac#3 is odd meaning it will be operational/business plan related. Due to popular demand I am changing the order of some on the chapters in my outline. Chapter three will deal with the different ways I see where we (Mernac) and you (a contributor) can make money from this project when it is fully operational.

Quont's Question of the Week – 11 Simple Pleasures

Quont, Mernac's God of Lust: Question of the Week – 11

Terees's Answer: Having a nice conversation wherein I can learn something about the person I'm speaking with. A lot of people have a whole lot of nothing to say. To actually be real with someone and share their joys, pains, frustrations, and triumphs is amazingly relaxing. Reading's also nice.

Arleas's Answer: Finishing something. Whether it be a story, a poem, a song, a lesson, or a piece of actual work, finishing is the most enjoyable part. I suppose it's not really a simple pleasure, but I didn't think you'd find eating koomba treats and shooting the breeze with the other Shadow Guards a good answer.

My Answer: Reading a children's book. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something, even if I can only read for 20 minutes. Taking walks. I don't get to do it often, surprisingly. RW keeps me in meetings or hopping about planning my head off. Writing RW letters. Don't get me wrong here, emails are wonderful things, but a RW letter takes time, effort, and far more thought than tapping out an email response. There's more of a sense of accomplishment when it's done.

Overworked RW Avatar

It figures, the Mother of Wisdom and Harmony would choose a frazzled, unassuming teacher-type from the world they call Earth to be her avatar. Not saying that's a good or bad thing, it just is, as are many things. This does have its drawbacks though, however, in that I can't get much done while she leads her crazy life. So, most godly duties are on a temporary hold, until my RW avatar can get her life straightened.

BTW, the bossman still needs to send me things to edit.

Who would you like to have dinner with?

Quont, Mernac's God of Lust: Question of the Week – 9

Terees - I'd like to meet with my brother Quont. He's always been good with making anyone feel special. That quality has not diminished over the seasons. He knows how to play emotions like a lute. I have not experienced fine wordplay in ages. Siberlee's been all sorts of distracted lately. Witriss is too busy waging noble battles to talk to me long, and Dulan does more healing than I do thinking or breathing. The best conversations I have with her concern the most obscure potions and healing plants. Anyways, there's still good in Quont, as there is evil in me, and so holds the balance in all the Mothers and Fathers. My deepest desire, that which drives me, is to unite the gods once again, like in the days of old. I must find the balance, and I feel Quont would have some answers I seek. He, of course, would probably try to tease out the little sanity I have left and dig for answers to our plans - that is the grand plans the Mothers have for Mernac - but fair is fair and flowing information might just mend some of these millenia old schisms.



Arleas - *grumbles* why can I only pick one? I would love to have a pleasant dinner chat with Traesha. If I recall correctly, the last conversation I had with her had us on the opposite sides of weapons after she'd tried to seduce my Shadow Guard brother, Shanyaks. See, now such hostilities aren't always the way things need to go. Just a nice dinner, no swords, would be lovely, for she is a wonderful person. We probably would have come to sword blows too if Ryna hadn't gotten all jealous and shown up then. Kidding, sis, you know you don't always have to practice Complete Attraction on poor Shanyaks.



Me - Rick. Oh wait, did that:-) Again. Well, then I'd have to say The Other. There must be balance, dontcha know.

The Shadow Guard Gets a New Home

Although I will probably babble much about my spirit children and their exploits here, I think they deserve their own home. You can find the details of all Shadow Guard contests here http://tereesshadowguard.blogspot.com/.
In the coming moons, I hope to do more explaining about who the Shadow Guard is and what they do to preserve harmony on Mernac.
The blog is still under construction. We hope to have our wonderful banner up by the end of the week. If you think of anything to add to the blog, please PM Terees or post your comment here.
If you have any questions for members of the Shadow Guard, please email terees.mernac@gmail.com. Place the name of the Guard you wish to contact in the subject line. You can always reach the SG by contacting Terees: terees@mernac.com

How the Monthly Art Challenges Work

I would like everyone to pause and thank Traesha for the wonderful job she does with the monthly art challenges. So much time and effort goes into each one. I asked her to describe the process for our benefit. Here's what she said:
The time consuming thing for me is setting up the Monthly challenge based on the theme chosen by the winner, writing it all up, submitting it to the God for approval, creating an image for the initial challenge and getting it all posted on the site. I usually have 3 days to get that all done, so sometimes it's a bit stressful due to the time guidelines. I usually check out the challenge arena once a day to field any questions or problems that arise. I give the artists 3 weeks to complete their renders and get them posted to the thread. I also try to create another render to submit to the challenge too. Then I set up a poll for the voting to begin and select the winner. Then, I contact the winner to find out what the next months theme will be and start the process all over again.

Thank you, Traesha!

Shadow Guard Artisan Contest 1 - Family Portrait

As I've been rambling about for several days now, the Shadow Guard has grown immensely in the last few weeks. I believe it is therefore time to have a family portrait made. I will try to remember all the rules and record them here, but forgive me if I forget to define something. Since I'm in question, answer mood, I'll run this that way.

What's going on?
Terees is going to launch a whole series of monthly art contests. They will hopefully run like the Art challenges Traesha has been doing such a lovely job with, minus the initial example as I don't think we'd get any inspiration from my horrible little blotchy-penned stick figures. The artsy parts of me must have walked off the current plane with my memory.

Who can participate?
Any registered member of Mernac may participate. If you don't have an account, but still love doing art and want to partake in this free contest simply sign up for an account, read a bit of the Shadow Guard background and about the current members... then give it all you've got.

Where do I submit my picture?
I will open a thread in the general discussion forum. You will initially submit here. Eventually, the art must be submitted to the Shadow Guard Lore story.

What kind of picture should I make?
As this is a family portrait, your picture should include Mother Terees and at least two of the guards. If you can get all five in, wonderful. If you can make it a scene where they're not just staring out at people, wonderful. But if you want to go for traditional "family portrait" style, that's wonderful as well.

Are there any stuffy rules I should be aware of?
Yes. Mother Terees wishes all pictures to be rated PG-13 or less. That means the characters should be wearing decent clothes and there shouldn't be too much gore/violence/other questionable material. Now, I don't think you could show too much gore in a family picture of the Shadow Guard, but hey, you never know... and this rule applies to all the monthly SG contests.

Why are there stuffy rules?
Because I'm old-fashioned, a goddess, and I said so:-)

Is there a prize for all my hard work?
Of course. At the very least, there will be silver. The exact amount will be determined at a later time, depending on how many submissions we have. I'd love to give at least one silver to everyone who enters and 25 silvers to the winner of each monthly art contest, as determined by a poll.

Is there a deadline?
Yes, I would like the submissions to be posted to the thread by the 21st of each month. Then, I will create the poll and let it run for a week. That should let everyone know who the winner is by the 29th-ish of each month. The winner will be acknowledged on the thread. Please note, to receive their prize of 25 Mernac silvers they must be a registered member. I will also send a PM, so the winner should also be an active member... meaning you show up more than once a month:-)

From Terees's Private Journal 2 - Shadow Guard Gifts

Will the Twenty Gifts I sought, fought for, and sometimes bought serve my Shadow Guard children well? I called their spirits up to fight with their full strength during those awful days while the War for Mirdoren raged in the heavens. Whenever I remember those moments I am in awe of the sheer power they unleashed there, but now I forget how I got them to that point. I know I trained them, sometimes harshly, in Resh'karitas, but I cannot even remember when. I think Pyroglyph will remind me, but I cannot be certain for she is, as always, perfectly neutral.

While I remember, I shall record the Gifts already allocated. These I may or may not have remembered eventually, but logically they fit best. In all cases, I always gifted the Guards based upon their own strengths.

Ember already knew many weapons, so I gave her the Gift Tellen prepared: Martial Weapons Proficiency. She can pick up nearly any weapon invented for soldiers and use it as if she'd been trained specifically on that weapon for three decades or more. Some exotic weapons might lay beyond the Gift's capabilities to cover; however, Ember's natural talents with weapons should allow her to use the weapon without harm to herself or allies. The only difference is that she would not be considered a "master" with such weapons.

Arleas already knew much about books and learning. She would have known more too, had she not been killed so abruptly. The potential for vast learning still lay within her, so when I gifted her with Divine Shared Knowledge, she learned to know what I know. Unfortunately, for both of us, my memory has rather large gaps. Since Arleas has a wonderful memory, whenever I do perchance stumble across a memory, I send it to her. She may not even know it, but sometimes, I think she's my literal sanity.

Shanyaks struggles with himself far more than is healthy. His questionable heritage, his sometimes dark tendencies... these things hit him far deeper than many beings. I think his biggest problem is forgiving himself. In short, he draws trouble upon himself. Therefore, I believe I gave him Gorb's Gift of Trouble Greed.

Naysia Ebberon is a very introspective young woman when she wants to be. I do not think she spoke much even as a child, but that natural instinct to deal with everything internally and always alone grew even more pronounced once she went to one of Elsen's temple. Sometimes I wonder why I picked such internally conflicted people to become my Guards. She's such a sweet girl, fire obsession aside. Who am I fooling? I love her partially because of that fire obsession, for it is a sign of the pure passion within her. One who thinks so much for herself could hardly help but naturally take to a Gift like Foresight. Sola's gift upon her own Race of Elves.

Kataryna Vaelryn trained for many, many seasons to become a seductive and highly successful assassin. Her natural beauty and well developed sense of how to handle people made her perfect for Quont's gift of Complete Attraction. Quont could always get whatever he wanted from any of us.

From Terees's Private Journal 1 - Reflections on the Shadow Guard

The Shadow Guard grows rapidly. Part of me fears for them. Mernac's futures, all of them, look so grim. I have currently withdrawn from my Guards for a brief moment to feel this pain alone. I cannot let them know the sheer depths my fear run, especially Arleas. She's a wonderful Disciple, but a bit headstrong. With our close connection she would feel everything, and I want to protect her from that.

Naysia, also a headstrong young lady, possesses so much passion, so much anger. I'm not sure where it comes from. Surely, her training in Elsen's temple could not have been that thorough, could it? I knew all once, but that was long ago. I'm not sure how best to help her. She hesitated before joining, and I felt it. The battle within her ran deep. I have not felt such inner conflict since the Fathers made their decisions in 666, or if I had, I had also forgotten.

Kataryna Vaelryn could move mountains with a smile, yet there are fragile parts of her, places she keeps locked from all, even herself. Her beauty and natural charm serve her well, but they also hold her back. She knows her strengths, so she uses them, sometimes overmuch. She also hesitates to forgive herself. I've not yet spoken with her on these matters, but a time will come soon when she faces herself fully.

Ember tor'Ravenwing has a wonderfully refreshing directness about her. She hides her fragile pieces well. I can feel her every worry when I tune in to her thoughts, but her inner strength and resilience astounds me.

Shanyaks, probably the most troubled of my young Guards, always wishes to be better than his past. Sometimes, I think he tries to apologize for his entire Race of Orcs, yet the world will have none of it. Tis true that sometimes the blackest, coldest hearts come from the Races of Light. I wish I could fight all his battles for him, but Shanyaks needs those struggles to learn survival.

8/28/07 Busy Week - highlights

Terees’s Report:

- Helped Serapella and Shanyaks with character stories

- Edited Jy’s Kingdom of Averyll story; edited Jy’s Bounty hunter novel ch 1-3; post sapling for Jy

- Wrote Quest for Celnadon ch 19 Soolin Leaves, Ch 22, edited/ published QFC 6, published QFC 7

- Sent PM to psycha (got reply), tkrain (got reply), Purrdey (got reply) goxen, coalcrystal

- Fiddled with Outlook (evil thing); got template set…still not sure its sending messages right

- Announced Serapella and Shanyaks as Shadow Guards

- Wrote more detailed outline for SG training novel

- Things to write: (secret)

How to Become a Mernac Scribe... then Sage

Scribe (taken from On Being a Mernacian Scribe) - writer with one Legend, Character story, and a secondary story (Lore, Place, or Item)
Sage - writer with three consecutive Legends in a particular Book approved by the God of the Age the legend takes place in.

The Legends of Mernac seeks fine writers to join the ranks of our dedicated scribes. For those of you who know nothing about us, Mernac is a fantasy world, hence we seek fantasy writers. Don't let that discourage you if you've never tried fantasy before, I'm a semi-converted sci-fi fanatic.

Step-by-step how to become a Mernac Scribe:
Step One: Read. The world practically bursts with interesting Characters, Legends, Places, Lore, and Items.
Here are some Recommended Reads and the Rationales:
Mothers and the Fathers - a summary of Mernac's 20 gods (7 Mothers, 13 Fathers); these characters come up again and again throughout history, so you might as well get used to their pretty names
Map of Cathall - one of the main continents and home to a whole slew of Races of Light and Races of Dark; makes an interesting setting for nearly any story
Time and Calendar Guide - Moon = month, season = year, [OCC: learn our lingo or go away:-); kidding] "There are 26 hours in a day, 32 days in a moon (or month) and 14 moons (months) in a Season (year)." You should know this if you're writing stories set here.
Bella (Spring)
Della (Spring)
Troval (Spring)
Clina (Summer)
Tropsy (Summer)
Teevil (Summer)
Smarten (Summer)
Fivo (Fall)
Trivo (Fall)
Boolan (Fall)
Tazar (Winter)
Bruda (Winter)
Moroven (Winter)
Himple (Winter)
The God Ages - If you're placing a story in Mernac, you'd better know what Age you want to place it in. For that, you'll need to know which gods are taking stories. This story is a touch out of date - Terees Age (2000-2499) is open

Other tips:
Read - we don't expect you to know everything, but do a bit of research on the place you want to write in, the god(s) you want to serve, etc
Use the search button - it's helpful despite the fact that it doesn't do words under 4 letters
Ask questions - If you have a general question, you can either start a thread about it in the "general discussion" forum or PM a god (Oh, dangerous to say. PM Terees, she'll not bite yer head off; sorry, only one I can guarantee.)

Mernac Character Story: What is it? How do I write it?

What is a Mernac Character story?
As most people know, characters create stories, hardly the other way around. Characters are linchpins, the life-flow, akin to air for a story. While Legends are indeed our ultimate goal, we also want to know who these heroes, villains, and everyday people are, where they came from, and what drove them to act as they did. Thus, the need for a Character story. Mernac Character stories usually range from 500 - 1000 words; they should be no more than 2000 words.

Let's briefly examine a portion of Katarina Calis's Character story:
King Aaron and Queen Diana Calis of Solaris had six sons: Ryan, Cade, Mark, Evan, Collin, and Dayton, but what they really wanted was a baby girl to take the place of the female child they’d lost during the harsh winter of 546. Desperate to know what would happen, they questioned hundreds of Sages, sorcerers, and prophets. Finally, Arkad the Wise of Hob gave them this prophecy: “It is said, great King and noble Queen, that there are no finer rulers to be found in all of Mernac. That shall soon be tested. Within a season, the Great Mother Siberlee will grant thee the desire of thine heart. However, the Ledrath, the life-drainers, the Great Fathers Bu, Werk, and Tellen, stand ready to besiege this kingdom with chaos. You have a choice: twenty seasons of personal pain, seven seasons of widespread disease, five seasons of unprecedented natural disasters, or four seasons of war which will leave no two stones upon each other here in Morningsong.” With broken hearts, the King and Queen agreed to the twenty years of personal pain for at least that would spare their people.

The first paragraph does not eve mention the princess we're talking about. Is that... okay? Yes, this paragraph sets the stage for what is to come and answers a few questions yet to be asked? What in Katarina's past, defined her? Who were her parents? Where did she come from? What siblings did she have?

How do I write a Good Character Story?
The biggest mistake people make when writing stories for Mernac is simply trying to write the Legend first. (OCC: I made this mistake; my first story, The Black Axe, was written like the story I eventually wanted to write, albeit badly. Ahem, that aside, someone had to clarify for me that The Black Axe story needed to be about the weapon itself.) Even character stories are not immune from this mistake.

Character story should strive to answer some of the following questions:
What race do they belong to?
What is this person's main goal(s)?
Where did this person come from?
What do they look like?
What did they accomplish? invent?
Who bore them? Who fathered them?
What makes them unique? (ie. why should readers care about him/her?)
What weapon, if any, did they favor?
What moments in life defined them?
Who did they marry?
Who did they bear/ father?
What deity did they serve?
What wars did they fight in?
How did they die?
What was this person's general outlook on life and why?

Mernac Lore Story: What is it? How do I write it?

What is Mernac Lore?
Clina, Viklandics, Brotherhood of the Linge, Siberlee... who or what is what?
The scribes and sages who know such things at the Legends of Mernac classify classes, calendar/ astrology, races, factions, guilds, poetry/song/ proverb, deity & religion, and titles as "Lore".
These stories usually range between 500-1000 words, but can be upwards of 2000 if the scribe gets longwinded.

How do I write Lore for Mernac?
As I recommended before, begin by reading, lots of it. Get a feel for what's out there already before you plunge right in. Learn the difference between Legend and Lore. Legends are the core of our stories. We want you to join us writing legends, but first, let's get your specific faction, guild, or race written. Again, Lore is still secondary to Character, so if you have not defined your character yet you should do that first.
Are you ready?
Let's say your guild is definitely not up there in current Lore and you want to define them. Good for you, here's one way how. Let's take the Brotherhood of the Linge:
Short excerpt:
Be it a bow, sling, javelin, spear or any other manor of thrown weapons, there are none more skilled than those belonging to The Brotherhood of the Linge. In the lower levels of their training, their skills are but physical in nature. However, as their training in both physical skills and mental concentration progresses, many Linge develop their magic force or “Ga” to the point where they can direct these powers into the magic skill of “Blue Vision”. The Brotherhood of the Linge is open to those of any race or deity, however, they are very selective of the members they allow into their ranks – only those born with innate ability to use “Blue Vision” are allowed to enter. This magic skill envelops the Linge when making any type of ranged weapon shot to the point that they can see violet-blue dots on their targets. If the Linge lets loose when that dot is appears in their minds eye, it is all but impossible for them to miss their mark.

Questions to consider when writing a Lore tale (varies by actual type of lore) for simplicity we'll go with Guild:
Where did the Guild begin?
What special skills do they have?
What type of guild is this? (thieves guild, assassin guild?)
Who can join them? (alignment restrictions?)
How are candidates processed?
Who are some famous members?
Which deity or deities do the members worship? (if at all)
What is the heirarchy like?
How many are in the guild?
What place do they operate from?

Questions to consider when writing a Race/people/nation story:
What special skills do they have?
Who do they worship?
Who can join them? (nation/people)
What do they look like?
What famous people belonged to this race or people?
What is their reputation? (fierce, deadly, kind, compassionate, hostile, cold?)
Where do they live?
Where did they come from?
(could you guess?) Where are they going? In other words, what goals does the nation have?
What time periods did they live in?

Mernac Place Story - What is it? How do I write it?

In a growing place like Mernac, where any writer may join and contribute to the geography, it is vital to define things. Here, I shall focus on Places, but first, I must clarify that these are secondary tales, like Lore and Items. A primary tale, what we call a Legend, is the ultimate goal, but the Places, Lore, and Items also play an important role by providing a foundation for the work to come.

What is a Place story?
Typically ranging from 500-1000 words, a Place story tells of some city, temple, village, continent, country, town, mountain, forest, or other thing that can be defined as a place. Some lines may be blurry on things like temple shrines; is it a lonely place upon a mountain side?? or a thing? I'd probably categorize it as a thing, but again, the definition may be somewhat fluid. For now, I shall confine my definition to something we can all agree is a place: country.

Check out Hobala, by Pyroglyph.
Short excerpt:

The small Dwarven country of Hobala is located along the western coast of Toberna, slightly south of the continent's mid-point.

The Orvill mountains are particularly rough in this region, stretching long fingers of stone-topped ridges all the way down to the sea. Between these ridges are long, narrow, fertile valleys, watered by mountain streams and glacial runoff. These valleys are lush, but small, and will generally support only one small village above ground. Only in the central portion of Hobala is there a slightly kinder landscape. There the mountains dip down and give way to foothills and even a large grassy plain. In the center of this plain is Tam's Crossing, which is the largest above-ground settlement in the country. It is there that the Races of Light who do not wish to live underground tend to gather together.

Notice how this reads much like an encyclopedia entry. Passive parts exist (gasp), yet it flows smoothly and describes the parameters of this country. The author also slips in bits of topography, economics, valleys are lush, but small, and will generally support only one small village and history there that the Races of Light who do not wish to live underground tend to gather together.

How do I write a Mernac Place story?
If you're new to Mernac, you start by reading, reading, and more reading. Don't let that scare you though; think of it as an exciting challenge. Oh, and try writing a Character story first. The reason for this is that the character matters most. I'll touch on that in a moment.
Say you've got your character and just need a Mernacian place to put him/her, but nothing on Cathall suits you, nor Toberna, nor Brangin. So, make it up! You're a writer, hence the place story. Even if it's not a whole country, you may need a city, town, or village.

Let's examine Morningsong, Solaris:
Short excerpt:
The crown jewel in the quaint kingdom of Solaris, Morningsong delights first-time visitors as well as those who have lived there for generations. Some say the city never sleeps, for food, fashion, and fine plays can be found at all hours. These things alone make Morningsong popular, but the music makes it famous. From the first moment the sun glints off the Temple of Sola’s topmost spire, Nebvidron harps, Kyrie windpipes, and Sekri flutes fill the Market Square with sweet music.

Here the author immediately tells you which kingdom of Cathall you are in. If you actually look at the main page, you will see Mernac > places > Cathall > Solaris, so you will know where you are. The author then goes on to say what Morningsong is famous for, what sorts of attractions it offers, and what is semi-unique to it. While these are not "must" things to include, they're good facts to have. (OCC - It's like eating oreos or peanut butter cups... you can hardly screw up the process.)

Questions you may want to answer in your city story:
Who famous came from there?
What wars were fought there and why?
Is it a City of Light, or a City of Darkness?
What does the city offer in the way of entertainment?
What is the government like?
How did the government change over the seasons?
Who famous passed through there? (See, Morningsong is connected to Katarina Calis, who is she? You'll have to see her character story? What's she got to do with Morningsong? Check out the main Morningsong page.)
What deity takes an interest in the place? (Morningsong, Solaris is joint Elves and Man so Mother Sola and Mother Siberlee have vested interests there; Mother Terees is also fond of the place)

Quont's Question of the Week – 6

Quont, Mernac's God of Lust: Question of the Week – 6

How do you relax?
Terees's Answer:
By thinking, of course. Simply willing myself to relax usually does the trick. Maintaining inner harmony is a vital to do my job well. It would be extraordinarily difficult to attempt bringing peace to someone else I let stress and chaos rule my mind.
Reading old scrolls of the ancient days usually helps when thinking alone is not enough to assuage a burning unrest. Writing my thoughts out in several languages is a stimulating mind exercise and keeps my hands busy.
Talking to Pyroglyph can be very relaxing. She makes me laugh and puts a wonderful neutral perspective on everything. There's hardly a swifter way to find the objective point of view on any matter than asking my completely neutral unDragon.

My Answer:
Reading, writing, sleeping, taking random walks, singing (when no one's around to listen:-)

Editing Process for the Age of Terees (2000-2499)

To those looking to be Shadow Guards or Age of Terees Sages or just intent on writing a lot in the early third millennium and to all others who blunder into this blog meaning to or not, greetings.

I shall attempt to make this brief, but feel I may fail miserably in that regard, as I wish to be thorough.
Here is the official word on the types of stories we will focus on:
Sword and Sorcery – first half of 3^rd millennium; Terees's Age or the Age of Discovery

This age will have themes of explorer’s discovering new and different parts of Mernac. Stories will tend to be more action packed and blood and guts than High fantasy. Many of the cultures discovered will have somewhat amoral protagonists who are often more interested in instant gratification, adventure and self interests than cosmic justice or Karma. Think Conan the Barbarian. Stories in this age will tend to concentrate more on fast moving action and adventure than overly developed society, philosophical or physiological aspect. ‘Man Vs. the Environment’ and ‘Man Vs. Man’ conflicts are welcome, however, ‘Man Vs. Himself’ themes are likely more suited to other ages. Stories filled with battles, fights, chases, rescues, explorations, quests for riches (opposed to quests for divine/magic items) will find a home here. Main character will tend to be non magic users who conquer or defeat there for with sheer brute force and strength (with the help of the obligatory ‘magic item of xxx’ of course . Unlike traditional Sword and Sorcery this age will also have a secondary focus on exploration and nautical themes.

Am I going to hold you to that definition? Goodness, no. I'm not even sure what half that all means. Just strive for action, adventure, and exciting discoveries. Side notes: While blood and guts will most definitely be spilled during such stories, please try to keep it tasteful. People might read these stories at lunchtime or something. Sexual content must be PG-13 to pass my personal approval. For that sort of story, you'll need to see Father Quont and offer him your tales. Look, that doesn't mean the deed can't be mentioned at all; you just have to be tactful about your descriptions. Same goes for foul language. Make up a euphemism or use the language tastefully. By that, I mean it must make a point, if I have to read a curse every four lines I'm dropping your story like those nasty smelling tumba guts.

Disciples and Sages receive first attention, and they alone can command my limited proofing time, and as such, I expect reciprocation. If we get to be too many, we'll set up a rotating system of critiques. For quality control, one in-depth critique is an absolute must, but 2-3 are more realistic. If you want to join the Shadow Guard, send me a PM if you have 4 pictures accepted to the site or have scribe status. I'll define those things better in a different post.

My critiquing style: First thing to note about my style, it is rather stringent. Passive voice, pretty much the bane of my existence, plagues most people's writing. There are indeed times to use it. Second thing to note, I am thorough. Like my dear brother, Quont, I will look for grammar, flow (readability), spelling, and other elements of writing mechanics, as well as the suitability for the Age and the fantasy world of Mernac.

My main goal, besides producing quality fantasy stories, will be to improve writing skills, my own and others. Let's face it, people, our "perfect" stories can always use a good overhaul. Writers have huge blind spots when it comes to their work. Don't even get me started on the actual published poo that slips through the cracks of cracked editors heads. I love editors, but I can think of many a book that should have his the slag pile and kept on sinking.

Check out the New Header Banner

Wahoo.

Oh, guess that's not a really dignified noise, but a happy one to be sure. The ever-talented Traesha kindly put the header together, so now you all can see what I look like, just in case you were curious.

Ryna chooses the Shadow Guard

For those of you who haven't met my darling spirit child, The Black Rose, Kataryna Vaelryn. All my children have interesting upbringings and backgrounds. Some scoff to think of an Assassin working with the Mother of Wisdom. Assassin and Killer are mere titles, just as Hero and Savior are titles. Depending upon your point of view a hero to some is just as easily a villain to others.

You're in for a real treat with the short recounting of Kat's last mortal moments. I will have my own reflections upon these events up soon enough.

Short excerpt:
The cold steel of the sword stabbed into Ryna as she dealt her killing blow to her opponent. She staggered backwards under the pain and dropped her sword. Her hands pressed against her wound and she looked down at the blood spilling out. She felt her knees buckle and slowly she fell to the ground. Grey eyes looked up at the target her murderer, now dead, had meant to kill: Arumbus.

Find the whole tale here.

Terees's Comments on Tipping

Did you know gods get paid? Ha, neither did I, but at Mernac, they do. Now one may wonder why such an oddity occurs. In short, to benefit the ridiculous amounts of talent coming through. Besides cool art and writing contests. Members have the opportunity to show their appreciation to favorite works by tipping the artisan or writer. So why do gods get paid? Well, to tip more, of course.

A foretaste of what's to come on the LTF Blog

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the LTF Blog will be under new management. In the meantime, here's the sort of thing you can expect there and here as well.

Title: The Mothers and the Fathers

Author: Rick

Permission to use: Yes

Narrator: Terees

I will begin at the beginning, by introducing you to the gods. To understand Mernac, you must first understand her creators, shapers, rulers. There’s a war on in the heavens, if you hadn’t heard. Miroden, once peaceful home to all twenty gods, changed forevermore when my sister, Siberlee, left to mourn the child she could not have. Don’t get me started on that, I’ll cry. I’m tired of crying, of mourning, of fighting. Let’s move on to happier times and places.

The legends you will read here in the coming weeks and moons will probably mention my brothers and sisters. We’re quite meddlesome when we want to be, especially Roadius. But enough from me, let us hear from one of the Scribes and Sages who know such things…

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Not even the mighty Fire Dragon, Kalos knows where or how and came into being, and that majestic creature knows more truth than all the combined Sages in Mernac. It is however, known that they created 20 Gods to enjoy and marvel at the wondrous world that they had created. It is even suspected that these 20 Gods were and children, but only Kalos would know this for sure, and he has never spoken on that matter.

Of the 20 Gods, there were two that were the brightest and most charismatic and they naturally became the leaders: Siberlee and Barak. For centuries, these two ruled the Gods and Mernac in unison with great mercy, charity, and order. It is thought that they may have even been lovers, as one was never seen without the other. The two respected each other, loved each other, and respected each other - for each of them had qualities the other did not possess and each made the other joyful. Under their combined rule, Mernac prospered and grew. All was well, until the advent of Man.

Siberlee had wanted to have children, but for many millennia this did not come to pass. It is said that being overly melancholy about her inability to have a child, Siberlee left the heavens and descended to Mernac to live with the creatures and beasts, for there were not yet races with souls on Mernac. Siberlee went to the creatures and beasts that she and the other 19 gods had created to love them, to nurture them, to try and fill the hole that was in her childless soul.

Barak was devastated to be alone without Siberlee for the first time in eternity. His loss almost drove him to leave this plane, but the other Gods who had remained in the heavens, who loved him dearly, consoled him and distracted him until they devised a plan so that Siberlee would return to them all.

The 19 remaining gods knew that the only way Siberlee would return was if

She could she could have a child.Though the powers of the Gods were mighty, even in those times, they did not yet have the power to create life, only the combined powers of The One and The Other could do that in that lost time. The Gods could not even ask, for The One only spoke through and to Siberlee, just as it is to this day. Siberlee had hidden herself well, somewhere deep in the jungles of the Tian Islands and her magic was so strong she could be found by none.

To overcome this, the 19 remaining Gods determined that each of them must sacrifice a part of themselves and combine it together to create a life and the child that Siberlee so desired. Each provided that part of themselves they felt was the most important to them, which explains why the Mothers and Fathers, even today, are each missing a part of their earth-bound bodies.

Canola gave her ears, though music was her passion. Kala her Heart, though love was the most important thing to her, Elsen gave his legs, though wandering and running was his obsession, and so forth through all 18 of the gods, save Barak.

Barak knew that even with all the parts that the other Gods had contributed it would not be enough. The most important part was still missing. The Soul. For the Gods to be successful Barak would need to sacrifice his soul.

It is written that this is the first Decision of Good to ever be made. A decision of doing what is thought to serve a greater good, regardless of the consequences. Barak made the Decision quickly, for his love for Siberlee was great. The result was the creation of Man on Bella 1st in the first year of recorded history.

Siberlee was immediately consumed with love for her child, the Race of Man. So consumed that she barely even realized the terrible changes that had occurred in Barak. For any beast without a soul, even though it be a God, is a dangerous and needful creature. The once happy and joyous Barak had become sullen and resentful. He was not evil, at that time, but he was empty, for where does one store the love and goodness that sustains life if one is without a soul? For Barak, there now was no place, and the cavity that once held one of the most beautiful souls any of the Planes had ever seen was slowly filling with dark emotions. With none of the joyous emotions that give balance to a being he quickly sank into that godless abyss of self pity that always leads to evil.

With Gods, just as with Man, if there is one in a group with a strong emotion, the emotion spreads with the speed of tallow weeds in a meadow during spring. The strongest dark emotion that consumed Barak was jealousy. Jealousy that his beloved Siberlee dedicated so much of her time to her new child, The Race of Man. Jealousy of how much love she showed for them. Jealousy that it was in fact, his spirit that had been used for the souls buried in the Race of Man; the remnants of his soul in these strange new creatures that Siberlee really loved.

And as it came to pass, this jealousy spread, and many of the other Gods also began to feel strong resentment for this unique thing that only Siberlee had.

It is suspected by those who have studied the words of Kalos that this strife even affected The One and The Other. The One, was ecstatic that Siberlee was so happy. The Other, however, was not pleased with the fact that it was now Siberlee who was garnering all the praise and attention of his other Gods, let alone the complete adoration of any born to the Race of Man. However, The One and The Other did agree on one thing: that the jealousy that was growing daily among the Gods must cease.

Together, they worked through an entire moon's cycle to create 19 more races, one for each of the remaining Gods. The completion of these creations was timed so that early in the first year of Mernac’s sparsely recorded history it would be complete at the time when not one, but both of Mernac’s moons was full on the same night. It was this night that they gave these new races to their children as a gift. With this gift came responsibility. The responsibility of developing and protecting the souls of all those born to the race that each God became a patron of.

My people, the Murmil, grew into great thinkers and honor-bound people. Most make me proud to call them mine, but occasionally, one such as Charnos Dekari and his Eikari, Taldor, bring me much pain. Overall, I guess they have done well for themselves, the Murmil that is. I’m afraid I have been rather neglectful as a patron deity. There is just so much to think about and so few thousand years in which to think.

For over 600 seasons, each of the 20 Gods was happy and busy placing members of the race of which they were the patron in different locations throughout Mernac's diverse geography. However even though the Gods were happy, the conflict that had begun between The One and The Other grew steadily more intense. The conflict centered on how to best protect and develop the new races that were populating their world. The Other, felt that these new creatures should be guided and controlled, told how to best live and survive in Mernac. The One, however, believed in free will and what she called The Decision of Good, that each race must be left to their own devices and she believed that ultimately they would find the best way to live, based on their own decisions.

The Battle of "The Matter of Choice" as documented in the Book of Tennor festered as an infected wound and the love between them evaporated into a scab of pain and resentment. To bolster their positions, both The One and The Other began to recruit the 20 Gods into their opposing camps on this matter.

All that know of this tale, know that this is what led to the ‘Dissention of the Gods’ era as is documented in the Book of Govy, and ultimately led to The Other, and thirteen of the Gods being cast out of the heavens on the glorious day that would be known as Libertesious, on Bella 1^st 666.

Oh, glorious day indeed. The day when all my fears came to fruition. The day when I and my sisters raised our hands and set our hearts against our brothers and The Other. The day I cannot sleep without remembering with tears. The one day I wish my curse covered, but it does not. I remember all too well that day.

It is on this day that whatever evil and pettiness existed in the Heavens was cast out, forever being chained to the depths of the underworld or to wander aimlessly throughout the harshest of Mernac's geography. This is why, even to this day, The Races of the Light consider the number 666 as one to be revered, and this number is considered lucky by all but the most ignorant in Mernac. The Races of the Dark consider the events that occurred on 666 blasphemous, an insult to the power and the ultimate destiny of The Other to rule Mernac. It was the beginnings of all the wars of Mernac that were to follow for the next 10,000 Seasons.

Ah, mortals are so simple. Give them some ale and a day to be proud of and they’ll cheer themselves hoarse. I understand the need for morale, but such celebrations aren’t exactly keeping the peace down on Mernac. While the Races of the Light cheer, the Races of the Dark brood, and that brooding has turned to action. Those actions have led to much pain and death, and stolen whatever joy I might have taken in such a remembrance day.

On the separation of the Gods, these beings came to be known by different titles. The ones remaining loyal to The One became known as The Mothers. The others that followed Barak became known as The Fathers.

There was a time when we were simply gods, friends, lovers, family in heart.

The Mothers

The Mothers are known to be the leaders of the races of good, sometimes known as the Races of light or the Races of Man.

Siberlee

The Mother of Nature and all that is good.Matriarch to the Race of Man and the Leader of the Mothers.

Canola

The Mother of Music and Dance. Matriarch of the Faerie Race.

Sola

The Mother of Life and Light. Matriarch of the Elvin Races.

Dulan

The Mother of healing and compassion. Matriarch of The Fur Race.

Kala

The Mother of love and desire. Matriarch of the Merfolk Race.

Witriss

The Mother of Virtue and Strength. Matriarch of the Dwarf Race.

Terees

The Mother of Wisdom and harmony. Matriarch of the Murmil Race.

The Fathers

The Father are known to be the leaders of the Races of Evil, sometimes known as the Races of the Dark or the Races of the Beast.

Barak

The Father of all that is Evil. Also known as The Father of Darkness. Patriarch of The Undead Race.

Quont

The Father Of Lust. Patriarch of the Dark Fae Race.

Tellen

The Father or War. Patriarch of the Troll Race.

Bu

The Father of Death and Destruction. Patriarch of the Azeman Race.

Trajen

The Father of Jealousy. Patriarch of the Acquill Race.

Gorb

The Father of Greed.Patriarch of the Ogre Race.

Werk

The Father of Pain and Disease. Patriarch of the Sectis Race.

Abuba

The Father of Indecision. Patriarch of the Orc Race.

Tul

The Father of Anger. Patriarch of the Dabbit Race.

Elsen

The Father of the Ethereal Elements. Patriarch of the Dark Elf Race.

Roadius

The Father of Mischief and Humor. Patriarch of the Gnome Race.

Picu

The Father of Excess. Patriarch of the Giant Race.

Linthur

The Father of Revenge. Patriarch of the Wookalar Race.