The IX

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Arden Worldbuilding - Part 5

For those of you who have read The IX, I'm sure you'll have all conjured images in your minds about the soul-sucking Horde. Fiendish ethereal ogres that can strip the life essence from all living things, and the potential from most energy-based weaponry and mechanisms.

But...
where did I get the inspiration for such adversaries?

Well, the first thing that ran through my head was based on this:

Yup a boring old vampire.

You'll be glad to know I never intended to stay on this topic. It was just a starting point for an adversary that was anti-life...and rightly so. Nowadays, vampires are portrayed as something sexy. Something people aspire to be if given half a chance, and I certainly didn't want my antithetical creations to be appealing in any way.

So, after a bit more thought, I added these components:

NOW we're starting to refine the idea a little.

I'm sure all you sci-fi buffs remember the Wraith from Stargate Alantis? They were a superb enemy, a vampiric/telepathic species that evolved when a nasty little life-form called a Iratus Bug fed on humans, absorbing their ability to heal themselves. Over time, they adopted aspects of their hosts' DNA, giving rise to the Wraith themselves.

Aggressive, remorseless hunters, the Wraith couldn't be trusted and viewed others as cattle. What's more, they were hard to kill. THAT was the kind of enemy I wanted our heroes to face...

with a little tinkering.

You see, I wanted something special. That's when I thought of jellyfish.

Insidious and hard to see, Jellyfish are a sneaky predators that inject neurotoxins into their quarry that often induces paralysis. I was drawn to the aspect of the Horde being able to overpower and hold their prey helpless, and as I played with that idea, the bioluminescent variety reminded me of something I'd seen on a number of occasions years ago.

Wait for it....

still waiting?

ta-dah!

Who remembers this incredible revelation of the enemy in Forbidden Planet? (One of the all-time best Science fiction movies ever - and made in 1956 no less!) A monster of the ID, revealed in all it's glory under an intense barrage that did nothing to dissuade its efforts.

NOW I was getting somewhere.

At last I had a template in my mind of an ethereal, mostly invisible creature that was able to draw sustenance from any artificial construct emitting energy, and from anything possessing the force of life itself.
I wanted a creature that would get bigger and stronger the more it feasted. More adept and cunning. A creature that could manifest its majesty in a truly horrific way in order to stun its prey and improve the flavor of its meal by inducing a tasty tang of terror.

And that, my friends, is how the Horde were born.

********
Could you imagine something like that chasing you?
You might do again, real soon.

Until the next time...

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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:

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

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