Seventh Sense Snippet #1

Snippet:

"Reys, I see you've gotten quite comfortable here. Why, you didn't so much as knock on my sister's bed chamber door before walking right in." Stoel grinned and winked at Keeran, with his back to Reys.

"I heard your voice, puppy, or I would have knocked."

"No harm meant," Stoel said, turning to face Reys. "Seems you take Keeran a little more seriously than the rest of us."

"I take her very seriously. She has my oath."

"That the only reason," Stoel asked, and this time he wasn't grinning.

"That's enough, boys," Mavay said, frowning at them as they glared at each other. "If you want to play, do it outside. Keeran needs her rest."

Keeran swallowed the bite she'd just put in her mouth. "Nonsense. I don't need rest. I've been asleep for three days. I'm a healer and I pronounce myself well." Setting the tray aside, she rose from her blankets and walked toward her wardrobe. "Now, if you will all excuse me, I have a meeting to dress for."

Stoel regained his grin and put an arm around his other sister. "Come, Mavay. I know when I'm not wanted."

Snorting, the woman strolled toward the door with him. "That's never made you go away before."

Reys lingered in the doorway, and Keeran pretended to ignore him as she went about selecting a dress from her wardrobe. A moment later, he reached over her shoulder, though she hadn't heard him approach. He pulled out a green dress of fine velvet that looked much like the one she'd worn the day they met, even to the trailing vines along the hem, though this gown was of much finer quality than the simpler one she'd worn then.

"This one," he said quietly, close to her ear. "It brings out your eyes."

Keeran could barely breath, but she took the dress he offered her and turned to watch as he strode out the door and closed it behind himself.

Creation Mythos

Chances are real darn good that nothing as boring as this will end up in any of the books, but I figured I needed to know why the gods were so pissed at each other, and this is what I came up with. Forgive the archaic (and sloppy) tone, as I was in a funky mood when writing it.

The Mythos of the Heavens

In the dawn of ages, seven gods created. One destroyed.

Demi, goddess of light, lay down with Khaat, god of darkness and from their union were born the heavens and the celestial bodies.

Aggres, god of wisdom, lay down with Zelari, goddess of earth and from their fruits, the earth itself was birthed and from the earth, the creatures of the earth.

Vitae, goddess of life, lay down with Eros, god of passion, and from their most holy coupling were born the ancestors of man, capable of both immortality and of passion, the two highest forms of life.

But Thuli, having lay down with his mate, Rina, goddess of magic, was consumed by jealousy of her power and slew her, least their children be capable some day of challenging the gods themselves. The six remaining gods cast Thuli down, stripping him of his titles. As they mourned for Rina and her unborn creation, the god Aggres spake thus: "Let us, each of us, pass a spark of our essence into the children of Eros and Vitae, who are filled with life and passion, for in them do I see hope, for the future and for our creation."

The gods and goddesses concurred, for the children of Rina and Thuli were meant to be priests and servants to the gods, almost gods themselves in all power and devotion. When each of the gods had passed a spark of his or her own power into the children of Vitae and Eros, and generations of man had populated the earth, the gods realized their error, for they had weakened themselves in the giving of that spark, and petty squabbles divided them. The god Thuli escaped from the prison in which he had been placed, hail and whole and unweakened by the giving of a spark. Divided and weak, the Six could do nothing to prevent Thuli from cursing the children of Eros and Vitae. The gifts of the godspark became rare in men, and life was cut short at every turn by plagues of disease, by aging, and by wars that ravaged the lands.

Thuli took the children of Vitae and Eros whom he had blinded to the sixth and seventh senses with his power, and made them over into his image, calling them Thulians, and the Priests of Thuli conquered the lands of men and undertook the work of destroying the godspark from all of creation.

Days, Gods, Realms, Senses, and Magic

So a few of the details I've gotten down so far will be posted in this tag. Here's hoping they don't change too frequently or too drastically, as I'm already in over my head with this trilogy idea.

Here we have the day of the week (written as firstday, seventhday, etc), followed by the name of the god or goddess sacred on that day, then the sense and then the main magical "seed". Note that there is no seed for Thuli, as he was not one of the Six who blessed men with magic.

1 - Demi - Goddess of Light - sight - Illusion
2 - Khaat - God of Darkness - sound - Akhaat (The Black, lethal magic)
3 - Vitae - Goddess of Life - touch - Healing (Anavitae*)
4 - Thuli - God of Mortality - taste/flavor - none
5 - Zelari - Goddess of Earth - smell - earthenworks (stone masons, smiths)
6 - Aggres - God of Wisdom - Sixth Sense - Far-Sight
7 - Eros - God of Passion - Seventh Sense - Empathy

Each of the Six contributed part of his/her essence to the humans, and over the intervening generations, these "seeds" have blended into new talents. This is far from an exhaustive list, but I'll likely be editing and adding to it in the future as needed. Blended magics:

Translocation (teleportation) - light and earth
Telekinesis - earth and life
Etherot (magical poison) - life and darkness
Telepathy - wisdom and darkness
Sheilding - light, earth, life
Stealth - darkness,wisdom
Fire - light, earth, darkness
Lightning - earth, light, wisdom


* Some magics also have the ability to become *tainted* or *flipped* if a wizard of that talent is pushed over the edge of madness. The only instance of this in Seventh Sense is Caily's healing ability, which becomes "anavitae" - anti-life. The major differences include not only the polar opposite of the original talent but also a loss of sensation associated with the magic. Thus Caily can suck the life out of people she isn't touching, and a magic based on light would no longer have the characteristic white/golden flash.

Purpose and Goal

The purpose and goal of this site? Simple - they're to let me explore and possibly share some of the process for the creation of a trilogy. That's right, a bloody, rotting trilogy. Something I hoped to never feel the call to write. Alas, my muse has other ideas about how I should spend my "free" time.

So what are these books about? That's going to be the first question, right? The plan is that they should all be stand-alone stories with an overarching theme and a subtle overarching plot.

Seventh Sense
The first book, currently in revision, is the story of Reys, a man who discovers he has a very rare, and very deadly talent - Septusens Lecti - the deadly empathy. He becomes embroiled in political and family intrigue, and is forced to choose between the woman he comes to love and his own family, but most importantly, he must learn faith in the absence of all reason - in himself, in his wife, and in a god who "gifted" him with his terrible magic.

Seventh Sense refers to his ability to absorb emotions and to amplify and project his own and borrowed emotions onto others, to deadly effect.

Sevenfold
Sevenfold, currently a pipedream, will continue Reys's story, with the addition of his daughter, who possesses many talents and who is the world's best hope of redemption from the impending war of gods - but only if Reys and Keeran can convince the high priests of the other five gods - the Sevenfold - to keep her alive.

War of the Seven
In the third, and by god it better be the final, book of Sevens, the daughter of Reys and Keeran rises to her power, as leader of the Sevenfold and queen. The six creators battle their old enemy for rule in the heavens, causing plagues, famines, and disaster at every turn. Once again, family, politics, and magic will determine the course as her family sacrifices again and again to make her grandmother's vision of the future a reality, a future in which the goddess of magic is reborn and order is restored to the heavens.

Will it ever be written? Will it be good enough to share? Stay tuned to find out, cause your guess is as good as mine.