The IX

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Arden - Worldbuilding - part 4

Can you guess where this might be from the book?

This time round, I though I'd take a look at some of the sights that inspired various parts of Arden...You know, those places you've read about in the story and from which you might have conjured a word picture in your mind.

Here's a little snapshot of what I envisioned. Compare them to the scenes within each chapter, and you'll see why Arden would be a wonderful world if it were not for the Horde menace.

The Sengennon Strait

Welcome to the purple/mauve grasslands that surround the precincts of Rhomane for at least ten miles in every direction

Asterlan Lake

To the east of the city lies the vast inland sea - the Asterlan Lake. Its aquamarine waters are often stained a deep scarlet due to the reflections of the nearby Garnet Mountains along its northern shores.

Garnet Mountains

Lying to the northwest, this ruddy barrier catches the first rays of Soleíl (the Ardenese sun) and reflects its glory in a breath-taking way. Here's a close-up shot of the picture above.

The Grisson Gap

As you will know from the story, the Grisson Gap sits to the north of Rhomane at the border of the Garnet Mountains (northwest) and Erasan Mountains (northeast).

The Erasan Mountains

Home to the Targens (eaglelike creatures of Arden and the Boradan snowbeast) This impressive range lies to the north and west of the city.

Southern Grasslands

As you travel south of Rhomane, past the Starport and then slightly east, you hit these beautiful plains.

Tar'e-esh Forest

Far to the southeast lies a huge expanse of purple-green forests where a major part of the story takes place. Here's the inspiration behind that magical place.

As you can see, it would be a wonderful fantasyland to stroll through

Shilette Abyss

Of course, the Shilette Abyss is a vast edifice that can be seen from space. When I saw this picture - and others like it - it created an image in my mid of a huge scar, scores of miles wide - gouging its way across Arden's surface. A place that the colonists can turn to when the fight against the Horde takes a turn for the better.
*******

So there you go. These are the building blocks to how Arden and the land about Rhomane were born.

I don't know about you - but I'm hooked.

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The IX

Roman legionnaires, far from home, lost in the mists of
Caledonia.
A US cavalry company, engaged on a special mission, vital to the peace treaty proposed by Presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln.
A twenty-first century Special Forces unit, desperate to
prevent a nuclear catastrophe.
From vastly different backgrounds, these soldiers are united
when they are snatched away from Earth at the moment of their passing. Thinking they may have been granted a reprieve, imagine their horror when they discover they have been transported to a failing planet on the far side of the galaxy,
where they are given a simple ultimatum.
Fight or die.
Against all odds, this group of misfits manages to turn the tide against a relentless foe, only to discover the true cost of victory might exact a price they are unwilling to pay.

How far would you be willing to go to stay alive?

The IX.

Sometimes, death is only the beginning of the adventure.

Exordium of Tears

Fight or die.
That simple yet brutal reality is the tenet by which the refugees from Earth – including the fabled lost 9th Legion of Rome; the 5th Company, 2nd Mounted Cavalry Unit; and the Special Forces Anti-Terrorist Team – were forced to live by while the Horde menace existed. Believing that the threat is over, the
survivors now yearn to settle down, start families, and reclaim the lives stolen from them.
But such aspirations might remain beyond their reach, for a shadow looms on the rose-tinted horizon of new beginnings.
The release of the re-genesis matrix has done much to foster a restoration of exuberance across Arden. Along with a resurgence in floral and faunal diversity comes the results of splicing the Ardenese and human genomes: transmutation. A
metamorphosis of stunning magnitude that not only affects the living, but those still is stasis as well.
Recognizing the emergence of a new hybrid species, the Architect – the arcane AI construct tasked with the preservation of the Ardenese race – responds by unlocking
previously hidden and inaccessible areas of the city. It also releases an archive of sealed state secrets. Such revelations are eagerly perused, whereupon a shocking discovery is made.
Prior to the fall, it was common knowledge amongst the Senatum (the highest levels of Arden’s government) that not all the rabid Horde had joined in the rampage across the stars toward Arden.
Realizing that the peril still exists, the newly reformed administration elects to respond in earnest. Existing resources are utilized, suitable candidates are chosen, and a flotilla of ships is sent out to secure, quarantine, and reclaim the outer colonies. A mammoth and hazardous undertaking. And nowhere more so than at the planet from where the
outbreak was known to have originated – Exordium – for there, the ancient Horde are not only supremely evolved and highly organized, but are capable of a level of lethal sophistication, the likes of which has never been witnessed before.
It is into this kiln of incendiary potential that the cream of Arden’s fighting forces is deployed.
Worlds are torn asunder, suns destroyed, and star systems obliterated. Yes, tragedy is forged, in a universe spanning conflict which proves once again that…

Death is only the beginning of the adventure.

Prelude to Sorrow

Fight or Die.

The task force dispatched to eradicate the Horde menace on far Exordium failed, and for those few left alive, the tenet by which they have survived for so long resounds as never before.

Now marooned, out of time and out of place, the survivors lick their wounds and struggle to recover while the Horde gather their strength for a final strike that will change the course of history forever. The fate of the galaxy – and more – hangs in the balance.

But fate, it seems, isn’t done with the Ninth, and our heroes find themselves forced to mount a last-ditch attempt to end the threat once and for all.

Will the darkness be vanquished, or will our heroes’ efforts finally signal the beginning of the end of their adventure?

Find out in – Prelude to Sorrow – the stunning conclusion to the IX saga.

IX Genesis

Arden, birthplace of a people who have mastered the secrets of arcane, reality-bending technology, and home to a civilization that now spans more than thirty planets throughout an entire quadrant of the galaxy. They are wise and understanding. Majestic in vision. Powerful beyond compare. And intent on extending their benevolent influence throughout the stars. . . Until the fateful day their thirst for knowledge leads them to push too far, too quickly. In doing so, they open a door into the antiverse, a realm where the very nature of existence is an anathema to life. An antithesis to all that is good. Evil. And that evil is sentient, as highly contagious as it is fueled by an irresistible proclivity to feed and multiply and spread. And feed and multiply it does. Faced with an overwhelming flood, the Ardenese have no option. They must fight or die!

Where to find us:

Sunday, January 3, 2016

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