QM: Blog

I've mentioned a few races in the last chapter of Magician, here's part of the index which describes them.

Other races and worlds.

Æsir (Human). Small confederation of six Earths of which Valaskjalf is their capital. Fought the Tuatha Dé Danann for over 1,000 years until the Tuatha Dé Danann gave it up as a bad job, much to the disappointment of the Æsir who were quite enjoying the fight. Their society is extremely class conscious with a system of prenoms or titles defining upper and lower classes. Mages work openly with the Æsir government but are not in charge in so far as anyone else appears to be either.

Anasazi (Human). Small pastoral society with a preponderance of very powerful Mages, peaceful but very isolationist.

Craebh Ruadh (Human). An Earth where Mages rule ordinary humans, though quite benevolently for the benefit of all. Hostile to the Coalition of the Pure who hoped to find support amongst them but managed only to alienate themselves and earned enmity by assassinating the leader of the Craebh Ruadh who had opposed their proposals.

Djinni (Non-human). A world where evolution took a very different track. The Djinni are a non-technological magic using society, larger than humans and saurian in appearance. They have no interest in any other world, race or society, simply desiring to be left alone on their world.

Doppelganger A race created from a single cell organism by the Sidhe to infiltrate and destroy human civilisations and resistance from within. Able to take on any shape or form within certain mass limits. When imitating a human they ingest the host body taking the memories as well as the physical shape. They are, like other life forms, partially magical in nature and capable of using magic effectively, though they generally are not as powerful as a human Mage. Parthogenetic in nature using pseudogamy in which the inferior breeder provides the genetic material to 'fertilize' the superior but does not add to the inheritance of the genetic code. Deciding which is the superior and inferior often causes doppelgangers to fight and kill each other and hence their numbers are low; which, for humanity's sake, is probably a good thing as they are extremely dangerous to be in proximity to.

Dvergar A hybrid race of homo-sapiens and homo-neanderthalis. Once the jewellers and miners of the Sidhe, then abandoned by them as the Sidhe retreated from our world. The majority have now resettled on their own world (un-named) leaving behind a small core who await the return of the Sidhe (and refusing to believe what that would entail).

Loegria (Human). Although a small country of another Earth, Loegria has become the name of that Earth to those Mages who know of it. High in technology in the region of 20 to 100 years in advance of our own Earth in certain areas.

Maraú-Uxuí (Non-human). World of magic using spiders, friendly though isolationist and deeply creepy.

Mazdan (Non-human). An Earth in which the dominant life form developed from ursine stock. They are peaceful, isolationist, though seriously dangerous if provoked as the Tuatha Dé Danann found out to their cost when they attempted to invade, losing their entire force and having to use desperate measures to close the gateway to their world when the Mazdani sent through a punitive expedition themselves which left the Tuatha Dé Danann world of Finias devastated to the point where it was almost abandoned. An uneasy peace now holds between the two races and the Tuatha Dé Danann tread very carefully around the Mazdani.

Nazca (Human and Neanderthal). One of only two (known) Earths where homo-neanderthalis survived, though very much as second-class citizens. Isolationist in nature and ruled by what appears to be some form of criminal secret society backed up by some very heavy duty Mages.

Ogdoad (Non-human). Earth where evolution took a different path. They are non-technological paranoid magic users, vaguely sauroid in appearance, but producing live births. Will avoid all contact with other Earths except in extreme circumstances, often committing ritual suicide to avoid pollution from contact.

Olorun (Human). An Earth where religion rules via theurgical magic. Has little interest in other Earths with non-believers.

Phaëtoni (Human and Neanderthal). The other (known) Earth where homo-neanderthalis survived. Very much in the majority over homo-sapiens, though ruling them benevolently. A very peaceful society with little or no magical use. They are allied to the Craebh Ruadh in order to prevent incursions by the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Rutasi (Human). An Earth ruled by a world spanning empire whose Emperor is treated as a living god. Highly militaristic, though not expansionist, simply using them to keep the populace in line. Pretends that other worlds do not exist, though their Mages will open a dialogue if there's something that they want or need.

Tír na nÓg (Non-human). Home of the Sidhe where they live in splendid isolation waiting for the day where they can retake the worlds of humanity (and others) from whence they were driven out due to their excesses. Run by two courts Seelie and Unseelie whose aims though differing in method are all to do with reclaiming the lands they lost one way or another. They are a dying race as immortal to the extent that they do not die naturally. They have simply stopped breeding. Without anyone other than themselves to dominate it has warped their civilisation into one of perpetual blood feud and petty spite.

Tuatha Dé Danann (Human). Expansionist militaristic society holding four Earths in its autarchy (Falias, Gorias, Finias and Murias). Technologically advanced up to about the level of 1800 AD, though uses magic to supplement its military and so are considered very dangerous.

Tiamati (Human). A world where mysticism apparently runs riot and Mages are the highest of the high. Largely peaceful though find it difficult to comprehend the Mages of other Earths, nor cope with being treated as their equals.

Vedic (Non-human). Denizens of three Earths where evolution took a far different path. Technologically advanced but unstable as tribal warfare is rife, though rarely gets out of hand. The Council prison planet of Kurukshetra was a Vedic world until they destroyed much of the biosphere in a civil war. Human sized though insectile in appearance, four arms and tusks.

Völuspá Gnomish craftsmen, highly skilled in the mechanical arts, shy, retiring but able to use a form of glamour to live amongst or avoid humanity. Possibly the legend behind the Santa Claus elf myth.

There are a massive number of uninhabited Earths or rather unclaimed ones on which Mages reside, these also include a one way world maintained by all races to house Doppelgangers captured by the various Mage communities.

Note, this is not the complete index.

There will possibly be some delay in getting the next few chapters of Loss and remembrance out as currently my editor is on his holidays and after which I'll be in New Zealand visiting family and getting a few job interviews (hopefully) prior to emigrating.
They'll still be getting written, I just am not sure how I'll get them out to you.
Thanks for your patience (I hope)

I was asked how the Mage society in my work actually works, there are one or two spoilers in here, so if you don't wish to know, look away. :-)
This is part of a full glossary and index which will be published at the end of the tale.

There are five grades of Mage.

Apprentice.
An apprentice is bonded to a master for twenty years, during which period he/she is fed, clothed, housed, trained and given a small allowance. They are constantly supervised and monitored to prevent them from breaking the rules and/or killing themselves.
Journeyman/woman.
A journeyman/woman is bonded to the same master for a further one hundred years during which they are expected to find work within and without the magical community and pay back their debt of training (not necessarily money, but time and obligation). Many end up in the world of scientific academia where control of the elements and power manipulation helps them reach fairly high levels in universities and research laboratories throughout the world. They are warned not to become too conspicuous. Many also do research within the magical community as well as in various disciplines; magic is too much fun not to play with it.
A few end up working for the Council's enforcement groups around the world and essentially make sure that as few people as possible come into contact with real magic and/or clean up the mess in cases where it goes wrong or there has been a confrontation with the Coalition. It normally requires a high level of discipline to work in enforcement, though there are exceptions and the casualty rate can be quite high.
Mage.
A Mage is a fully qualified magic user. He or she is financially independent and free of ties to a master, though most retain ties of affection and respect. They can more or less live where they want and do as they want so long as they follow the Councils rules.
High Mage.
Though not a title as such, a High Mage is a one who has mastered the hidden higher magics in the iso depth and quantum layer fields. Whilst many Mages will touch upon one area or another (power, spells, healing, etc.) only a High Mage is master of all.
Seer.
A Seer is a specialised Mage, highly intelligent and capable in gestalt of correlating masses of information. Specifically a female genome trait, they are very rare and treasured by those races and organisations that use them.

Conduct between the various levels would appear to an outsider to be old-fashioned with a lot of formal greetings and respect. Juniors are always expected to address a senior with the formal title on a first greeting though many Mages are relaxed about it from close acquaintances and friends amongst journeymen and women. This is mostly due to the relationships being feudal in nature with obligations and responsibilities clearly defined between one rank and another.

Hierarchy.

Council of the Wise.
This is the ruling council of the vast majority of the Mages on our world. It is highly secretive and spends most of its efforts making sure most of the planet never notices Mages and magic.
It's led by Simon Magus who was the first (on our world) to discover longevity spells and has an inner circle of approximately twenty Mages. There is an outer circle who can call for a meeting of the Council of ten Mages, though they are not permitted to vote. The inner circle oversees the activities of the Continental Bureaus who regulate the magical users in Council territories. They are also the judge, jury and executioner (if necessary) of any Mages who step out of line, though a death penalty is very unusual.
The Continental Bureaus have been known by various names over the centuries, though have been around since about 1,000 AD, save only for the now former Council of the Magi who were the original pre-500 BC Council of the Wise and who became its enforcement arm and worked mostly in what is known as the fertile crescent, China and India, where the early great civilisations grew and kept tabs on civilisation as a whole.

Coalition of the Pure.
The ruling committee of those Mages in opposition to the Council who believe that, as on many other worlds, Mages should be in charge and lording it over the rest of mankind. Whilst many in Council territories have sympathy with some of their aims, few if any have sympathy with their methods. Cruel, avaricious, misogynistic and violent, they tend to treat lesser Mages in their territories as servants or, in the case of female Mages, sex slaves and the vast majority of mundanes as slaves to do their bidding. The lesser Mages of the Coalition, though most assuredly not female Mages, are trained very much in the use of power spells to deal with Council members they come across, though none are as powerful as any High Mage. The High Mages of the Coalition spend a lot of their time trying to keep control over the politicians and rulers of their territories, who often enough resent the Coalition, though are unable to do much other than passively resist them. They are very strong in Russia proper and have influence over various ex-Soviet and former communist bloc territories though oddly not China. Generally though, the numbers game of humans to Mages works against the Coalition. Their empires fall in ruins as people generally do not take well to being ruled over in anything other than a benevolent manner. The number of Mages is estimated at 5,000; though not all are active or even involved with the Coalition.

I've been writing a story now for a while but never gave any thought to publishing it here or anywhere else for that matter.
It's called Magician and it's about our world where some people can do magic, live amongst us, but for obvious reasons don't advertise the fact that they can (organised religion)
It's up to chapter 26 now, but is very slow going as I tend to leave it for a while before going back to it.
I am considering publishing it here, but only possibly the first three chapters as I keep rewriting it as later chapters keep throwing up necessary edits in the early ones.
If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll start the process, but after the first three over the next three months it'll be down to once a month at the most frequent as there are at least another 20 chapters left to write.

One of the things I like to do is play with words, as an artist uses brushes to paint a scene on canvas, I try to use words to paint a scene in peoples minds, to try and involve them in the characters.
The success, or otherwise is for you to judge, not me, some stories seem more popular than others though again the why of it or the reasons for the votes remains somewhat obscure, certainly the highest ranking story 'Geek' is a personal favourite of mine, though it's not the story that I had the most fun writing which was 'Emma' closely followed by 'A New Approach'
Yet there are some words I'm not comfortable with and do not use them in certain contexts. I never use 'cunt' as a description of the female sexual organs. This is mostly to do with my upbringing where the 'c' word is grossly offensive to the ladies in my life and is only used as a term of extreme abuse when aimed at males who do not abide by the rules of civilised behaviour.
Yet being an avid reader (of all types of work, not just erotica) it's not for me to judge a story or the author by his/her use of the word, a good story simply being that, a good story. Same with grammar and spelling, meaning is everything, if I can understand it and enjoy it, then the breaking of the rules isn't a major issue with me.
Still, at last I've come to use a proofreader and editor and he (Spin) has at least opened my eyes to some of the flaws in my tales and has offered to re-edit all my stories over the coming months.
Anyway I'll end this random scribbling for now and get back to writing another tale...
Wherever it may take me.

QM