Thanks For All The Birthday Wishes!

Yesterday was a double birthday in our family. Both myself and my step-daughter share the 13th as a birthday. This week has been filled with birthday wishes from friends and family, and the busy schedule has kept me from putting together the last Magic in Laeryk's Proving post. I'll get it posted as soon as I have time, I promise.

In the meantime, as a mini-update, Smashwords has been hard at work distributing Laeryk's Proving to other retailers. To date, it has shipped to Kobo, Sony, Apple, and Barnes & Noble, and I'm hoping it will be shipping to a few other retailers either today or tomorrow. Each retailer takes a different amount of time after receiving ebooks to make them available on their website. Apple, for example, manually reviews all books from publishers and distributors to make certain they meet their requirements, a process which can take upwards of two weeks depending on their current backlog. I've been checking daily to see where Laeryk's Proving has appeared.

So far, only Kobo has the book listed, but hey, that's a great start! Kobo represents approximately 46% of the marketshare in Canada, and roughly 50% in France! (Marketshares reflect January and Spring of 2012, respectively.) This gives Laeryk's Proving a chance at some international exposure, and I'm pleased to see my book for sale at their site!

If you use a Kobo reader, of a Kobo reader app, and have been waiting for the chance to buy Laeryk's Proving at your preferred retailer, just click here to go to the entry for Laeryk's Proving.

If you use a different ebook device, and you're still waiting for Laeryk's Proving to show up at your retailer, why not pass the time with a free sample, available in formats compatible with all the major eReaders, from Smashwords.com? Just click here to go to Smashwords.com and download the free sample, or go ahead and make a purchase!

One last thing before I go, even though I often forget to say it amid all the birthday wishes I receive this time of year, Happy Valentines Day to everyone who celebrates it! I hope your day is full of all the things that you and your loved ones enjoy most!

Laeryk's Proving is Premium!

Laeryk's Proving has been approved for Smashwords' Premium Catalog, which means that it will soon be distributed to a number of new retailers, including Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, and more!

This is thrilling news, because it means that even more people will potentially discover Laeryk's Proving and get a chance to try it out! The book has already been generating some interest at Smashwords' website, so I'm excited to see what will happen when it receives an even larger distribution.

Unfortunately, Smashwords and Amazon appear to still be working completing their technical integration, so there is no time frame for when Laeryk's Proving will appear in the Kindle Marketplace. While this is unfortunate, Kindle users shouldn't feel left out in the cold. As I'm typing this post, Laeryk's Proving is happily loaded into my phone's Kindle App, and it looks great!

"How," you ask? Simple! I downloaded it from Smashwords.com!

If you're holding out on buying the book because you want to see it from a different retailer, please don't. The .mobi file is available for purchase and download right now, and it took no effort to set it up in my Kindle app. I just moved the folder from my phone's Download folder into the Kindle folder and voila!

CLICK HERE to visit the Laeryk's Proving page at Smashwords and purchase the book in whichever DRM-free format you prefer! Hey, while you're there, why not check out some other Smashwords authors and see if there's anything else that you like? Having more authors to try out is always a good thing, in my opinion.

Magic in Laeryk's Proving: Part Three

Despite the rather long hiatus, I will be returning to a bit of setting information for Laeryk's Proving and finishing up the articles on the different magic Gifts. It's been quite a while though, so if you need a refresher (or if you missed the earlier posts completely), you can use the links below to get you back up to speed.

Magic in Laeryk's Proving Part One

Magic in Laeryk's Proving Part Two

The Alkesarim Gift

The Alkesarim Gift is the gift of physical and biological transmutation. Alkesarim and Alkesarimiin create special Elixers which imbue a single act of transmutation upon whosoever imbibes of their contents. One could simply say that these Gifted make "magic potions," and indeed their detractors say just that, but the actual process is more complicated than simply making a brew and pouring into a glass vial. The act of creating an Elixir (which is the name formally used by the Triumvirate for any concoction created using the Alkesarim Gift, regardless of the form it takes) requires that the Alkesarim pass a small measure of the energy of their Gift into the Elixir, creating the magical effect that Elixir will create when consumed. The actual amount of energy required is quite minuscule when compared to the energy required to create even the most minor effects using the Saritar Gift, but the process of channeling and focusing that energy is much slower for the Alkesarim. The creation of an Elixir can take hours, sometimes days. Often, the energy used by the Alkesarim to create the Elixir is actually replenished by the time the Elixir is completed, leading many younger Alkesarim to feel that their powers have no personal cost to them. Wiser Alkesarim recognize that such hubris can cause a foolish Alkesarim to overreach their own capabilities, attempting to create too many Elixirs at any given time and causing disastrous results to both the Elixirs and the Alkesarim.

While the creation of an Elixir has only a minor cost to the Alkesarim, the same is not true when someone actually uses an Elixir. Imbibing an Elixir consumes the personal energy of the drinker, whether they are Gifted or not. Indeed, a sufficiently powerful Elixir could kill a non-Gifted imbiber by burning away at their life force before an effect is sufficiently powered. The Gifted are normally more resilient, and can often handle the loss of energy by bolstering it with power from the Gifts. Alkesarim are even able to convert their personal energies with extreme efficiency when imbibing an Elixir, allowing them to use an Elixir with less of a cost to their energy than other Gifted.

Once the energy needed to power the Elixir's effects has been supplied, a physical transmutation of the subject's body occurs. The effects are many and varied. Some Elixirs enhance the strength and durability of a person's muscles, giving anyone who consumes the Elixir superhuman strength. Others might speed up the recovery process when someone is trying to heal injuries, though these Elixirs are rarely used for non-Gifted (the amount of energy needed often outweighs the benefit of the increased recovery time). Likewise, an imbiber might find their body better insulated, helping them to retain body heat and function in cold environments.

More esoteric effects can also be created. These Elixirs typically require that a Gifted make use of them, and often are safely used only by Alkesarim. These Elixirs impose radical transmutations upon the body, creating new organs to generate their unnatural effects. For example, an Elixir could create a special gland in the windpipe that allows the imbiber to exhale flame. Such an Elixir would also need to protect the rest of the subject from the heat of their fiery breath, or the imbiber would incinerate themselves with their first exhalation. Other Elixirs might cause spinnerets  to grow in the subject's forearms, allowing them to shoot webs at people. Or perhaps an Elixir might cause the subject's nails to lengthen and harden into deadly talons.

No matter their effect, Elixirs always have two limitations. The first is that their effects are always temporary; the human body is adept at repairing itself into its original state, and no Elixir has sufficient energy to perpetuate a transmutation forever. This does not mean that negative consequences of using an Elixir necessarily go away when the transmutation ends. Indeed, if an Elixir gave a subject the ability to breathe fire without protecting them from that same fire, the burns the subject would suffer from simply using the transmutation would remain even when the other effects of the Elixir had worn off. The second limitation is that all Elixir require a biological component to function. An Alkesarim could not create an Elixir, pour it onto the ground, and expect something to happen. The ground would simply get wet, and the Elixir would be wasted. They could, however, create an Elixir which grew a special gland to secrete a substance which dissolves stone from the subject's hands, as such an Elixir would cause a transmutation in a biological organism.

(There are some who say that pouring an Elixir on the ground would allow any plant life in the area to be transmuted by the Elixir once it was absorbed through the plant's roots, but no evidence exists that this is the case. Most plants seem governed by an attached spirit, falling under the purview of the Vordanitar Gift.)

Further, no Elixir can create any effect resembling "mind control." The transmutation of actual thoughts or free will is beyond any of the Gifts used by humans. That said, an Elixir could alter the chemical balances within a subject's mind, creating strong feelings of lust or affecting their judgement in a manner similar to alcohol. These effects still allow the imbiber to resist commands, but can make them less likely to do so.

Prejudice Against Alkesarim

There exists a certain amount of prejudice toward those with the Alkesarim Gift. To the common man or women, these Gifted are thought of as "witches" and shunned. There was a time when Alkesarim created Elixirs which functioned as poisons, affecting anyone who either inadvertently ingested or otherwise had the Elixirs enter their body.As with any other Elixir, a transmutation would then occur, fueled by the victim's life force. Many of these poisonous Elixirs were lethal, creating transmutations that warped the bones of the victim until their body was crushed, or transmuted their lungs into gills. Some of the crudest poison Elixirs simply harbored effects too powerful for the victim to create, burning their life force out on purpose.

Though the Triumvirate had taken a harsh stance toward any Alkesarim or Alkesarimiin who creates these poison Elixirs, the fear that they might be transmuted against their wishes has led most non-Gifted to view those with the Alkesarim Gift with suspicion. People still whisper of the witches who poisoned village wells, turning anyone who drank from the wells into hideous monsters. Despite the Triumvirate's best efforts, it has been unable to remove this fearful image from the minds of most non-Gifted outside of Fardan. Inside the homeland of the Triumvirate, the Alkesarim and their Elixirs are welcomed in public. Outside that nation, however, revealing oneself and an Alkesarim can mean facing an angry mob intent on burning the Gifted at the stake.

To avoid this suspicion, many Alkesarim and Alkesarimiin hide in plain sight, taking on rolls such as apothecaries, medicine women, or other forms of healers. These disguises allow them to create "medicines" and "tonics" which are far more effective than what the common healer can create. Often those who suspect that the Alkesarim for what he is will keep their suspicions to themselves if it means potentially losing access to the medicines the "witch" could have provided for them. Regardless, many Alkesarim prefer to travel the road of caution and keep their abilities secret.

Eternal Youth Elixirs

The Alkesarim provide an invaluable service to the Triumvirate and their fellow Gifted: they create Elixirs designed to retard and delay aging. These Elixirs, could with naturally longer lifespan of the Gifted, can allowed a Gifted to survive upwards of two to three-hundred years. The usual limitations of Elixirs apply to Eternal Youth Elixirs, however, and a constant supply is needed as a Gifted lives beyond their normal lifespan. When a Gifted stops imbibing the Eternal Youth Elixirs, the body quickly ages to the state it would have been without the interference of the Elixir. For those who have lived past their natural lifespans, this proves fatal.

Preponderance of Alkesarimiin

There are far more Alkesarimiin than Alkesarim within the Triumvirate. The ratio is something like 3:1. Many theories as to why women are more likely to develop this Gift have been proposed, but none have been conclusively proven to the exclusion of any of the others. The most popular theory is that the ability of the female body to create and grow life within the womb gives women a predisposition toward this Gift, as their bodies already adjust to the rather significant changes pregnancies create. At one point there were several studies proposed to investigate the validity of this theory, but the Arakon firmly opposed them, and those who were caught violating his ban on the research were severely dealt with.

The Other Gifts

Though there are no known Sartitar or Saritariin who possess the Alkesarim Gift, the opposite is not true. Indeed, the rare Alkesarim who possess a second Gift (and that amount is perhaps 1 out of every 100) often possess a small degree of the Saritar Gift, though they often require constructs such as spellspheres to help them actually use their Saritar Gift. An even rarer number of Alkesarim show signs of the Vordanitar Gift, allowing them to see, but only rarely Compel, spirits. Though they keep it to themselves, many Alkesarim and Alkesarimiin are amused that the arrogant Saritars seem incapable of using the Alkesarim Gift, while they remain capable of using both of the other two Gifts.

Reminder: Laeryk's Proving, Book One of the Saga of Thorns is now available for sale at Smashwords. Click here to go to the book's page at Smashwords.com and download the free sample or purchase the full book in your choice of format now!

Laeryk's Proving, Book One of the Saga of Thorns, is now available at Smashwords.com!

Hey folks, great news! Laeryk's Proving has been uploaded to Smashwords.com and is now available to purchase or try a free sample at their website! The epub file is currently under review to make certain that it meets the requirements for inclusion in Smashword's Premium Catalog (which will then distribute the book to other sellers such as Amazon and iTunes), but you can still purchase it in the format of your choosing through Smashwords while it goes through the verification process!

Check out Laeryk's Proving at Smashwords now!

Long Time...

For whatever reason, I have never been able to regularly post to a blog, no matter how determined I am to make consistent and regular postings. Consequently, it has been... a "while" since my last blog post, but I'm updating this blog again to resume some postings about the world of Valdaran, but also to announce that Laeryk's Proving, Book One of the Saga of Thorns is about to be published as an ebook via Smashwords.com!

This process has taken longer than I expected, but I will be uploading the manuscript to Smashwords no later than this evening, and assuming that there is no problem with their automatic formatting (aka, "the Meatgrinder") I expect that Laeryk's Proving will be hitting Amazon, iTunes, B&N and many other distributors within the next few weeks, though Smashwords should have it available much earlier.

I'll make an announcement here as soon as I have links to product pages available to me to let everyone know that the book is available. I will also be releasing some more information and previews over the next few weeks to wet everyone's whistle. I'm very excited (ok, and a little nervous as well)!

Also, I hope to have everything finished and squared away to release Gavain's Proving, a short story which takes place approximately a year before Laeryk's Proving, within the next month (hopefully sooner, but we'll see). Gavain's Proving will be released as a free ebook to serve as a longer sample of my writing for readers who want more than the free sample of Laeryk's Proving and want to see how I frame a story before they pay for the book. Gavain's Proving was originally offered as a bonus reward for the Kickstarter campaign, but I'm pleased to offer it to everyone! I've also been thinking about writing a short fiction anthology set in the world of the Saga of Thorns to help expand the world and its background beyond where I plan on exploring in Laeryk's books. There is a good chance that Gavain's Proving will also be included in such an anthology for the sake of completeness, along with plenty of new material for readers to enjoy!

Magic in Laeryk's Proving: Part Two

Last time I spoke generally about magic and some of the societies supporting it and/or practicing it in Laeryk's Proving. For this entry I want to hone in on the one of the magical Gifts specifically, and talk about what that Gift allows people to do.

First, I'd like to explain a linguistic note regarding the book. The names of the three magical Gifts are part of the "First Tongue," the original language spoken by humanity. You can make parallels to The Wheel of Time's "Old Tongue" if you like; they'll provide excellent context for the First Tongue. One of those conventions is that female-gendered words in the First Tongue have a different suffix than male-gendered words. Male-gendered words and gender-neutral words do not include a specific suffix, while female-gendered words end with an -iin. So when referring individuals with the Saritar Gift (the Gift we'll discuss today), a man would be called a Saritar and a woman would be called a Saritariin. The use of the word Saritar when referring to the Gift itself is neutral. This same convention exists for the other two Gifts.

The Saritar Gift

Each of the three magical Gifts found in humanity focus in some form on the concept of transmutation. In the case of the Saritar Gift, this transmutation involves energy. Saritar and Saritariin are capable of taking an existing form of energy in their vicinity and transmuting it into another form of energy, and then directing that energy. This tends to create a visual effect, making it the flashiest of the three Gifts, often creating the misconception that it is the most powerful of the Gifts. Indeed, many Saritar and Saritariin are guilty of a certain hubris which leaves them believing that their powers are greater than the other Gifted, though this is not measurably true. On the other hand, explaining that to someone who can spontaneously transmute the kinetic and potential energies about them into heat energy, causing a large ball of fire to explode where you are standing, does not often work.

The Saritar Gift is capable of seemingly impossible feats. Effects like throwing fireballs, or bolts of lightning are certainly possible, but these are the crudest forms of using the Saritar power. The Gift's true strength is in its versatility. Saritar and Saritariin can combine multiple types of energy together to create multiple effects at once. A wall of fire with a component of physical force to prevent a trapped foe from escaping. A dome of air which not only stop arrows from striking the Saritar but also redirects the arrows back at the archers. Chains made of lightning which harm the bound victim, but also absorbs the victim's own kinetic energy to intensify the physical force of the chains, making the victim bound more tightly the more they struggle. Those with the Saritar Gift are able to seemingly create energy from nothing (which is untrue, but that is what the common man perceives it as), and require no outside aid or source for their power (unlike the other two Gifts, which require either an elixir or a spirit). This contributes to the mistaken sense of superiority those with the Saritar Gift often feel toward their fellow Gifted. The ultimate expression of the Saritar Gift is the ability to instantaneously travel from one place to another, but this teleportation is used sparingly due to the sheer difficulty in manifesting it (see below).

Weakness of the Saritar Gift

While the Saritar Gift is powerful, and has considerable advantages over the other two magical Gifts practiced by the Triumvirate, it is not without its faults. The most significant problems with this Gift are the emotional problems associated with its users, and the extreme fatigue it places on its Gifted.

Emotional Problems

Each Saritar and Saritariin is said to be "aspected" toward an element. Often, a Saritar will find an affinity for creating and manipulating energy aligned to that aspect. A fire-aspected Saritar might find it easier to transmute energy into heat and light, while an earth-aspected Saritariin may find that using kinetic force to move solids is easier for them. These aspects show no prevalence for gender; there are as many fire-aspected Saritar as there are fire-aspected Saritariin.

In addition to an affinity for manipulating energy related to their elemental aspect, Saritar and Saritariin also demonstrate common emotional traits linked to their aspects. As an example, Those with the Saritar Gift who are aspected toward fire tend to have fierce tempers, and are often angry at something. These emotional extremes are often severe, and often represent a danger to humanity. An angry, ill-tempered Saritar with an affinity for creating fire is generally not a positive thing for their community. One area of focus for Saritar and Saritariin undergoing training with the Triumvirate is gaining control over their aspect's emotional influence. This can never completely banish the effect - fire-aspected Saritar and Saritariin will always have short tempers and generally angry dispositions - but can help to minimize the effect or at least allow the Gifted to recognize the influence of their aspect on their emotions and hopefully allow them to look past it. Still, even other Gifted dislike having to bring bad news to a fire-aspect for fear of the reaction it may provoke.

Here is a list of the common elemental-aspects and their emotional effects displayed by Saritar and Saritariin:

• Fire: Fire-aspects are short tempered and angry individuals. They often snap at others or lose control of themselves in tense situations and feel that their Gift is stronger when used in anger. They often describe their Gift as a ball of fiery rage within themselves.
• Lightning: While not a "classic" element, Saritar and Saritariin with an affinity toward electrical effects are common enough to label this as an element. Just as lightning strikes in the flash of an eye, lightning-aspects are constantly in motion and are often impatient. They tend to grow frustrated that others cannot keep up with them. Their words sometimes run together because they are in such a hurry to get them out. Their Gift is often described as a tingling sensation running through their entire body, forcing them to keep moving.
• Earth: Earth-aspects tend to be stubborn and resolute. Once their mind is made up it is nearly impossible to change it. This makes them loyal friends and resolute enemies. Unfortunately, just as breaking through a stone wall often leaves the wall in ruin, events which cause earth-aspects to reevaluate their position on things often leave them nearly powerless with doubt. Their Gift is often described as resolute conviction.
• Water: Water-aspects often seem to be calm and at peace. They are in no hurry; everything will get taken care of in its own time and place. This is a dangerous misperception. Water-aspects are an example of extremes. When at peace they are calm as still water. When they are riled, they become as turbulent and fierce as a storm at sea. Many water-aspects try to emphasize serenity in their lives to avoid the chaotic maelstrom which can result when they are upset. Water-aspects also run the risk of crippling melancholy and depression. They describe their Gift as a vessel filled with liquid.
• Air: At one time, air-aspects and lightning-aspects were confused for one another. Air aspects like to keep themselves busy, to always be doing something. They aren't necessarily in a hurry to complete their task, they simply don't like having idle time on their hands, leading them to maintain a large number of projects at once so that they will always have something to work on. They also tend to dislike silence, filling it with words, leading many to believe that air-aspects babble. In truth, most are content if the air around them is filled with the sound of their work, but not all are so easily placated. This has caused some air-aspects to suggest that their is a "Sound-Aspect" emerging, but no serious credence has been given to this theory. Yet. Air-aspects describe their Gift as a sense of lightness and the constant feeling of a cool breeze at their backs.

Fatigue

Each of the Gifts require a source of energy to power their transmutations. For the Saritar and Saritariin, this energy comes from within themselves, investing a small measure of their own lifeforce into their powers. Normally those with the Saritar Gift are careful about how much energy they channel through their Gift, allowing them plenty of time to recuperate from its use but in times of duress, such as battle, they can drain their own lifeforces to dangerous levels. This drain is the largest limitation on the abilities of the Saritar and Saritariin; they are capable of amazing effects, but may lack the personal ability to sustain them, or even enough energy to safely create the effect in the first place. For example, theoretically it is possible for any Saritar or Saritariin to fly, but in reality it is such a complicated and taxing procedure that many would be unable to even lift themselves off the ground, and those who could would quickly lose the ability to sustain their flight. Conversely, creating discs of force to use as steps is a much easier effect, allowing a Saritar to ascend when needed, but requiring them to use regular human locomotion to actually move. Similarly, creating a bolt of lightning to strike a single foe is simple; creating a storm of lightning to strike at an entire army is simply too much for any Saritar or Saritariin to handle.

To combat this disadvantage inherent in their Gifts, the Triumvirate has developed a technique for creating a physical vessel to store energy from one or more Gifts. These vessels can then be used to cause an effect specific to the vessel. The common name for these vessels are "spellspheres." While they are difficult to create, the Triumvirate still produces a steady amount of spellspheres, specifically to allow members of the Triumvirate to quickly return to its halls each year so that they can prove they have adhered to the Triumvirate's laws while away. Anyone with even a slight Saritar Gift may use a spellsphere, but they must be trained in the spellsphere's use; misusing a spellsphere will result in the energy being catastrophically released, unleashing destruction to a wide area. Spellspheres used for instantaneous transportation contain enough energy to annihilate a city. Obviously, the Triumvirate tightly regulates the possession and use of spellspheres to prevent any accidents from happening; thus far, they have been successful.

Weak Saritar Gifted

The Triumvirate sends out its members to test children for signs of Gifts on a regular basis, particularly in Fardan, where such tests are held multiple times a year. One of their main justifications for this is that even if a child possesses a Saritar Gift considered too weak for the Triumvirate to train (in other words, even minor transmutations would nearly kill the Gifted), these children still possess the aspects and associated emotional issues that stronger Gifted share. Parents of such children are offered a choice by the Triumvirate; they may send the child to Fardan to receive training on controlling these emotional problems, or the Triumvirate representatives will attempt to teach the parents some techniques which might help their children cope with their aspect's influence.

Children sent to Fardan are often offered a further choice. They can choose to simply learn what they need to and return home, or they can stay and join the Triumvirate's Legionnaires, which is made up entirely of men and women whose Saritar Gift was too weak for training. Each Legionnaire is tattooed with special sigils designed to store and enhance the energy naturally channeled through their Saritar Gift. While the Legionnaires still lack the ability to transmute energy in the way "full" Saritar and Saritariin can, the energy from these sigils can be fed back into the Legionnaire's body, giving them bursts of enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, and perception. This ability, combined with extensive combat training, makes the Legionnaire's some of the deadliest infantry in the world. The Triumvirate uses the Legionnaires to help defend both itself and Fardan, and also to hunt for servants of the Surok'tarn. Being offered the opportunity to become a Legionnaire is considered a great honor for both the parents and the child in Fardan, though children from other lands often don't see it that way. Almost every child from Fardan agrees to join; recruitment from other nations is small.

Legionnaires suffer from the same risk of expending too much of their lifeforce as other Saritar and Saritariin, though their sigils help minimize this risk by creating a reserve of energy for them to use. A Legionnaire who has exhausted the energy in their sigils can continue trying to empower themselves, but they will quickly exhaust their lifeforce since their Gifts cannot channel it effectively. Legionnaires who have exhausted their sigils also tend to find themselves less effective in combat, as their training has assumed they will possess the enhancements to their speed and strength. Experienced Legionnaires often focus more on their training to offset the risk of their sigils running out of power.

As a side note, there have been several experiments to see if the using similar sigils on "full" Saritar and Saritariin can create a reserve of power for the Gifted which would allow them expand their abilities. In all instances, these sigils curtailed the Saritar Gift almost entirely, and further study into this area has been stopped by the Triumvirate.

The Other Gifts

One of the things which has lead the Triumvirate to believe that the magical Gifts are related to one another is the possibility of Gifted possessing more than one Gift. This is not a common thing, but it is not unknown. In all cases but one, each Gifted has a Gift which acts as their primary Gift, leaving their secondary Gift considerably weaker. Only the Triumvirate's leader, the Arakon, possesses all three Gifts, each at equal strength, and the Arakon is aberration the Triumvirate cannot recreate.

Saritar and Saritariin who possess an additional Gift most commonly possess the Vordanitar Gift, the Gift of Compelling Spirits. In most cases, this Gift is only strong enough to allow the Gifted to see spirits, though a very rare few Saritar and Saritariin can Compel minor spirits. This is almost always regarded as a useless ability by those with the Saritar Gift, as its effectiveness is negligible when compared to the power of their Saritar Gift. There is no record of a Saritar ever possessing the Alkesarim Gift, though it is commonly accepted that such a Gift combination must have happened, perhaps before the formation of the Triumvirate. There are other theories which say that the Sharynwyn Marshes probably has Saritar and Saritariin with the Alkesarim Gift, but the lack of communication with the Sharynwyn people make this difficult to confirm.

Kickstarter Update: My kickstarter project for Laeryk's Proving is now live! To take a look at it, go to this link:
 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1013343394/grant-hoeflinger-writes-his-first-book-laeryks-pro

Next Time: Part 3 of our series on magic, focusing on the Alkesarim Gift!

Magic in Laeryk's Proving: Part One

Most fantasies have some form of magic, and Laeryk's Proving is no exception. In Laeryk's Proving, magic comes in a variety of forms. The most common magic in the world are the magical "Gifts" practiced by humanity. I'll be making separate posts for each of the various types of magic, but today's post will concern itself more with who is practicing magic.

The largest organization formally practicing magic is the Triumvirate, an association Gifted humans who police the world of Laeryk's Proving to make certain that the Gifts are not being abused, and to make certain that the servants of the entities known as the Surok'tarn are kept from returning their masters to the world. The Triumvirate is based in the nation of Fardan where it maintains its Academy. In several nations, including Fardan, Deldanare, Coribhal and Haddar, many children undergo testing at an early age to identify whether they possess any of the three Gifts. Children identified with sufficiently strong Gifts are often recruited to come to the Academy where they are trained to master their powers. In Fardan, where the Triumvirate wields extreme political power, even those children with weak Gifts are often sent to the Academy, where they are trained to become the Triumvirate's Legionnaires, the armed muscle of the Triumvirate.

The Triumvirate is ruled by a single Gifted, the Arakon. Each Arakon possesses all three of the Gifts (whereas few Gifted have more than even one Gift), and is tasked both with leading the Triumvirate and with maintaining a constant vigil to watch for signs the Surok'tarn are returning. Each Arakon lives until their successor has been found and trained to assume their duties, no matter how long this process takes. The current Arakon is a wizened old man named Alchamedus, and has lived for over three hundred years, far longer than any other Arakon before him. Alchamedus appears to have lost interest in directly leading the Triumvirate, concentrating all of his energies on his vigil, and leading the Council of Three to rule in his absence. The Council of Three is made up of the three leaders of each of the Gifts in the Triumvirate, and traditionally only act as advisers to the Arakon. The current Council of Three appear to find Alchamedus' absent quite to their liking, and some wonder if they would return power to the Arakon if he demanded it.

While the Triumvirate makes up the bulk of humanity's Gifted, it has found itself unable to infiltrate into the land known as the Sharynwyn Marshes. The Sharynwyn people are ruled by their so-called Witch Queen. Each Witch Queen is a powerful Gifted in her own right, and has always been adamant that the Triumvirate stay out of the affairs of the Sharynwyn Marshes. The Witch Queen's most loyal servants, warriors called the Hunters of the Slain, are a match for the Triumvirate's Legionnaires; the Triumvirate respects that the losses it would incur should it press the issue of the Sharynwyn Marsh's independence from its direction is far more than they consider reasonable. Meanwhile, no one, not even the Arakon, knows what goes on inside the borders of the Sharynwyn Marshes. Whispers in the halls of the Triumvirate say that the Sharynwyn had discovered Gifts no one else has ever dreamed of. If this is so, the Witch Queen keeps it hidden.

Next Time: Part Two will cover the first of the magical Gifts, the Saritar Gift.