Apollyon Rising is a story about a disgraced and disinherited prince who survives his public execution, and after being trapped in an otherworldly prison, returns home to reclaim his birthright, and disrupts the lives of my three protagonists—his triplet heirs..
The story begins on our triple protagonists’ seventeenth birthday. Allex, Thena, and Cassiel are unaware that their father, whom they have never known, is still alive. Their mother had died at childbirth, and as orphans, are raised by their paternal grandmother Queen Sinai the ruler of the Sun Empire. Allex—the reluctant heir to the throne—is obsessed with fulfilling his duty to his bloodline without complaint, yet secretly yearns to adventure. He is also obsessed with not becoming his father, whose shadow of disgrace looms over him. On the day that Allex comes of age, at sunset, Apollyon (Antagonist) returns to exact his vengeance on his mother (Queen Sinai) for sentencing him to die. Will Allex, Thena, and Cassiel uphold the ancient pact between their ancestor and the Sungod and save the Empire of the Sun or will they be forced to watch as it crumbles beneath the vengeful blade of Apollyon the Disgraced?
2. Antagonist Sketch
Apollyon Rising follows the return and rise of the treasonous Apollyon who has a bitter yearning for his lost status as crown prince, for wealth and dominion, which he is stripped of and sentenced to death for staging a coup d'état against his own mother, Queen Sinai. Eighteen years after he survives his public execution, on the day that my three protagonists come of age, Apollyon returns home, bent on exacting his vengeance on the one who issued the kill order—his mother—with an army of half-giants. He then discovers that he has been widowed. The love of his life has died during childbirth, leaving him with triplet heirs who he does not know and have automatically become his enemies. He forges an alliance with the Sungod’s youngest daughter—Maximone, the Goddess of Chaos—who wants to end her father’s oppressive religion and usher forth a new world order—the AGE OF CHAOS. He makes her a promise—to destroy all nine empereon dynasties—and at the end of book 1, destroys Elleringuard (the kingdom that belongs to House Ellerin).
3. Titles
Working Series Titles
1. Secrets of Solaris
Solaris, colonised by Sungod Helsius, is largely ruled by his Sun Empire, and will be destroyed by the secrets of its rulers.
2. Children of the Sun: Children of the Sun are descendants of the Sungod.
Working Book One Titles
1. Apollyon Rising
Excerpt from Chapter 8: …Every barleycorn he gained against his battle with the cliff infused him with a potent thrill. That gave him strength, and he pushed himself skyward. Nothing else existed but that hold, that push, this leaping dance over stone. As if he descended from gargoyles instead of the gods, Apollyon kept rising, refusing to believe that each movement was becoming more dangerous than the last.
2. Children of the Sun: Children of the Sun are descendants of the Sungod, and refers to his blooded (mortal) heirs of House Ellerin and the Sungod’s youngest daughter Maxiomone (immortal). Two kindred spirits join forces in book one— Apollyon of Ellerin who wants to usurp his mother, and Maximone who wants to erase her father’s religion, and usher in her own.
3. Call Me King: Apollyon says as much to his half-brother.
4. The Inheritance Thief : Apollyon, who comes to steal his son Allex’s inheritance.
4. Genre and Comparables
Genre—Fantasy
Comparables—The following two books feature multiple heroes, antiheroes, and underdogs with conflicts akin to mine.
Iron King, featuring Philip the Fair, is similar in story structure, themes, and because it comprises an anti-hero that you can root for.
The Band Series is somewhat similar in writing style and also contains comparable characters. It is as full of heart as it is of heroes—with humour filling the gaps in between.
Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon is a historical novel series. Book One—Iron King—is the story of the French King Philip the Fair, who is already surrounded by scandal and intrigue, and brings a curse upon his family when he persecutes the Knights Templar. The succession of monarchs that follow Philip leads France and England to the Hundred Years' War. Although mine is a fantasy work and is different to Druon’s in genre, our story structure and themes are similar: A monarch leads his country to war, and destroys his ancestral legacy.
King Philip murders the templar knight that curses him—while the reader intellectually recognises this as an act of villainy, nonetheless cannot help but root for him because Druon creates conflicting emotions in the reader, and in his depiction, Philip cuts a formidable figure you want to root for. Similarly, despite the fact that Apollyon brings ruin and disrupts the lives of the triplet protagonists, he is a an antagxonist that you can root for, whose antics you can enjoy and whose downfall you await. Also, much like how Philip set in motion the events that led to a terrible war, Apollyon’s thirst for revenge and dominion and power sets in motion the downfall of Halos and the Empire of the Sun, which his ancestors built. Other thematic similarities include family/sibling bonds and rivalries, “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, plot-moving lies at court, and world-ending secrets.
The Band Series by Nicholas Eames
I truly love Eames’ jolly prose and underdog characters. Kings of the Wyld follows Clay Cooper and his band who were once the most feared mercenaries in Heartwyld. But their glory days are long gone, and now they are old and fat and drunk. Then, a former bandmate turns up at Clay’s door asking him for a favour: his daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy horde. Much as a bandmate convinces the protagonist to go on a quest to rescue his daughter, my antagonist convinces his dutiful, honourable half-brother to join a group of unlikely bedfellows in a quest for vengeance.
5. Logline
1. A reluctant heir to the throne finds out that he is not an orphan; he is plunged into a war on the day he comes of age, when a horde of marauding half-giants descend upon his future kingdom, led by his disgraced father, who returns to reclaim his birthright.
2. Three heirs of the Sungod come of age, and their disgraced father returns home from exile to steal their inheritance.
3. After being trapped in an otherworldly prison for eighteen years, a disgraced prince returns home to exact his vengeance upon his mother, and reclaim his birthright.
4. A disgraced prince’s unlikely alliance with a Goddess of Chaos spells the beginning of the end of the Empire of the Sun.
5. Chaos is unleashed upon a peaceful kingdom when a disgraced prince returns home to seek revenge upon his mother and reclaim his birthright.
6. Conflicts
Apollyon Rising is written in third-person limited narration, and follows the points of view of three protagonists and one antagonist, all of whom are yearning for things they cannot have.
Antagonist—Apollyon of House Ellerin’s main conflict is a bitter yearning for his lost status, which he was stripped of and sentenced to die eighteen years ago, for staging a coup d'état against his mother, Queen Sinai. This yearning propels him to seek vengeance against her at all costs.
Hypothetical: Seeking vengeance at any cost is never advisable. Apollyon may go as far as aligning himself with an untrustworthy god, who only serves herself, and would not realize the repercussions of such an alliance until it’s too late.
Secondary Conflict: The love of his life has died giving birth to triplets, who’ve automatically become his enemies and perceive him as a traitor to their bloodline.
Hypothetical: Apollyon would be torn between killing off his heirs and allying with them. He may try to convince them to join his side, to turn against the present regime, beginning with the weakest link.
***
The protagonists have their own problems too:
Protagonist One—Allex of House Ellerin—secretly yearns for a life of travel and adventure and does not want to ascend the throne. He hears whispers behind his back that he looks like his dead treasonous father, and believes that a certain “sins of the father” miasma follows him everywhere, and he has set his North Star—not to become his father.
Hypothetical: If Allex should hear whispers that he looks like his father, he would hate it. Since he is determined not to be like his father, he would comb his hair differently (as prescribed by his grandmother) and would wear historically significant, untrendy, and grand-looking clothes that would make him look like a forefather —as if he were a transplant from an ancient generation (because it is widely known at court that Apollyon kept up with latest trends in his day). However, if he were ever to come face-to-face with Apollyon, he would overly focus on the similarities in their features (while ignoring the differences) and convince himself that his efforts not to look Apollyon (and thus, turn into him) were in vain.
Secondary Conflict: Falls for an elf called Clara that he cannot marry because he is the future king and unofficially betrothed to a girl from an empereon bloodline.
Hypothetical: Allex might unwittingly sabotage his alliance with a powerful family by pursuing his heart’s desire.
Inner Conflict: He suppresses his true desires, ignores his love for the elf, in favour of honouring his duty.
*
Protagonist Two—Thena of House Ellerin—who lives in a society dominated by ancient and patriarchal values, longs for a life of freedom. She subverts authority, sometimes against her own self-interest. She doesn’t understand that this is misguided until it’s too late.
Hypothetical: Thena does not like authority. If she were to find out that she was betrothed to the most eligible and handsome bachelor if her generation (whom she would have found attractive until the moment the betrothal is foisted on her), she would instantly begin hating the lordling and look for ways to foil their union. For example, she might decide to install her one true friend in the lordling’s house to spy on him, even if it means that her friend would need to leave her side, and she would have nobody in Halos to trust or lean on.
Secondary Conflict: In Halos, boys come of age at seventeen, when it’s deemed that they are both ready and responsible enough to wield their empereon powers to fight in the Sungod’s name. However, girls come of age when they are deemed to be of marriageable age—at thirteen. On her thirteenth birthday, each empereon girl must donate all of her toys to Hydra the Goddess of Nymphs, and in turn, they receive an exorbitantly expensive statue—usually commissioned by her father—that she will be allowed to install in her future husband’s garden. Thena finds that this double standard for boys and girls is ridiculous, and thinks that an expensive statue is very poor compensation for the loss of her childhood (and toys).
Hypothetical: Thena would not want to give up her toys to Hydra. She would ask her brother Cassiel to build her a hollow bench with a lid. Then, after the coming-of-age ceremony, when everyone is too drunk to pay attention, she would get her best friend to sneak into Hydra’s temple and steal back her toys. She would hide them all in the hollow bench and congratulate her own cleverness.
Inner Conflict: She has insecurities caused by society’s expectations for young girls, which causes her to make terrible romantic decisions.
*
Protagonist Three—Cassiel of Ellerin—is the most naive of the triplet siblings, and hates the destiny that he feels is unfairly forced on him—the burden to become Allex’s war chief when Allex becomes king. Though he dares not hope for an alternative future, he fails to uphold his responsibility—he puts off trying to understand the true nature of his power, and therefore, does not have sufficient control of it nor is able to wield it safely.
Hypothetical: Since Cassiel has no true understanding or control of his power, if his father (Apollyon, who has the same ability) should decide to overpower him and wield it without his permission, he would be unable to stop him. He may become an unwitting traitor to his own family.
Secondary Conflict: Cassiel is a hedonist and is unwilling to give up his creature comforts. The present Warchief—his mentor—is constantly pestering him to give up on the Arts of Verse (“Prince Cassiel, do you believe you are a bard?”) and focus on the Arts of War. But Cassiel does not want to do that, he’s not ready to give up his poetry and playwriting. He believes that the quill is mightier than the sword and prefers to fight using his words, which does not work in the society he lives in.
Hypothetical: TBD
Inner Conflict: He has a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he is to blame for Apollyon’s return (which is true).
7. Setting
SOLARIS is a world that is inhabited by men, elves, dwarves, goblins, and a semi-divine race called empereons—and terrorised by mythical monsters, a race of giant vikings, and a lone evil sorcerer.
Sun God Helsius has colonised this world; his blooded heirs, born to House Ellerin, are tasked to rule and protect his Empire of the Sun. As a symbol of this divine pact, the Ellerins build a great city and name it “HALOS” to honor their Sunfather. Rising above Halos is a cliff called COLOSSUSCRY, which is said to be made out of the weeping widows of giants, upon which is built HALCYONE TOWERS, which is the monarch’s seat of power. It comprises three towers, the tallest of which reaches one thousand feet into the sky above Halos, as if to bridge the gap between the Sunfather and the capital city of his empire.
The protagonists (Allex, Thena, and Cassiel) and antagonist (Apollyon) all belong to House Ellerin.
3D map/ CIRCLES OF SOLARIS
The first and highest circle is HEAVEN, where the worshipped gods dwell On the second circle, you will find the ISLE OF MISCHIEF (also known as the TOWER OF THE MESSENGER), home to the exiled Goddess of Chaos Maximone;
The third circle is the RIVER OF MEMORY, which no mortal may cross, unless assisted by a starcrosser (like Icarus the Gryphon, easily identifiable as a starcrosser from his heterochromia);
The fourth circle is terrestrial, and is where HALOS, the EMPEREAS, ANTARES, ZEPHYRAN, CELEBRION, and EMERALIS can be found;
The fifth circle is called the CITY OF DRAGONS, a subterranean realm which no mortal may cross unless assisted by a Firewalker (like Thena of House Ellerin who is easily identifiable as a Firewalker by her heterochromia)
The sixth circle is TARTUS (subtarranean), where dwell the souls of the dead. It is home to Tartus Necromage (the new Judge of Death), the oldest and wisest of all the gods. He is equal in power to his nephew, and Helsius fears his dark uncle. He views the Tartus as a pathetic liar and coward who wallows in self-pity in his exile in his subterranean home.
If you do not possess the Seventh Sense (which is the power that Apollyon, Cassiel, and Sinai possess) You need Tartus Necromage’s permission to access the….
…Seventh and DARKEST circle, known as the UNREALITY REALM.
Components of the FOURTH CIRCLE
Continent 1 (Mainland):
Halos is the capital of the empire of the Sun and is found on the coast of the continent known as the MAINLAND;
Empereas: Empereon realms located on the Mainland (to the north, the northeast, and west of Halos) are collectively known as MONTAGONand empereon realms (isles) located on the archipelago (to the south of—and surrounds—Halos) are collectively known as ISLANDIA;
CELEBRION: aka VALLEY MAGUS, hemmed by the CRESTA MAJORA mountain range in the south and CRESTA MINORIA mountain range in north, are located on the Mainland above Montagon.
Continent 2:
ANTARES: Slotted canyons of Antares are home exclusively to the Iridian elves*
ZEPHYRAN: The kingdom of dwarves
All of the above belong to the Empire of the Sun and all apart from Antares are inhabited also by men and goblins.
EMERALIS**: An independent elf kingdom, that exists on the Mainland to west of Montagon, and does not belong to the Sun Empire.
*The Iridian Elves are about as near-immortal as you can get, coming in second only to creatures like the gryphons and dragons, for they have given up war—in exchange for which they are granted power of healing and long life. Clara is about 2500 years old when she meets Allex. To kill an Iridian elf is a great sin.
**The Emeralian elves that dwell in the forestlands and emerald caves to the West of Montagon are a race of warrior elves with much shorter lives than their Iridian counterparts, than even empereons, and have the same life-span as men. Theirs is a kingdom independent and untouched by the Sun, and lit by emerald-fyre.
Worshipped Gods
1. Helsius the Sunfather, King of Gods
2. Hydra the Lady of Water—Goddess of Oceans and Seas and Nymphs, wife of Helsius.
3. Alcyone the Champion—Goddess of Warcraft and Victory, daughter of Helsius.
4. Sycorax the Stormbringer—God of Air and Guardian of Heaven, patron of the silver-swirling River of Memory through which no mortal must past, brother of Helsius.
6. Atlas the Huntsman, Golden-eyed Archer, Heir of the Sun. Son of Helsius. Sires a line of Emeralian elves called FROSTFYRE.
7. Phoinix the Forgemaster—the God of Fire, Metalworking, and Smiths, son of Helsius. Sires a line of dwarves known as the Waldermar.
8. Orpheus the Songster—God of Music, Poetry, Art, Sculpture, brother of Helsius. Tasked with moulding the race of men out of clay.
9. Prometheon the Mastermind—God of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Crafty Counsel, son of Helsius; sires a race of green goblins and breathes life/intelligence into the men that Orpheus builds from clay.
10. Caeron the Shepherd—God of Beasts and Husbandry, brother of Helsius.
11. Prospero the Healer—God of Health, son of Helsius. Gives Iridian elves eternal youth. His Iridian sire line is extinct.
12. Epicurios the Yeoman— God of the Harvests and Husbandry, uncle of Helsius.
Empereon Realms and dynasties
Montagon
Magnetia—House Magnetes, descending from the Mastermind
Calympia—House Calympus descending from the Stormbringer
Astrophania—House Astrophanes, descending from the Songster
Tyrania—House Tyranis, descending from the Shepherd
Islandia
Elleringuard—House Ellerin, descending from the Sunfather
Isle of Normany—House Normany, descending from the Healer
Adamantes—House Adamantes, descending from the Huntsman
Picardia (Gemini isle 1)—House Picardia, descending from the Forgemaster
Polaria (Gemini isle 2)—House Polaris, descending from the Yeoman
New York Write to Pitch 2022 - Seven Assignments (09/22)
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1. Story Statement (Book One)
Apollyon Rising is a story about a disgraced and disinherited prince who survives his public execution, and after being trapped in an otherworldly prison, returns home to reclaim his birthright, and disrupts the lives of my three protagonists—his triplet heirs..
The story begins on our triple protagonists’ seventeenth birthday. Allex, Thena, and Cassiel are unaware that their father, whom they have never known, is still alive. Their mother had died at childbirth, and as orphans, are raised by their paternal grandmother Queen Sinai the ruler of the Sun Empire. Allex—the reluctant heir to the throne—is obsessed with fulfilling his duty to his bloodline without complaint, yet secretly yearns to adventure. He is also obsessed with not becoming his father, whose shadow of disgrace looms over him. On the day that Allex comes of age, at sunset, Apollyon (Antagonist) returns to exact his vengeance on his mother (Queen Sinai) for sentencing him to die. Will Allex, Thena, and Cassiel uphold the ancient pact between their ancestor and the Sungod and save the Empire of the Sun or will they be forced to watch as it crumbles beneath the vengeful blade of Apollyon the Disgraced?
2. Antagonist Sketch
Apollyon Rising follows the return and rise of the treasonous Apollyon who has a bitter yearning for his lost status as crown prince, for wealth and dominion, which he is stripped of and sentenced to death for staging a coup d'état against his own mother, Queen Sinai. Eighteen years after he survives his public execution, on the day that my three protagonists come of age, Apollyon returns home, bent on exacting his vengeance on the one who issued the kill order—his mother—with an army of half-giants. He then discovers that he has been widowed. The love of his life has died during childbirth, leaving him with triplet heirs who he does not know and have automatically become his enemies. He forges an alliance with the Sungod’s youngest daughter—Maximone, the Goddess of Chaos—who wants to end her father’s oppressive religion and usher forth a new world order—the AGE OF CHAOS. He makes her a promise—to destroy all nine empereon dynasties—and at the end of book 1, destroys Elleringuard (the kingdom that belongs to House Ellerin).
3. Titles
Working Series Titles
1. Secrets of Solaris
Solaris, colonised by Sungod Helsius, is largely ruled by his Sun Empire, and will be destroyed by the secrets of its rulers.
2. Children of the Sun: Children of the Sun are descendants of the Sungod.
Working Book One Titles
1. Apollyon Rising
Excerpt from Chapter 8: …Every barleycorn he gained against his battle with the cliff infused him with a potent thrill. That gave him strength, and he pushed himself skyward. Nothing else existed but that hold, that push, this leaping dance over stone. As if he descended from gargoyles instead of the gods, Apollyon kept rising, refusing to believe that each movement was becoming more dangerous than the last.
2. Children of the Sun: Children of the Sun are descendants of the Sungod, and refers to his blooded (mortal) heirs of House Ellerin and the Sungod’s youngest daughter Maxiomone (immortal). Two kindred spirits join forces in book one— Apollyon of Ellerin who wants to usurp his mother, and Maximone who wants to erase her father’s religion, and usher in her own.
3. Call Me King: Apollyon says as much to his half-brother.
4. The Inheritance Thief : Apollyon, who comes to steal his son Allex’s inheritance.
4. Genre and Comparables
Genre—Fantasy
Comparables—The following two books feature multiple heroes, antiheroes, and underdogs with conflicts akin to mine.
Iron King, featuring Philip the Fair, is similar in story structure, themes, and because it comprises an anti-hero that you can root for.
The Band Series is somewhat similar in writing style and also contains comparable characters. It is as full of heart as it is of heroes—with humour filling the gaps in between.
Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon is a historical novel series. Book One—Iron King—is the story of the French King Philip the Fair, who is already surrounded by scandal and intrigue, and brings a curse upon his family when he persecutes the Knights Templar. The succession of monarchs that follow Philip leads France and England to the Hundred Years' War. Although mine is a fantasy work and is different to Druon’s in genre, our story structure and themes are similar: A monarch leads his country to war, and destroys his ancestral legacy.
King Philip murders the templar knight that curses him—while the reader intellectually recognises this as an act of villainy, nonetheless cannot help but root for him because Druon creates conflicting emotions in the reader, and in his depiction, Philip cuts a formidable figure you want to root for. Similarly, despite the fact that Apollyon brings ruin and disrupts the lives of the triplet protagonists, he is a an antagxonist that you can root for, whose antics you can enjoy and whose downfall you await. Also, much like how Philip set in motion the events that led to a terrible war, Apollyon’s thirst for revenge and dominion and power sets in motion the downfall of Halos and the Empire of the Sun, which his ancestors built. Other thematic similarities include family/sibling bonds and rivalries, “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, plot-moving lies at court, and world-ending secrets.
The Band Series by Nicholas Eames
I truly love Eames’ jolly prose and underdog characters. Kings of the Wyld follows Clay Cooper and his band who were once the most feared mercenaries in Heartwyld. But their glory days are long gone, and now they are old and fat and drunk. Then, a former bandmate turns up at Clay’s door asking him for a favour: his daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy horde. Much as a bandmate convinces the protagonist to go on a quest to rescue his daughter, my antagonist convinces his dutiful, honourable half-brother to join a group of unlikely bedfellows in a quest for vengeance.
5. Logline
1. A reluctant heir to the throne finds out that he is not an orphan; he is plunged into a war on the day he comes of age, when a horde of marauding half-giants descend upon his future kingdom, led by his disgraced father, who returns to reclaim his birthright.
2. Three heirs of the Sungod come of age, and their disgraced father returns home from exile to steal their inheritance.
3. After being trapped in an otherworldly prison for eighteen years, a disgraced prince returns home to exact his vengeance upon his mother, and reclaim his birthright.
4. A disgraced prince’s unlikely alliance with a Goddess of Chaos spells the beginning of the end of the Empire of the Sun.
5. Chaos is unleashed upon a peaceful kingdom when a disgraced prince returns home to seek revenge upon his mother and reclaim his birthright.
6. Conflicts
Apollyon Rising is written in third-person limited narration, and follows the points of view of three protagonists and one antagonist, all of whom are yearning for things they cannot have.
Antagonist—Apollyon of House Ellerin’s main conflict is a bitter yearning for his lost status, which he was stripped of and sentenced to die eighteen years ago, for staging a coup d'état against his mother, Queen Sinai. This yearning propels him to seek vengeance against her at all costs.
Hypothetical: Seeking vengeance at any cost is never advisable. Apollyon may go as far as aligning himself with an untrustworthy god, who only serves herself, and would not realize the repercussions of such an alliance until it’s too late.
Secondary Conflict: The love of his life has died giving birth to triplets, who’ve automatically become his enemies and perceive him as a traitor to their bloodline.
Hypothetical: Apollyon would be torn between killing off his heirs and allying with them. He may try to convince them to join his side, to turn against the present regime, beginning with the weakest link.
***
The protagonists have their own problems too:
Protagonist One—Allex of House Ellerin—secretly yearns for a life of travel and adventure and does not want to ascend the throne. He hears whispers behind his back that he looks like his dead treasonous father, and believes that a certain “sins of the father” miasma follows him everywhere, and he has set his North Star—not to become his father.
Hypothetical: If Allex should hear whispers that he looks like his father, he would hate it. Since he is determined not to be like his father, he would comb his hair differently (as prescribed by his grandmother) and would wear historically significant, untrendy, and grand-looking clothes that would make him look like a forefather —as if he were a transplant from an ancient generation (because it is widely known at court that Apollyon kept up with latest trends in his day). However, if he were ever to come face-to-face with Apollyon, he would overly focus on the similarities in their features (while ignoring the differences) and convince himself that his efforts not to look Apollyon (and thus, turn into him) were in vain.
Secondary Conflict: Falls for an elf called Clara that he cannot marry because he is the future king and unofficially betrothed to a girl from an empereon bloodline.
Hypothetical: Allex might unwittingly sabotage his alliance with a powerful family by pursuing his heart’s desire.
Inner Conflict: He suppresses his true desires, ignores his love for the elf, in favour of honouring his duty.
*
Protagonist Two—Thena of House Ellerin—who lives in a society dominated by ancient and patriarchal values, longs for a life of freedom. She subverts authority, sometimes against her own self-interest. She doesn’t understand that this is misguided until it’s too late.
Hypothetical: Thena does not like authority. If she were to find out that she was betrothed to the most eligible and handsome bachelor if her generation (whom she would have found attractive until the moment the betrothal is foisted on her), she would instantly begin hating the lordling and look for ways to foil their union. For example, she might decide to install her one true friend in the lordling’s house to spy on him, even if it means that her friend would need to leave her side, and she would have nobody in Halos to trust or lean on.
Secondary Conflict: In Halos, boys come of age at seventeen, when it’s deemed that they are both ready and responsible enough to wield their empereon powers to fight in the Sungod’s name. However, girls come of age when they are deemed to be of marriageable age—at thirteen. On her thirteenth birthday, each empereon girl must donate all of her toys to Hydra the Goddess of Nymphs, and in turn, they receive an exorbitantly expensive statue—usually commissioned by her father—that she will be allowed to install in her future husband’s garden. Thena finds that this double standard for boys and girls is ridiculous, and thinks that an expensive statue is very poor compensation for the loss of her childhood (and toys).
Hypothetical: Thena would not want to give up her toys to Hydra. She would ask her brother Cassiel to build her a hollow bench with a lid. Then, after the coming-of-age ceremony, when everyone is too drunk to pay attention, she would get her best friend to sneak into Hydra’s temple and steal back her toys. She would hide them all in the hollow bench and congratulate her own cleverness.
Inner Conflict: She has insecurities caused by society’s expectations for young girls, which causes her to make terrible romantic decisions.
*
Protagonist Three—Cassiel of Ellerin—is the most naive of the triplet siblings, and hates the destiny that he feels is unfairly forced on him—the burden to become Allex’s war chief when Allex becomes king. Though he dares not hope for an alternative future, he fails to uphold his responsibility—he puts off trying to understand the true nature of his power, and therefore, does not have sufficient control of it nor is able to wield it safely.
Hypothetical: Since Cassiel has no true understanding or control of his power, if his father (Apollyon, who has the same ability) should decide to overpower him and wield it without his permission, he would be unable to stop him. He may become an unwitting traitor to his own family.
Secondary Conflict: Cassiel is a hedonist and is unwilling to give up his creature comforts. The present Warchief—his mentor—is constantly pestering him to give up on the Arts of Verse (“Prince Cassiel, do you believe you are a bard?”) and focus on the Arts of War. But Cassiel does not want to do that, he’s not ready to give up his poetry and playwriting. He believes that the quill is mightier than the sword and prefers to fight using his words, which does not work in the society he lives in.
Hypothetical: TBD
Inner Conflict: He has a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he is to blame for Apollyon’s return (which is true).
7. Setting
SOLARIS is a world that is inhabited by men, elves, dwarves, goblins, and a semi-divine race called empereons—and terrorised by mythical monsters, a race of giant vikings, and a lone evil sorcerer.
Sun God Helsius has colonised this world; his blooded heirs, born to House Ellerin, are tasked to rule and protect his Empire of the Sun. As a symbol of this divine pact, the Ellerins build a great city and name it “HALOS” to honor their Sunfather. Rising above Halos is a cliff called COLOSSUSCRY, which is said to be made out of the weeping widows of giants, upon which is built HALCYONE TOWERS, which is the monarch’s seat of power. It comprises three towers, the tallest of which reaches one thousand feet into the sky above Halos, as if to bridge the gap between the Sunfather and the capital city of his empire.
The protagonists (Allex, Thena, and Cassiel) and antagonist (Apollyon) all belong to House Ellerin.
3D map/ CIRCLES OF SOLARIS
The first and highest circle is HEAVEN, where the worshipped gods dwell On the second circle, you will find the ISLE OF MISCHIEF (also known as the TOWER OF THE MESSENGER), home to the exiled Goddess of Chaos Maximone;
The third circle is the RIVER OF MEMORY, which no mortal may cross, unless assisted by a starcrosser (like Icarus the Gryphon, easily identifiable as a starcrosser from his heterochromia);
The fourth circle is terrestrial, and is where HALOS, the EMPEREAS, ANTARES, ZEPHYRAN, CELEBRION, and EMERALIS can be found;
The fifth circle is called the CITY OF DRAGONS, a subterranean realm which no mortal may cross unless assisted by a Firewalker (like Thena of House Ellerin who is easily identifiable as a Firewalker by her heterochromia)
The sixth circle is TARTUS (subtarranean), where dwell the souls of the dead. It is home to Tartus Necromage (the new Judge of Death), the oldest and wisest of all the gods. He is equal in power to his nephew, and Helsius fears his dark uncle. He views the Tartus as a pathetic liar and coward who wallows in self-pity in his exile in his subterranean home.
If you do not possess the Seventh Sense (which is the power that Apollyon, Cassiel, and Sinai possess) You need Tartus Necromage’s permission to access the….
…Seventh and DARKEST circle, known as the UNREALITY REALM.
Components of the FOURTH CIRCLE
Continent 1 (Mainland):
Continent 2:
All of the above belong to the Empire of the Sun and all apart from Antares are inhabited also by men and goblins.
*The Iridian Elves are about as near-immortal as you can get, coming in second only to creatures like the gryphons and dragons, for they have given up war—in exchange for which they are granted power of healing and long life. Clara is about 2500 years old when she meets Allex. To kill an Iridian elf is a great sin.
**The Emeralian elves that dwell in the forestlands and emerald caves to the West of Montagon are a race of warrior elves with much shorter lives than their Iridian counterparts, than even empereons, and have the same life-span as men. Theirs is a kingdom independent and untouched by the Sun, and lit by emerald-fyre.
Worshipped Gods
1. Helsius the Sunfather, King of Gods
2. Hydra the Lady of Water—Goddess of Oceans and Seas and Nymphs, wife of Helsius.
3. Alcyone the Champion—Goddess of Warcraft and Victory, daughter of Helsius.
4. Sycorax the Stormbringer—God of Air and Guardian of Heaven, patron of the silver-swirling River of Memory through which no mortal must past, brother of Helsius.
6. Atlas the Huntsman, Golden-eyed Archer, Heir of the Sun. Son of Helsius. Sires a line of Emeralian elves called FROSTFYRE.
7. Phoinix the Forgemaster—the God of Fire, Metalworking, and Smiths, son of Helsius. Sires a line of dwarves known as the Waldermar.
8. Orpheus the Songster—God of Music, Poetry, Art, Sculpture, brother of Helsius. Tasked with moulding the race of men out of clay.
9. Prometheon the Mastermind—God of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Crafty Counsel, son of Helsius; sires a race of green goblins and breathes life/intelligence into the men that Orpheus builds from clay.
10. Caeron the Shepherd—God of Beasts and Husbandry, brother of Helsius.
11. Prospero the Healer—God of Health, son of Helsius. Gives Iridian elves eternal youth. His Iridian sire line is extinct.
12. Epicurios the Yeoman— God of the Harvests and Husbandry, uncle of Helsius.
Empereon Realms and dynasties
Montagon
Islandia