Have Yourself a Heavy Metal Christmas

I like Christmas, I’ll admit. I like Christmas a lot, and perhaps for a metal lover as well that may not make a whole lot of sense, but I tend to make it work. I think perhaps the very best example of this is Gothic Christmas by Nightwish, a song all about the metal side of Christmas. If you have not yet heard the beauty of this sure-to-be-considered-a-hymn classic, look it up. It’s beautiful.

In the meantime, I am really quite excited to be heading home for the holidays as of tomorrow. As much as I love the school that I go to, the roommates that I have and the fellowship of my fellow man, I also love my nieces, brothers and sisters to death. So there’s that. And yet, I have but one final trial to pass through before I should return home.

You see, the person I am riding back home with is… a hip-hop fan.

Now I myself have nothing against hip-hop, depending on the sort of hip-hop we are talking about. I have nothing against hip-hop lovers, as my brother is one and he’s pretty awesome. However…

Which means that we will be listening to the likes of One Direction, Kesha, Demi Lovato and the like as we return to the cold barren wasteland of New York, seconded only by the cold barren wasteland of Canada. And I know Canada. My mother is from Canada and used to bring us up every season. Trust me, there is a reason that next to nobody lives there, even with all the nice people.

So due to this arrangement I will probably spontaneously combust into a ball of flames before we even get to Binghamton. Hopefully not, as that would mean all my friends would miss me and that my book would never get finished. Sadness abounds.

Since this blog is also about the novel, I will finish up on a slight bit about the book. We are going to finish talking about… swords. There isn’t a much higher form of awesomeness in the world of gothic fantasy than epic swords. The very first sword we are going to discuss is Enlightener, which for its look may be a more Christmas-y sort of thing to discuss. Here are the stats, which if you decide not to read, well then, we’ll end this off with a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Enlightener Stats
Total Length: 28 in
Blade Length: 21 in
Description: Pure white sword with aquamarine gem in a six-sided star-shaped pommel. Mainz-shape blade.
Abilities: In the hands of a magi (mage), the blade is able to transform into pure magic energy and lengthen to its user’s wishes. The full extent of its power is not known.
Crafter: Cedric Starkiller

Merry Christmas!

A Storm is Brewing

Now that the nationwide ad has officially gone out for the book, I feel like I can talk about Dark Soldier and all its gothic steampunk goodness a bit more. Dark Soldier is a novel I have been working on for two years, and I’m very proud of it. Although, I can’t say it is all due to me. Malkeon, Zenti, Trizkol, Ashlin, Zelena, Vaeryl; all the characters have put their fare share into the book just as I have. So here we go, just the basics. No spoilers!!

Who?

Many characters, of course, but it all starts out with a boy named Malkeon Redwing, who will soon become a man.

What?

The basics of Dark Soldier, how to start? I’m not one for short summaries, but if I WERE to write a short summary, it would be as follows: A young Asynthandian boy with a dark secret is quickly flung into a chaotic set of world-changing events when he is charged unfairly and left to die. No spoilers, nothing. Many apologies. Expect to be seeing some regular fantasy creatures, some familiar creatures with an unfamiliar twist, and some not-so-regular creatures. In fact, expect some creatures that have not been mentioned or conceived before.

When?

The series takes place in what the series refers to as the Age of Night, which corresponds best to our Medieval Age here on earth. However, due to the new amounts of technology rising up everywhere, who can really describe the age that is to come?

Where?

Although the story begins in Asynthandt (apologies for my own spelling if it’s wrong, I don’t care if I invented the word it’s hard to spell), it travels across the landscape, hundreds of miles, some by dragon, some by horseback, some by foot, some by the steeds of Jevruun and some by the smoke of a shadow. Prepare for some world-hopping excitement.

Why?

Because I can. I loved telling stories since I was young. I used to do it through drawing on the walls and explaining my story to my mother, but she did not appreciate that. I have taken to doing it through a medium that is far more appreciated than drawings on walls, one that everyone can enjoy and I do.

I would say that honestly the characters keep me going far more than I keep myself. I, personally, am lazy, but my characters are not. Their stories are hard, unforgiving, and filled with wonder; they deserve to be told without a second thought to it, if anyone deserves anything.

So, with this knowledge at your fingertips, check out the Facebook page for Dark Soldier, coming 2016. Can’t wait to see you there!

 

Full Steampunk Ahead

For those who were unaware, I’m a steampunkaholic. Yes, that’s correct, I’m coming out of the steam-filled, clockwork-powered sky pirate’s closet of aviator goggles. I’ve always been a fan of antiques and scifi, meaning I like futuristic things like mecha robots and laser cannons along with antique things such as top hats, steam trains, civil war cannons and 19th century upper-class dress. Mixing future and past is therefore one of my favorite things in the world. This is probably why I make so many steampunk-style things in the series I’m writing, The Soldier Chronicles, coming 2016. Expect bronze robots, steam trains, top hats, elves with top hats, elves with Civil War-era pistols, that sort of thing.

But as a introverted college student, I have come to notice something. I personally enjoy sitting alone. It’s not that I don’t like people, although depending on the people I probably won’t. It really all boils down to me not enjoying somebody judging my capability to ingest delectables. I don’t mind it so much with people that I already know. However, those that I don’t know, they’re just not going to catch me doing something, at least probably not, especially when I’m actually hungry and not just eating for social interaction.

Anyway, the point of the matter is that at this college it seems like nobody wants to sit in a group. They must all scatter within groups of two to each table to make absolutely sure that those that want to sit alone or with another friend cannot do so without interrupting their personal space. Not that I’m bitter, mind you, I’m just perplexed at this phenomenon. So there I am, at lunch, drink in hand, trying to find someplace to sit. There is literally no place to sit that there is not someone there already. I could feel the judging glares down my skull asking me “why don’t you have some large variety of friends or ability to socialize that you can’t sit anywhere?” I didn’t actually feel the judgment, but it felt like I felt the judgment, if that means anything. It took me a while of cruising, probably about five minutes, although it felt like forty. Eventually, I did find someone from my own dorm, an awesome dude who rocks his shortness. I swear he is a real-life Tolkien-age dwarf, due to his height and beard. Although, he doesn’t eat very much at all, so he’s not quite at Gimli status.

I have come to realize that I have not posted any artwork of any sort. I will fix that problem immediately. Here is Cyberland from quite a while ago:

There we are. Problem solved. Now you may all bask in the sheer awesomeness of a weird-as-heck cybertech robot breathing out a Utopian city.

I have come to feel like there is not quite enough in this post, so I am adding one more paragraph full of crazy sorts of things. I am unsure of what those are going to be up until this point, but give it time. Eventually I will realize that I wish to make some sort of comment on the current problem of some sort in our current society that nobody cares about at all. I think that seems to be the Christian Goth community. You were probably not aware that there is such a thing. However, it totally is, and for some time I would have considered myself part of it, and still partially do, although I am not quite so high-flung as to be wearing black on all occasions and parting my neon-dyed hair over one eye. (I am not saying I actually have neon-dyed hair. It is a hypothetical suggestion.) The reason they are referred to as Christian goths is their intense love for all things dark and disturbing. How, one might ask, can one fall in love with things that are sinful and continue to call yourself Christian? I do not think we really love death as much as one imagines, it is merely the things associated with death. For instance, skeletons are considered to be something most Christians would not enjoy, because it is a reminder of our sinful nature and the causes of it. Why so? I find that skulls and skeletons hold our bodies together. They are very much a symbol for if not the living, then the thing that once was. We should appreciate them more. I see the same with things like bats, blood, darkness. All are created by God, and he would not have made them if he did not also find them beautiful.

That is all. Have an odd and wonderful week!