Ardan Physiology

Important Note: The bulk of this has either been written into continuity with the publication of Book I, back in 2017, or it can be found in the subsequent (unreleased) books. Either way, I’ve since had the information sent off and looked at with a couple of changes made here and there for the sake of realism. While I might write Science Fantasy, I love the idea of adding realism into my story, and if that realism can be double-checked for the sake of consistency, then I’m all the more satisfied. 

Also note: Obviously, some stuff (like the reality warping ability) is relegated to storyteller fiat, but the rest of it, though odd, is relatively sound. 

Ardan Physiology 

Introduction:

Overview: The Ardans are a humanoid race from the planet Ardis in the Dorastis System. Outwardly, they resemble humans with comparable genotypes and phenotypes. However, internally, several differences separate them from humans. 

Gestation: Ten Months

Lifespan: 225 years. Due to a genetic differential found within 10% of the population, this number increases from 250 to over 975+ years of age. 

External Differences:

Hair & Fingernails: Ardan body hair is highly similar to vellum hair, closer to the skin, and notably finer in appearance, with terminal hair concentrated on the face, scalp, underarms, and groin. Ardan's hair grows at half the rate of human hair, with fingernails growing at a similar pace. 

Eye, Skin, and Hair Color: While these traits share similarities with those found in humans, there are subtle differences regarding gene expression. Blue, Green, and Gray tend to be more common, with a greater range of expression in the variety of shades and hues. Though brown and dark brown eyes are present, they tend to be concentrated near the equatorial regions of the planet. In other geographical regions, there are varieties of amber, hazel, and honey. 

Hair Color: Hair colors and varieties tend to be comparable to those of humans, with some differences. Auburn, blonde, and red tend to be more common, with a greater variety of shades. Brown and Black are present, with brown tending toward lighter shades, and black hair localized to various geographic locations where solar energy is most abundant or direct. 

Skin Color: Though their skin color is comparable to that of humans, its range is slightly narrower, from exceptionally light to a medium brown, and every possible shade in between. This is due primarily to Ardis’s distance from its parent star. Being a little further away, it has 8% dimmer midday light than Earth. 

Internal:

Overview: 

The Ardans are a species native to the planet Ardis, a world comparable to Earth. Their species arose upon their homeworld 1.26 million years ago from the present, interbreeding out and outcompeting their archaic contemporaries to become the dominant species on the planet. Possessing substantially higher tolerances to lower temperatures and radiation than humans, their internal physiology is comparable, though it varies somewhat. 

Genetics:

Ardan DNA is a tightly coiled quadruplex (quadruple-helix) with a right-winding zigzag pattern, repeating every other base pair with little difference in width. The karyotype consists of seventy-six chromosomes arranged into nineteen homologous tetrads. With harmful mutations and other degraded genetic material edited out and deleted, the final tetrad fuses into pairs, giving rise to two genders. On average, the Ardan X Chromosome has over 1800 genes, while the Ardan Y Chromosome has 1790. 

All Ardans have antifreeze and radioprotective proteins, making them extremely tolerant and/or heavily resistant to the deleterious effects of low temperatures and radiation. 

Circulatory System: 

Ardan red blood cells contain a higher hemoglobin concentration—370 million hemoglobin biomolecules—than what is found in human red blood cells: 270 million. Notably darker and thicker, it is three times more efficient at absorbing, transporting, and reverse binding oxygen than human red blood cells. With slightly less oxygen in their homeworld—19.7% as opposed to 20.95% on Earth—they respire without issue. 

The pulmonary system evolved into a pair of four-chambered hearts working in tandem to channel blood thoroughly throughout the body. They are somewhat more muscular, flexible, and considerably more resilient than the human heart. Though the right is primary in most Ardans, it is not uncommon to find the left primary, and in exceedingly rare circumstances, neither one is primary, both beating in perfect tandem. None of these variations leads to complications. Regardless, the primary heart tends to be followed anywhere from one to three seconds afterward, with both working to remove carbon dioxide and other waste products, while oxygenating the tissues at a substantially high rate. 

Respiratory System:

Due to the presence of a duo-cardiovascular system, Ardan lungs are slightly smaller, but tetra-lobed, giving them a volumetric area 1.75 times greater than what’s found in human lungs. Highly developed and considerably refined, their alveoli are two and a half times more efficient at taking in, absorbing, and processing oxygen. The only other difference lies in the regenerative ability of the pulmonary alveolus; their lungs completely regenerate at five times the rate of human lungs. 

Immune System:

The Ardan immune system is considerably more aggressive, refined, resilient, and adaptable in comparison to the human immune system. Whereas Humans have an innate, general defense and adaptive immunity, Ardan biology adds to this by including what has been labeled as reactive and mutable. If the innate and general defense systems are unable to deal with the foreign antigen, reactive immunity is triggered. Known as J, P, and Q-Cells, these cytotoxic antibodies are equipped with a varied array of defenses designed to aggressively attack any harmful pathogens present in the body. Once a response has been made, mutable immunity is triggered, which is an advanced combination of the first four, learning almost instantly from any encounter, shaping, and altering responses to any foreign antigen, and is impossible to deceive. The only difference between the Human and Ardan adaptive immunity is that Ardan B and T cells are more aggressive and seemingly quasi-intelligent, learning from any encounter and genetically encoding all experiences for lifelong use as a biological multi-referential database. 

Under exceptional circumstances, Ardans rarely fall under any serious illness. Those foreign antigens that they come into contact with and interact with can trigger an initial response in a matter of minutes. Their bodies can withstand decades or more of punishment and hard living, hardily resisting even the most tenacious disease, even up to their moment of death. Due to the invariably refined nature of their immune system, autoimmune diseases, while theorized, are non-existent among their species. As a secondary effect of this, they do have a reasonable tolerance to poisons as their bodies process them like any other pathogen. However, they are not immune, with potent enough concentrations overwhelming their systems, incapacitating, or possibly killing them.      

Integumentary System: 

The Ardan Integumentary System is relatively like that found in humans. The only true difference is an extra skin layer called the mesodermis found between the epidermis and dermis. This layer plays a role in heat regulation, as well as fat-to-energy conversion. 

Lymphoid System:

The Lymphoid System within Ardans is relatively comparable to the one found in the human body. The only major differences lie between the primary and secondary lymphoid organs, which are three times more refined than the Human lymphoid system. Secondly, the lymph nodes and lymphatics show greater development, with the lymphatic vessels carrying their fluid bidirectionally toward the hearts. The only other differences lie in the fact that the system is highly streamlined to improve efficiency and produce near-instant responses when harmful things invade the body. 

Musculoskeletal System: 

Due to greater oxygenation from their circulatory system, Ardans developed stronger muscles, a higher level of endurance, and greater potential function with regard to flight and fight response. Their bodies show greater efficiency than humans at removing lactic acid during stress-related activities such as load-bearing and endurance-related activities. They are twice as resilient when it comes to withstanding physical injuries, such as pulled or torn muscles or ligaments, sprains, and broken bones. Ardan bone is ~1.6–1.8x denser than human bone in load-bearing regions (spine, femur, skull), with compact bone 2.0x denser in the cranial vault.”

Nervous System:

The Ardan nervous system is structured similarly to the human nervous system in that it has three major components: enteric, peripheral, and central. The enteric and peripheral systems are highly refined and structured, allowing for significantly greater sensory input, transmission, and interpretation by the central nervous system. The central nervous system shows the greatest differences. Their spinal cord is a tightly threaded bundle of interconnected tissues that receive, interpret, and transmit signals throughout the body, two and a half times faster than the human spinal cord. 

Their brain is also structured differently. Facilitating interhemispheric communication, the corpus callosum consists of 315-330 million contralateral axonal projections compared to 200-250 million in humans. Volumetrically, the Ardan brain averages 1400 cm3 while the human brain averages 1250 cm3. Furthermore, the concentration of neurons in the Ardan brain lies between 150-175 billion, while in Humans, that number lies around 80-120 billion. Though their neocortex is considerably developed—the Ardan brain being twice as dense and more convoluted than the human brain—the highest development is found in all areas responsible for cognition and memory. 

This has resulted in a highly prodigious and ordered intellect with high potential for either eidetic or photographic memory, or even both. This has also led to the development of ancestral memory, accessible only through deep meditation or those capable of peering into another’s thoughts and seeing them. It has also led to the development of a significantly higher degree of spatial coordination than what is found in humans and much more refined senses. Lastly, while all of their senses except for sight are on par with Humans, they tend to be somewhat more vivid; sounds are clearer, tastes more defined, smells sharper, and touch better felt. 

Visual System: Evolving into a world a little further away than Earth, their daytime is 9.5% dimmer. Ardan physiology, therefore, developed to compensate in four ways. The first compensation was a considerable refinement to the occipital lobe. It can take, process, and interpret external stimuli two and a half times faster than the human brain at any given moment. The second refinement lies within the retina, which contains one-third more rods and cones than the human eye, is more densely compact, and has a blind spot half the size of the one found in the human eye. 

The third refinement lies in their ability to see in four wavelengths. With Dorastis being slightly bluer than Sol, Ardans have a UV-A Cone, allowing them to see in four wavelengths, their vision extending into the near-ultraviolet, with the potential to discern over a hundred million colors. The final refinement lies in their visual acuity, with even the average Ardan possessing 20/10 vision. 

All of this gave rise indirectly to a few other things. Although they do not have a tapetum lucidum, as found in cats and dogs, Ardans have remarkably sharp night vision, able to distinguish silhouettes, general appearances, and patterns, and discreet movements at twice the distance as humans in a quarter of less light. Their visuospatial ability is near precise, able to recall even the most minute details with frighteningly vivid detail, even after a century or more of having seen the image. 

Magnetoception: Ardans possess the ability to sense magnetic fields, ranging from local and regional proximity and orientation to the global field surrounding the planet. Depending on their sensitivity, Ardans can discern altitude, direction, strength, proximity, and orientation with near-perfect accuracy. If lost, whether in a city, desert, or wilderness, they can orient themselves using the global magnetic field to find their way back to their destination. With enough time, they can internalize their surroundings by generating a mental map of the magnetic variances around them and can retain that memory, even altering it as needed throughout their lifetime. 

Psychic Shields & Telempathic Resonance, 

After the loss of their psychic abilities, a significant change within their genetic structure occurred half a million years ago, resulting in a combination of psychological and physiological changes. It’s believed this process was sparked through the nascent Ardan Metaconsciousness, which connected the species on an instinctual level. When physically mapped, this shielding appears as an extremely intricate series of complexly dynamic interlocking fields that interactively alter and adapt in strength and patterning in response to the environment around them in literal moments. Their incredibly resilient nature makes them a considerably daunting challenge for all but the most powerful reality alterers who can pierce them effortlessly. 

 Their intrinsic presence makes them heavily resistant or outright immune to mental domination, possession, conditioning, empathic, telepathic, and telempathic intrusion, although surface thoughts and emotions may be sensed by those with the capabilities to do so. With the proper training and discipline, it’s possible to prevent even this from being discerned. Physiologically, they are similarly resistant to Hallucinogens, Barbiturates, most Depressants and Stimulants, and other psychoactive drugs that can negatively affect their perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior.

Nevertheless, all Ardans retained what was accurately interpreted as a low-level Telempathic resonance, best described as biomagnetic empathy. Every living being generates a faint but unique electromagnetic field shaped by neural activity, heartbeat, hormonal shifts, and emotional state. Ardans perceive these fields the way humans perceive tone of voice or body language—intuitively, instantly, and with far greater depth. Resonance is key: Their own fields "resonate" with others, creating a feedback loop. Strong emotions in others cause a corresponding "vibration" in the Ardan's perception—joy feels warm and bright, fear feels sharp and cold, grief feels heavy and slow. It's like hearing emotional "music" in the air. 

Because the resonance is innate, passive, and always-on, forming deep emotional bonds isn't just a matter of choice or attraction; it's a literal harmonic convergence of two biomagnetic/emotional fields. When two Ardans resonate strongly, it creates a feedback loop that feels profound, comforting, and "right" on a visceral level—like finding the one frequency that makes your own field sing in perfect tune. Ardan relationships aren’t governed by possessiveness or fear of loss, the way human ones often are. They’re governed by the simple, self-evident truth of harmonic compatibility. When it’s there, it’s unmistakable. When it’s not, forcing it would be cruel to both parties. Infidelity isn’t just immoral; it’s incomprehensible, like trying to breathe vacuum. The emotional landscape of love and loss is deeper, but also cleaner—less drama, more gravity.

ESP, and the Iadalen:

Due to a large, complex, and higher-ordered brain, all Ardans possess extra-temporal awareness, giving them an awareness of spatial-temporal eddies, folds, moments, and ripples. Meanwhile, roughly five percent of the population still bear a remnant of that past, reduced to extrasensory perception. Though it's purely recessive and may not even show up for several generations, and is limited to geographic location, it has been thoroughly documented.  Limited in scope, these abilities are as follows: Clairvoyance, Precognition, Psychometry, Retrocognition, and a specialized form of Bio-Energy Perception remarkably similar to Aura Perception. 

Out of all of this, it is the Iadalen, the ability to alter reality through will, which has changed the course of Ardan development. Its very nature is seemingly what altered the race as a whole from becoming a purely psionic one. Encompassing even psychically related abilities, the Iadalen endows the subject with the power to alter reality around them, though the extent of this is limited by the potency of the individual in question. While the least among them could alter the equivalent of a large humanoid, the most powerful among them, veritable ‘world-destroyers’, are exceptionally rare, regarded as near-legendary, and are seemingly as far above their own people as their own people are above insects. 

Going Forward into the New Year

 A few things going forward into the New Year:

 The Edited & Revised version of Book I, ‘Chronicles of Ardis: Concordance,’ along with Books II (Reckonings,) III (Convergence,) & IV (Dark Winter,) were submitted to the editor of Battlefield Press in March. Aside from a conversation revision in Book IV and a few possible name changes in Book I, I’m satisfied with what’s been written. Hopefully, even more importantly, the readers will be too!

 Once the Crowdsource Campaign begins, I’ll share it in every place possible/permissible, dotting my I’s and crossing my T’s to make sure it’s successful. Accordingly, I have a write-up on Ardan Physiology that’s 85-90% finished that I’ll post here after the books have been officially published.

 Book V’s subtitle will be called Counterpoint. The book will take place 1-2 years after the events of Book IV. I had considered a more linear progression, having things occur through the Ardan year, but felt a time jump would work better. I’ll be taking my time establishing characters, placenames, etc… and possibly be done with the draft by the year’s end.

 Beyond this, I’ve little else to work on. Going forward I’ve some strong ideas for Book VI and one or two for Book VII, I think Book VII will be fun, and IX, X, and XI will probably be fun to write, with the endgame in mind for the last book. Even though I’ve told people I’m going for 11 books, truthfully if I’m sane enough I’d love to do much, much more for this series. 

Revisiting the Map of the Planet

 As I was writing Book I between 2013-2015, I happened upon a planetary map generator that by serendipity gave me the configuration I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to properly configure it, leaving me with a few inconsistencies, best cleared up by narration. Thankfully, I also have both a Mercator and a rotating version, allowing me to snag shots of locations of interest.

For a bit of explanation, the continents are Teladrin, Shadrelin, & Degna. Gaudna is a combination of two Subcontinents, Alden-Gaudna and Derren-Gaudna. Tifaeanyd (classified on the Mercator map as a protectorate) is part of the Sinseran Empire. Geologically, Shadrelin is rifting away from Teladrin,  Degna is moving southward, and Gaudna northward. Much of this, is in Book I, which was published back in 2017. 

Stellar System & Moon Update; Months of the Year

 Whether this is the last time I do this, I can’t confirm. However, I am far more satisfied with the changes below. Adjustments were done using a slightly modified G5V star, with the following parameters: Mass: 0.98, Radius: 0.989, Luminosity: .90, Temperature: 5,660K. From what I could determine with an online calculator, its lifespan is roughly 10.518 billion years.

 Finding a Planet Habitability Calculator, the next two images show Ardis, followed by Liadrel's location within their star’s habitable zone. Interestingly enough, when Liadrel was plotted, it fits comfortably within the Optimistic Habitable Zone, meaning there is potential for habitability, albeit not humanoid life. I’d already conceived of something akin to life adapted to deserts, possibly discovered in a much later book, of course…

 As referenced by the original novel, Ardis was orbited by two moons. However, I had an orbital resonance issue and felt it could be resolved with the addition of a final natural satellite. The reason behind this stemmed from the nature of Io’s vulcanism as Nersis too is a volcanic moon. Jupiter's immense gravity tugs on and flexes the satellite. And though this plays a significant role, it isn’t the only factor. The other factor is that there is a 1:2:4 Laplace resonance between Ganymede, Europa, and Io. As Jupiter tugs, they too exert their gravitational influence, making Io unable to settle in its orbit causing tidal heating and friction, resulting in the geologic activity we see today. So too is Nersis in an identical resonance orbit with its sister moons. Also, the viewing angles are odd, mainly because Nersis and Kesis seem to be in the middle.

 The last image is the months of the year. Originally, there were 14, but I had an issue concerning Total Solar Intensity. While Ardis was well within Dorastis’s Habitable Zone, I judged the light reaching it too dim, 83%, versus the revision of 91.92%. There’s also the fact that Dorastis is 10% dimmer than Sol (our sun.) To solve my problem, I changed its orbital period from 420 to 393 days, dropping its calendar year to 13 months. Ardis is cooler than Earth. The last time I ran the numbers it was: 48F (8.89C) vs. 59F(15C).

All values found are as accurate as I could make them. If there’s something incorrect, please let me know, WITH works cited.  

                                                            

They’re Done and Sent

Back in September I finished my modified-rough draft of Book IV and sent a request for resubmission for two reasons. First, and most obvious was that I wanted to include Book IV in with the other three. Second, since the last submission I had found multiple errors and mistakes littering what I had sent in, and this to me was unforgivable. I knew I couldn’t account for and correct every single error in the document, but I could reduce their frequency.

 My publisher replied back with ‘resubmit at my leisure.’  

 Putting aside Book IV, I went through the revised version of Book I (originally published around 2017), Book II, & Book III combing through them for any issues, cleaning up as much dialogue and grammatical mistakes as I could find, and expanding narration in places that needed it. This was especially the case for Book I, which was originally written with word 2007; a combination of the latest Word Software + Grammarly (which isn’t perfect, but it helps), allowed me to clean up over 2,500 issues, errors, and mistakes since its first publication.

 Book III had a chapter deleted because I decided it needed 21, instead of 18 chapters a couple of months ago. The last four chapters were too densely packed, and I was dissatisfied with the ending. Unfortunately, I did this with sleep deprivation creeping up and chapters 19&20 were identical. Before sending it off, I had this hunch that something was wrong, looked back, and was correct in my assumptions.

 Book IV had already received a similar treatment as I edited the work while I was writing it. It was just a matter of going through it with the same tools again and then cleaning up dialogue and narration where I found an issue.  

 Placing everything into a single document, from the first title page to the last cover blurb gave me 621 pages and 366,040 words. What comes next with them is of course… wait. They’re sent off, with nothing more to add or take away. Unless there’s some kind of issue that truly calls my attention from the publisher, I’m not touching them. What will likely take place is that they’ll be looked over, page formatted, finalized, and a Crowdsourced Campaign will take place.

 I’ve no plans to begin Book V until late Summer/early Fall, which will be subtitled: Counterpoint.

 The only other thing for me to do is to update the outdated Stellar System data further down the blog, along with several other things that likely need a good update. And as things move closer to publication, drop the cover blurbs. But… there you go! 

Chronicles of Ardis: Where Things Stand...

 It’s been well over a since I updated this blog. I’d been busy since then, either editing my previous unpublished works or in draft mode. So, below is the update for everything as follows…
 
Chronicles of Ardis: Concordance
First published back in 2017, it was written with Word 2007, and littered with grammatical mistakes which I attempted to rectify. Through a combination of the latest version of MS Word + Grammarly, I corrected roughly 2,000 or more mistakes, ranging from word choice errors to dialogue issues. Scenes were also expanded, rewritten, or had their continuity corrected, with minor retcons also made. Over 94,000 words in length it reads better—more smoothly—than the original draft. Short of going through it line by line, there’s very little I can do with it. As it stands, it’s in a much better place.
 
Chronicles of Ardis: Reckonings
Finished back in 2018, Reckonings had the fortunate chance of being edited by a non-professional editor and then further cleaned up by Grammarly. Over 81,000 words, it was a fun story to write. While I admit I’d like to add more, Reckonings tells what needs to be told without the need to add anything else.   
 
Chronicles of Ardis: Convergence
Finished back in June of 2019, Convergence was initially 18 Chapters. However, being over 88,000 words, I wasn’t satisfied with having packed so much information in the last 6 or so chapters and transformed it into 21 Chapters for better reading.
 
Chronicles of Ardis: Threshold
Finished on September 27, 2022, Threshold was 101,422 words long and has since crawled up to 101,741 words. Originally subtitled Dark Winter, which was a play on words using themes found throughout the book, it felt insufficient. Then again, it may fit. I find myself wanting to reexamine a few spots and have Beta Readers going through it; things could get edited when the time comes.

If all goes to plan, I should be officially submitting by December 31^st, 2022, or depending on the feedback I receive, sometime in January.  I also plan on adding slightly updated maps, stellar system data, and other figures, possibly in the coming days or weeks. 

What’s in a Name: The Subtitle of Book I

“Is this a religious book?”
“Uh… no, why?”
“Well, your subtitle seems to suggest it.”
“I don’t write theology, I write science fantasy. I believe you need to avail yourself of a dictionary.”
 
As I was nearing completion of the first draft of Book I back in 2015, I began mulling over an appropriate title. Originally, I was considering something whimsical, such as ‘The Saga of Ardis,’ when an idea struck me to turn one book into multiple. With this in mind, ‘Chronicles of Ardis,’ felt like a working main title, leaving me in search of a catchy subtitle. After a few weeks, one word started to hit just write, a word which felt almost like a bane.
 
If you recognize the word ‘concordance,’ then you might know it to be synonymous with a ‘Biblical Concordance’ (of which I do own.) Which by definition is ‘an alphabetical list of the words (especially the important ones) present in a text, usually with citations of the passages in which they are found. However, this isn’t the only way that the word is used. With a modest bit of research (and search on Wikipedia,) you also find a bilingual concordance which is simply ‘a concordance based on aligned parallel text.’ Scrolling down a little, you also find that concordances are frequently used in linguistics when studying a text.
 
Wikipedia aside, there’s also the definition of the word, taken from the online Miriam-Webster Dictionary:
 
Concordance (noun)
 
1: an alphabetical index of the principal words in a book or the works of an author with their immediate contexts
 
2: CONCORD, AGREEMENT (Note: both words have definitions as well.)

== 

A simple Google search will also show:

noun: concordance; plural noun: concordances
 
1: an alphabetical list of the words (especially the important ones) present in a text, usually with citations of the passages in which they are found.
"a concordance to the Bible"
a generated list of instances in which a particular word occurs in a digital corpus, typically with the context also provided.
"clicking on any word in the source text produces a concordance"
 
2: FORMAL
agreement or consistency.
"the concordance between the teams' research results"
 
3: MEDICINE
the inheritance by two related individuals (especially twins) of the same genetic characteristic, such as susceptibility to disease.
 
Origin: Late Middle English: from Old French, from medieval Latin concordantia, from concordant- ‘being of one mind’
 
I think it’s safe to assume that I went for the second option found in either of these definitions. Nevertheless, it has brought a degree of wry amusement over the years. For instance, at one point, if you were to go to Amazon and put into the search box “Chronicles of Ardis: Concordance,” not only would it not come up, but it would bring up a search of over 700 books not even remotely related to my own, but said books were theological. I suspected the reason behind this was the subtitle.   
 
Lastly, I’ve heard more than one person ask a variation of the question written back at the beginning. Funnier still are the people that argued with me about the use of the word, as though it was locked into one thing alone. While that might be initially understandable, considering how it’s mostly used, it should come as no surprise that this word by itself had more than one meaning and can be used in other contexts. As for my own use of it, it stems from the idea that those gathered had ‘reached an accord being of mind in their thoughts and deeds.’ I had considered other words, such as harmony, accord, and the like. However, they failed to grab my attention as the word concordance did.  
 

Memory Excerpt, Book II

A few weeks ago, I did an Author's Spotlight interview with the local Library. Toward the end, I was asked to read a book excerpt. Rather than drawing from the one that was already published, I went for something out of Book II, Chronicles of Ardis: Reckonings. 

Admittedly, a few things did come to my attention as I read it; both dialogue and narration felt a little off. Therefore, I sought to rectify that issue with a few tweaks. Thankfully, my publisher at the time hadn't begun working on my trio, so I was able to send it to him without issue. 

=============

“Well, Kemlir, did you, do it?”
            “You know he did, Sarnas, why bother asking?”
            “The question was a matter of formality, little brother,” she lightly chided. “there’s no real harm in asking. So… you did transform, right?”
The sixteen-year-old blondish-haired teenager glanced up at his eighteen-year-old sister, who was joined abruptly by their ten-and-a-half-year-old brother in a flash of orange light that flickered vividly like a flame. Kemlir raised a brow briefly toward the smiling kid and then looked back at his perceptive sister as if she already knew the answer. The middle child of the trio lingered on her face a few more seconds in thought, glanced one more to their brother, and then turned away.
            “No,” he swallowed. “I couldn’t. I just… I know I can, I can feel myself trying to change, but each time I do, I overthink and it just… it fails.”
            The three stood quietly in the courtyard of Wuldred Fortress. Around them, soldiers and other personnel went about their daily routines, some stopping briefly to take note of the Ice Fang siblings, with an occasional nod and gesture before wandering on. A few caught Kemlir’s pained expression, hesitating at first before continuing on their way, even speeding up out of the courtyard in due haste. His siblings were there, they reasoned, there was no need to approach, much less bother them, unless something was required. And being who they were, it was reckoned that they were reasonably self-sufficient enough to handle whatever came their way.       
            “Then, you’ll do it again next week.” Vordril decided.
            “And you’ll succeed.” Sarnas nodded confidently.
            “Wait, what?” Kemlir almost stammered. “I’ve tried three times already—and failed each time!”
            “Because you’ve anticipated it,” his sister intoned gently. “you need to let it happen; don’t bring the transformation about forcefully, just allow it to take place.”
            “But you also need to take everything you’ve learned from those attempts, reflect, set yourself aright, and you’ll succeed on the next go around.” Their brother added in an almost sing-song fashion. “Simple as that!”
            “Well, if you think it’s so easy, why don’t you do it!?”
            “Actually, Vordril’s incapable of the transformation.” Sarnas glanced toward their little brother thoughtfully. “Mother said he possesses the trait but is unable to utilize it. However, if he were to marry and father any sons, there’s an almost certain chance that they could.”
            “He can’t because he’s Thashinir… like you, Sarnas.” Kemlir half-whispered enviously and glanced over at the young Degnan off in his own little world.”
            “Wait… me… married!?” The hazel-eyed kid wrinkled his nose at the thought. “Ewww, you can’t be serious! Aren’t girls covered in weird diseases and carrying like seven kinds of plague?”
            Kemlir chuckled.
            “Yeah,” Sarnas lunged forward with full intent on putting Vordril in a headlock, only to find him on the other side of the courtyard with his tongue sticking out. “I can do that too you know!”
            “Is that so?” The boy grinned wickedly. “Seems I recall someone being too busy for such ‘childish games.’” Vordril intoned in a mock-serious fashion. “Or was that too old? Anyways,” he smirked. “You never could catch me, why, I bet Kemlir could do a far better job than you!”
            Sarnas’s eyes narrowed. A smile slowly crept across her face as she glanced back at Kemlir who nodded, and then back at Vordril. “You’re on little brother; ready or not, here we come!”
            The sounds of laughter echoed throughout the courtyard and the game was afoot. Edrim, joined by his wife Alceris, watched quietly from the window, smiles playing lightly on their faces. Flashes of fire—a combination of deep yellow, orange, and reddish-orange flame—signaling translocation events, danced lively across the courtyard as the intermittent teasing continued. Though comparatively a novice to his translocative-adept siblings, Kemlir was demonstrating marked improvement after the formal lessons he received. Reflecting, the High Chief of the Southern Wastes concluded that his eldest son would inevitably succeed in taking on the semblance of their totem animal. He too took a little longer than expected after which it became as natural as breathing. Let time work its perfect way; there was no reason to rush into things right now…

The Dorastis Stellar System: Take II, and the Moons of Ardis.

Back in 2017, I composed a post titled ‘The Dorastis Solar System,’ attaching a Facts and Figures Chart below it. Since then, I had returned to that post multiple times to correct a few errors before eventually giving up. There was always something I found a little off every time I went back to examine it. Since then, I managed to look over it a few more times until finally deciding to give one more update before attaching it here. As was stated there, so here, I used such software as AstroSynthesis and Gravity Simulator to make sure the system was remotely viable, along with world-builders.org for several equations to establish further realism.

 For miscellaneous things, such as orbital eccentricity, magnetosphere, radii extension, and solar intensity, this was done through a combination of studying real-world examples and equations (specifically solar intensity), to give the numbers displayed on the chart. I also had to rethink natural satellite placement such as moons (if any,) around the first and second planets in the system utilizing concepts such as Lagrange Points and the Hill/Roche Sphere.

Two things of note. First is the use of a G4V Star (Sol is a G2V,) for the parent star. I’ve periodically considered a K0V, but with the figures generated below, it wasn’t viable. Secondly, both the masses and Mean Orbital Velocities have been updated. Hopefully, this is the last time (for a long time,) that I will remotely bother to correct anything.

Another facts and figures table that I'd been working on was for Nersis and Kesis, the moons of Ardis, where ‘Chronicles of Ardis’ takes place: 

Colloquially referred to at times as the Red and Orange Daughters for their predominant coloration, Nersis and Kesis were somewhat modeled on Jupiter’s moon Io, with Nersis being volcanic and Kesis quiescent. Though they were balanced using Earth (as was the rest of the Stellar system for that matter,) it worked. Other equations were done utilizing fxSolver; it was something of a blessing to find. 

Much like Jupiter and Io, Ardis and Nersis have a similar relationship, whereby thanks to tidal heating, is not only volcanically active but contributes to the overall size of the Ardan magnetosphere, nearly doubling it and imparting an overall elliptical appearance to its structure due to plasma loading. Book II goes into a little more detail regarding all of this, which, along with the edited/revised version of my first book and the third one will hopefully come up soon to be crowdsourced and hopefully released…

Meanwhile I still very slowly and agonizingly press on with Book IV.

Book Musings and Other Things…

As it stands, officially, I have one book published. Unofficially, I have two books—subtitled Reckonings and Convergence—submitted, along with the Revised/Edited version of Book I. They were placed into a single document and sent to Battlefield Press. Hopefully, in the next couple of months, there should be a Kickstarter for an omnibus… hopefully!

For explanation, Book I was published with issues in terms of editing. Originally written in word 2007, it was reopened in Word 2016, and through it and Grammarly, going over the work multiple times, I corrected in upwards of 1800+ grammatical errors alone. Along with these corrections, came scene transitions and several scenes scattered throughout the book which were reworked and cleanup to read better than before. Lastly, I did my best to fix whatever dialogue errors that were present.

Obviously, there are some things that might have escaped in some form or fashion because it was too minor to be noticed. However, Book I reads better than before.

Book II received double-fold treatment, first in the form of a young man who offered to edit after reading my first book—and happily wrote him a letter of recommendation for that. The other was through Grammarly; there’s always something that could be missed, and it was combed through to fix any possible error. I had fun writing Reckonings and look forward to seeing it in print!

Book III was a small challenge, partially because it was a change of pace, and partially because work and health had gotten in the way. At first, I considered it a train wreck of a story, but as I put everything together, it read better than I expected. It received a heavy-handed editing treatment to make sure things everything was as grammatically sound as I could make it. In the end, I found myself enjoying the book, even becoming a little sentimental over it.   

Which leaves Book IV. I have plot, subplot, and even metaplot worked out, with a few minor things shifting here and there. It’s just a matter of stop getting distracted and use the time that I have to type. Though I think some of that distraction has come in the form of waiting for the first three to be published. I just have to keep my head afloat, one word and sentence at a time.   

Working Prologue for Book IV

It's been well over a month, I think since I've done any serious writing beyond compiling notes, but I finally have a working prologue. It's not perfect by any means, but it suffices for now. At some point, I'll go back and edit it ad nauseam, but for now, I'm relatively okay at how it turned out. 

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Prologue

 

Kaderis smiled; victory had been assured…
 
All of it began with the spark of an idea. And this idea gave rise to possibility into the exploration of things not meant to be looked upon, at least, not directly. First though were barriers that needed breaching, namely in the form of tireless, philosophical debate. Adamantly, ceaselessly, she was reminded that there were some corners beyond reality not meant to be physically entered. Meditation and contemplation were more than enough to satiate harmful curiosity. Entering this shaded abode, home of everything antithetical to life would be her undoing—her untimely death. To gaze and even briefly project their consciousness through the gateway and into that horrific place was more than ample enough for whatever study might be required. Anything further would reduce the strongest mind to incoherent madness. And, after a decade of lengthy debates on the matter, the ashen-blonde priestess was done; it was time to take matters into her own hands.
            Though her prowess was near-unrivaled by anyone within their order, Kaderis wasn’t given into reckless abandon; hers was the long game. Over the years she had spent countless hours gazing unflinchingly into the terrible nothingness to glean what lay beyond so that it could be manifested into this world. Each passing moment peering into the formless depths was a period of reflection, seeing what others were unable to see, or possibly turning a blind eye to. But even the practice of mental projection was only so good. She needed to go further than anyone else in the history of their order and survive that ordeal… intact.
            “Kaderis!” An approaching furious voice boomed. “Stop this madness! What you’re doing, what you’ve done, is absolute folly! You’ve damned yourself and doomed the very integrity of our order!”
            “Integrity of our order?” Whatever expression that might have been on her face was hidden by a featureless ebon mask. Enshrouded in equally matching robes, she loomed amidst a series of thirteen black pillars, light blue eyes brimming with mirth. “I passed through the gateway between realities, returned within a deeper understanding of the abyssal nothingness beyond our homeworld, and you speak to me of integrity!? Bring Ebren forward… respectfully of course. He is—was—the high priest of our order.”
            Decades of research had been done within their order’s library, with every ounce of material poured over by priestess regarding the gateway and what lay beyond it. Long days turned into sleepless nights which unexpectedly found her rewarded with several publications added to their library from all the intensive work she had done. After reflecting on all of that information, the Cestrin-born woman did what so very few had successfully accomplished since their order’s founding. Only, she was determined to succeed no matter the cost.   
 “I’m curious… what exactly will my death serve, Kaderis?” The gray-haired man questioned in between the rustling of chains as he ascended the stairs.
            “As an object lesson,” She returned simply. “You and your inner circle have held the Shadowsworn back for too long. You’ve failed to realize that there’s more to be had than simply gazing into the lightless depths. I have seen where our path leads, a path that can no longer be stifled by backward dogma!”
            “Dogma set into place at the founding of our order, dogma which has served us well, a dogma which has allowed us to preserve, despite how we’re seen, a dogma—”
            “Which has held us back from becoming what we could be!” Shadows snaked toward them, solidifying into a scimitar in her hands. “And now… we will become the darkness, Ebren, that we so emulate.”     
            Forced to the ground, Ebren sneered angrily at the rebel priestess, before slowly lowering his head. Savoring the moment the ashen-blonde woman raised the blade high into the air, and with a soul-rending shout, brought the blade down upon his neck… and blinked in utter bewilderment as the weapon lost all substance, dissolving back into the shadow where it came from. Casting a murderous glare toward the four confused acolytes, she looked across the crowd waiting expectantly for something to happen. There was only one person that could have possibly undone her weaving, and they were out of the country on business.    
            “Kaderis… Kaderis… KADERIS…”
            Initially incoherent, it began to reverberate through the caverns gradually growing louder with each utterance. Little by little the words echoed outward, resonating into the unseen corner of reality, and filling the spaces in between. Looking back, she glimpsed the induced unnatural undulation of the voidal gateway and could do nothing to calm it. Wraithly whispers soon joined, filling the cavern with a spectral cacophony as they called out her name in a mocking fashion. Feeling a little uneasy, the priestess looked toward Ebren who was now standing and clearly confused and once more to the cavern. The echoing voices continued to move higher and higher into the upper reaches of reality until it seemed that the whole of creation called out her name before falling deathly quiet, leaving the room in a thick pervasive silence.
            “Too afraid to face me, are you?” She seethed, her voice echoing throughout as much of the fabric of reality as her will would allow. “Show yourself—name yourself!”
           A figure appeared at the entrance. It looked… wreathed—no—formed, from nightmarish blackness. Every head in the room turned to see it silently stalking forward with people already moving to intercept. Within seconds of nearing it, they fell to the floor, screaming as their bodies were torn apart from within. Numerous shadowy claws exploded outward revealing themselves and soaking those nearest with their unholy carnage. Several more rushed forward, creating interlocking walls of shadowy force to prevent its advance. The abyssal specter moved through them uninterrupted and graciously allowed their creators to share in the same fate as their brethren.
            “Kaderis…”
            Diving from top of the stairs as menacing arcs of sanguine lightning passed through the shade, she imprinted the ground with a three-point landing, reached out with gripping motion, and wrapped the entity in ghostly chains manifested from the ether to immobilize it. Satisfied, Kaderis stood, looked toward the gruesome path it had made with the blood of her order, and stalked toward the unmoving thing.   
            “I don’t know who or what you are, nor where you came from, but you’ll be gone soon enough!”
            The cavern reverberated with an unnerving chuckle coupled with the undertones a draconic growl. Awashed in black-tinged violet, the chains faded. Calling upon every ounce of strength and knowledge, she watched in stubborn futility as the bonds were rendered to nothingness. It tilted an approximation of a head toward Kaderis and seemed to smile. Blinking, she began to step back until her feet were dashing against the first step.
            “Normally things can be overlooked for the sake of progress… innovation… growth. Other things… well… cannot be absolved quite so easily.”
            “What? Who… what are you?”
            “That’s his avatar,” answered Ebren. Freed from his chains, the old priest looked toward it with uncertainty.
            “I…” Looking up at the old priest, Kaderis tuned back, blinking rapidly, hearts thumping loudly in her ears at the answer. “I bid you welcome, and have it known that all that has been done, was in the dark glory of your revered name.”
            “Spare me your entreaties, I know everything.” The voice echoed as loudly in their ears as it did their thoughts. “You passed through the gateway and returned unscathed… commendable. But the schism you created was foolish… unwise. Penance must be exacted.”
           “But… but I…” Looking across the cavern of masked faces and reflecting on everything she had achieved, her fists clenched. Swallowing slowly, the priestess told herself she wouldn’t go down like an animal, instead, standing tall, proud, and resolute for what was to come. They had her notes; others would pick up where she left off. “Fine… I… accept. Let it be done.”
            “You think I’m going to let you off that easy?” Questioned the abyssal presence with a darkened smile. “No. You and your followers are banished from Cestrin. You have three days and three nights to gather your things, say your goodbyes, and leave.”
            The priestess blinked in confusion by the pronouncement; even Ebren was taken aback by the entity’s utterance. A dull roar of whispers cascaded through the cavern for almost a minute before becoming snuffed out by the velvety voice of Kaderis.”
            “And what’s to become of us, we who will no longer be within your hallowed shadow? Are we to be cast out in exile with no hope of feeling your tenebrous presence among us again?”
            “Oh, my priestess,” the form sighed softly. “There is nowhere you can dwell where my darkness cannot find you. There is no corner of this world, no matter how remote, that you can go where I cannot see you. If you truly wish to forge a new path, then you do so with my blessing. You are Shadowsworn, remember that…”
            An icy chill filled the cavern, lights flickered, shadows ebbed to-and-fro, and the Shadowed One’s avatar vanished. Looking back to Ebren descending the stairs, she cast her gaze toward the order as a whole. Taking a deep breath, with much to consider, the ashen-blonde Ardan realized they had little time to prepare for departure. Whether they were ready for the journey didn’t matter. All that was needed was a new home, and Kaderis decided, she a new name…

 

Working Back Cover Blurb for Book III

This will most likely be polished in the days to follow,  this is the working blurb for the Back Cover to Book III

Back Cover Blurb

“Understand that both our guilds have a deep enmity for one another that stretches back a thousand years. The Chemist Guild was founded due to the exclusiveness of the Alchemy Guild. Their resilience and passion for what they do have had a benefit of challenging and pushing us further than we’ve anticipated.”

With the retirement of the Head of the Sect of Life Alchemy imminent, a prodigy within the Alchemist Guild, Arnashir Pahlarz, is named his successor. But not everyone is pleased with that decision. Feelings of resentment have opened a festering wound, leaving Arnashir to prove himself the right person for the position when the need arises…

A long-standing member of the Chemist Guild, Doctor Leerna Arjhandor is given an important assignment by her guild leader. A mysterious illness has gripped the city of Marodst; its apothecarium is in dire need of supplies and personnel. She accepts with little hesitation, taking her two most trusted apothecaries, Kazael Bahlad and Sahmrin Hasnik. Though little does she know or understand the cost that awaits her…

And amidst all of this and more, a deranged figure moves across Dielberen, using forbidden practices to collect souls and knowledge needed for a ritual to end a curse that was set into place ages past…

There is contagion, one that needs to be excised before it’s too late…

Updates

Beyond sharing awesome works from other authors, and periodically linking my first book, I’ve been relatively quiet regarding any real updates on my part.

As it stands, I have 3½ chapters left on Book III: Chronicles of Ardis: Convergence. Due to some of the things going on within that book, I’ve been considering changing that subtitle to Contagion. I hope to have the draft fully completed by the end of the week. After that, the real fun begins with edits, sighing, more edits, grumbling, more edits, crying, and then hopefully, it will be done!

Book II, 'Chronicles of Ardis: Reckonings' has already been submitted, along with the Revised Version of Book I, 'Chronicles of Ardis: Concordance', all of which will be crowdsourced as an omnibus hopefully sometime later this year. I’ll do my utmost to keep everyone up to date on this and any changes that might arise.

Thank you!

~Tracy L. Reeves

Gemstone Lexicon

Originally, this was going to be more of a simple mineral index but turned into what you see below. In essence, Ardans have different names than we have for their precious and semi-precious stone. Using cut and dry definitions, I then added a ‘real-world’ analog to give an idea of what we would call it here on Earth. Whether I include the lexicon going into the third book and beyond, and/or possibly expand it, is up in the air. I figure, should someone have the first or second book, they could easily flip back to the previous books, find the stone in question and be good.      

As an aside, What might command a higher value, or be considered of less value on Earth, is not necessarily true on Ardis. 

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Gemstone Lexicon

Avideriil: An incredibly rare and highly prized gemstone of the Silicon Carbide variety. Real world analog: Moissanite 

Bineel: is a metastable allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure. Real world analog: Colorless Diamond

Dathorite: A gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminum oxide with trace amounts of vanadium. The color ranges from light to deep purple, the latter of which commands the highest value. Real world analog: Purple Sapphire

Dorreth: A hard object produced within the mantle of a shelled mollusk, composed primarily of calcium carbonate. Relatively spheroid, they can be round, semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque, circled and double bouldered. They come in several colors with black being the rarest and considered highly prized. Real world analog: Pearl

Ederim: a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterized by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Colors can range from white to grey, light blue to dark green, yellow, orange to red and purple to black and is predominantly banded. Real world analog: Agate   

Edrasil: A feldspar mineral, found in igneous rocks, such as basalt, gabbro, and norite. It exhibits a strong play of iridescent blue, green, red, orange, and yellow colors. Specimens of the highest quality are known for their vivid displays of color. Real world analog: Labradorite 

Ilthidim: A gemstone variety of beryl with colors ranging from pure yellow to golden yellow. Real world analog: Heliodor 

Kyanite: A gemstone variety of orange beryl, with colors ranging from pale to dark orange. Real world analog: A variety of Golden Beryl.

Lightning Stone: A hydrated amorphous form of silica only found on the Island of Navinas. Black in appearance, it has a resinous luster akin to blue fire. Real world analog: Black/Lightning Opal.

Nerdravel: A gemstone variety of red beryl, with colors ranging from pink to scarlet. Real world analog: Red/Scarlet Emerald

Nersite: A gemstone variety of corundum, whose colors range from pink to blood-red. Real world analog: Ruby  

Pal’ástrine: a deep blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone prized for its intense color. Real world analog: Lapis Lazuli

Pallexite: A gemstone variety of the mineral corundum whose colors range from crystal to midnight blue and highly prized for its asterisms. Real world analog: Sapphire

Pallgramite: A gemstone variety of beryl, light bluish-green to blue. Real world analog: Aquamarine

Pallsiret: A mineral of the copper variety, deep blue to violet-blue in color. Is in limited use as a gemstone as it can easily weather to Vemelel. Real world analog: Azurite 

Seredem: An aluminum silicate that contains fluorine and hydroxyl and used as a gemstone and comes in blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, and purple. Reddish-gold or Imperial Seredem, commands higher prices than the other colors. Real world analog: Topaz

Shorasnim: A hydrated amorphous form of silica, which can range in the following colors: white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and black. Real world analog: Opal

Telleel: A black, metastable allotrope of carbon. Real world analog: Black Diamond

Telthramin:  Volcanic glass created when felsic lava cools rapidly. Real world analog: Obsidian

Telshir: A black variety of the mineral, chalcedony. It can be black, white, or banded. Real world analog: Onyx

Togrim: A gemstone variety of Olivine, primarily olive green in color, but can range from yellow to brownish-green. Real world analog: Peridot. 

Togurad: A gemstone variety of green beryl, whose colors range from light to dark green, often possessing fine inclusions within the stone. Real world analog: Emerald   

Thamalos: A violet semiprecious variety of quartz.  Its colors and hues range from a light pinkish violet to a deep purple, and exhibit one or both secondary hues of red and blue. Real world analog: Amethyst 

Vadador: A gemstone variant of the metastable allotrope of carbon whose colors range from pale to dark red and every hue in between. Real world analog: Red Diamond.

Vemelel: A banded copper mineral ranging in color from pastel green, to a bright green, to an extremely dark green that is almost black. It exhibits banding similar to Ederim. Real world analog: Malachite

Venekel: A feldspar mineral, ethereal in appearance that displays a billowy, ghost-like reflection with a bluish-whitish color emanating from the surface, similar to that of Dorasnim. Real world analog: Moonstone 

Zophrite: Fossilized tree resin, which can range from yellow-orange-brown, to whitish color through a pale lemon yellow, to brown and almost black. Other, less common colors include red, green, and blue, of which are highly prized. Real world analog: Amber 

Months of the Year...

This was going to be something of a surprise found in Book II. Instead, after much questioning, I decided to release it. As you can see below, Ardis has 14 months, of which are derived from three of the oldest extant languages found on the planet. Whether by happenstance or otherwise, their months contains 4 weeks and 30 days; no month has more or less than the other.

It had also been asked if Ardis’s days had names. The ultimate answer was no, as I had set down that bit of continuity in Book I. Also, the meaning of each month has its origin in the language it comes from. Some of the meaning are obscure as they are rooted in invariably ancient languages, other meanings speak for themselves, particularly that of the first and last month.  

Months             Meanings             Language Origin         

1. Dabhren                    Renewal                       Navinan

2. Ionwis                       Shaping                        Navinan

3. Tol                            Altering                         Athallic

4. Eiard                         Greening                      Navinan

5. Kemmerest               Flowing                         Athallic

6. Saligh                        Rooted                         Navinan

7. Teimrin                      Pathway                       Navinan

8. Jocash                      Directed                        Athallic

9. Morred                      Journeying                    Athallic

10. Aneil                        Purifying                       Datheren

11. Wynras                    Reflecting                     Navinan

12. Ganmelim                Calming                       Athallic

13. Fesheth                   Quietude                      Navinan                       

14. Pavrenisis                Remembrance             Datheren