Barb de Normandie

FIRST ASSIGNMENT: Many women struggle once we have children to define where the need to nurture ourselves ends and the responsibility to our children and by extension, our community begins. I was inspired to begin this project because I wanted to explore these relationships and how trauma and self-doubt can skew our sense of self and our view of reality. SOUL WATER SOLE HEIR begins as a devastated woman discovers her missing child is being held in a parallel dimension ruled by a tyrant seeking the final stage of immortality. This ruler must absorb the Soul Water of a direct descendant of pure Nepheshite blood in order to achieve his goal and this woman is his last remaining option. Risking her freedom and her life, the woman navigates dangers in an alternate dimension triggered by greed, indifference, indignation, and politics to save her child only to learn more is at risk. She must decide if it is her responsibility to join the fight to end civil war in her newly discovered native home world and prevent the destruction of the world she calls home. SECOND ASSIGNMENT: Chancellor Barzel, ruler of the Nepheshites, seeks the final stage of immortality reserved for the elites. He must consume the Soul Water of a direct descendant and complete the ritual within the coming year or lose this zenith of existence forever, but no descendants live in his world. After decades of searching, the Order of Absolution locates Barzel’s sole heir living in the Realm of Humans. This heir, Eliana Fortner, is Barzel’s granddaughter who was whisked away as an infant by Hokmani, one of Barzel’s most trusted courtesans. Hokmani took the infant from the arms of her dying mother. She couldn’t bear to have her last surviving child subjected to a life of serving as Barzel’s breeding courtesan or worse, being interned in the River of Souls. Then Hokmani with her own surviving child, Kavua, joined the Balamsian rebels fighting the bloody war to end the brutal quest for immortality. The passage of an adult between the Nepheshite world and the Human Realm requires the individual to open and enter a Pyramid of Radiance portal willingly. So in a desperate attempt to facilitate Barzel’s ascension, the Order of Absolution kidnaps Eliana’s daughter and uses her as bait. THIRD ASSIGNMENT: River of Immortal Souls Soul Water and Sole Heir Soul Harvester: River of Immortality FOURTH ASSIGNMENT: Missing Daughter by Rick Mofina (2019) for missing children & mystery meets The Library of the Dead (2022) for portal travel & lost souls The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker (2013) for female protag, family & portal travel Witchmark by C.I. Polk (2018) for fantasy, romance & world war NOTE: The project might also appeal to fans of N.K. Jemisin (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms), Samantha Shannon (The Priory of the Orange Tree), Tasha Suri (Empire of Sand), Robert Jordan (Wheet of Time), and Terry Brookes (Shannara Series) FIFTH ASSIGNMENT: The sole heir of an interdimensional tyrannical ruler must stop the consumption of her missing daughter’s soul and prevent the enslavement of humanity. SIXTH ASSIGNMENT: Inner Conflict: Eliana needs to feel loved in spite of being betrayed by her husband who is moving on with a pregnant fiancé even though the divorce isn’t final. She blames herself for asking Paul to pick Deidre up from school instead of leaving her job as originally planned. She blames herself for not being strong/good enough to hold onto Paul through the pain of losing Deidre. And she even wonders whether there was something wrong with her that caused her biological mother and father to throw her away. Maybe she doesn’t deserve to be loved. Hypothetical Inner Conflict Scenario: Deidre is safe in the Balamsian camp but has been brainwashed to believe that Eliana abandoned her in the woods, leaving her to die. Eliana and Deidre argue causing Eliana to question whether all this happened because she failed as a mother. Eliana’s response is to run away and sulk providing the perfect opportunity for Deidre to sneak out of their confined quarters in an attempt to run back to Barzel. When Deidre is recaptured by the Balamsian patrol and taken to Hokmani, a wise mother who suffered great loss, Eliana listens to Hokmani explain the error of Deidre conclusions. In the process, Eliana begins to evaluate how she feels about her worthiness to be a mother. Secondary Conflict: Eliana wants to be in control, often at the expense of reading other people’s feelings. This is a protection mechanism to stay her fear has served her well in her goal of being totally self-reliant and doing so with the precision of a perfectionist. Hypothetical Secondary Conflict Scenario: Eliana drops out of Pyramid of Radiance portal in the woods near home like a sack of potatoes landing with a thud. Half crawling and limping, she drags herself up the back stairs of the house with only enough strength to lay on the porch and bang on the locked door with frustration. Who the hell locked the door that she deliberately left open since she was only going for a short walk!?!?!? To her surprise, Cameron cautiously looks through the glass and rushes to help her into the house. He stayed at her house, searching the woods, and praying for her safe return even though the police and Paul hadn’t taken his concerns seriously. When he tries to console Eliana or offer aid, just like when they were kids, Eliana shoves him away and talks over him, ignoring his attempts to show her how much he cares. She’s oblivious to the pain in eyes or the bent shoulders from the rejection and she charges ahead to activate a plan to get back to Deidre. No woman is an island, but she doesn’t seem to understand that. FINAL ASSIGNMENT: Human World: Eliana’s home base is located in the Pacific Northwest on a thickly wooded small island with approximately sixteen thousand inhabitants. There’s a small village near the ferry docks with a few much-appreciated restaurants, a well-stocked grocery store, and boutique shops. Eliana is the principal at the one public high school that is highly regarded throughout universities across the country. She lives within walking distance of the 240-acre Grand Forest which is a setting steeped in local mystical legends where some have been known not to return from. Land of Nahar Am: The hidden land of Nahar Am is accessible through a portal open only to those tied to the mystical world of water. It was once a beautiful and peaceful land benevolently ruled by the magical Iyrin who were worshiped by the Balamsians. The Iyrin Temple was located in the middle of a jungle but visible from the sea to the west. It was an honor for any Balamsian to make the annual pilgrimage to the temple to present the fruits of their labors. Life was simple and the Iyrin prevented pestilence and disease, providing for the basic needs of the inhabitants. Technological advances were few and weapons other than swords and spears used to defend against wild animals was all that was needed. Life as the Balamsians knew if was destroyed when the Nepheshites from a distant kingdom adjacent to Nahar Am invaded seeking the secrets held by the Iyrin for an eternity… the secret to immortality. The Nepheshite conquerors killed all but a handful of the Iyrin forcing them to uncover how to adapt their science for use by the Nepheshite elite. The Nepheshites saw no reason to destroy the temple, so it fell into disrepair with only the shell to represent what has once been a great civilization. Nepheshite Supreme Ruler Barzel was so enthralled with achieving immortality that his only interest in the Balamsians was interning the young in the River of Immortal Souls to achieve his ultimate goal. He ordered Balamsians slaves to extend the Iyrin complex over the River of Immortal Souls and called it the Citadel. In this place he set up his home and installed a garrison of elite soldiers to allow the Iyrin research to continue without interruption. And he harnessed the volcanic fires on the island to the south of the Citadel for power. A walled city for the Nepheshites was created to the west of the Citadel where all manner of temptation and vice was entertained without question. The surviving Balamsians fled during the war forming four clans: Bal Clan of the North, Bal Clan of the Green, Bal Clan of the East, and Bal Clan of the Seas. But one rebel group made the decision to fight for freedom. Beyond the ruined remains of a Balamsian village far to the west, they uncovered a secret passage behind a waterfall. Descending more than 100 steps from the plateau, the passage opened into a forested area. The Balamsian rebels built a raised encampment in the tree canopy to house their warrior Protectors and families. Life was hard living in the trees, but it afforded them critical protection and allowed them to conduct clandestine patrols and launch attacks against the Nepheshites. So had life continued in the land of Nahar Am for more than three hundred years, but change is the horizon when a young mother discovers that she was born in another dimension and her child has been kidnapped to lure her back.