Melanie Nilles

So, you’ve read the character interviews and are back for more. Now’s your chance to learn some of the history, background, and general terms you’ll see in the series and have seen in the interviews. (The information in this particular post will soon be made available for download as a PDF and will be included in the text of Dragon Prophecy as one of two appendices.)

The name of the world is Gairdra, named by the Majera, also known as the Creators. Their original language is known as Gairdran and is spoken primarily by the immortals. The world has many islands and island clusters and five continents. Three of the five continents are in close proximity and are also the largest land masses. In order of size, from largest to smallest, they are Ayrule, Rivonia, and Voshtrau. The two smaller continents of Lotar and Caprion are more comparable to large islands. On Ayrule, the largest kingdom is Cavatar, which is actually a confederation of provincial governments under one central leader. Rivonia is named after the people who dominate in power–the Rivon–although the Caveshan Plains make up seventy percent of its territory and are named after the tribes that control the area. The majority of Voshtrau’s territory is inhabitable as dry wastelands (Known as Amril Nos).

Gairdra has one moon, which dictates the calendar. The time it takes for the moon to make one full cycle of faces is what is referred to as a moon cycle or sometimes just “cycle”. It is equal to 26 days. A year, annul in Gairdran, consists of almost fourteen full cycles. The new year starts on the spring equinox, which usually cuts the last cycle of the previous year short by one to two days. The new year does not always begin on the same moon phase but every cycle within that year will.

In several of the interviews, characters mentioned the term “Lumathir” and described a little who they are. The word Lumathir is a misspelled combination of the Gairdran words lûmea, meaning “light”, and m’athêrred, meaning “children”. Their order of priestesses began around the end of the dragon wars, a few hundred years before the founding of the Sh’lahmar. While Sh’lahmar guards are also considered m’athêrred rî Lûmea, or “children of the Light”, they are generally not referred to by the word Lumathir.

Ah! But you haven’t been introduced to the Sh’lahmar? Why, yes you have! Remember Darius and Jayson? They carried a secret they could not mention. Over the thousands of years since they were established, the Sh’lahmar have guarded the vault in which the Red Clan slept under Makleor’s spell. The full title of Shinna Lahamar was slurred and condensed into its current form. The original meaning of “guardian of the secret” was rarely used in its full form of shinna rî aflahamar before becoming the shortened title of Shinna Lahamar (translated word for word as “Guard Secret” but meaning the same as the full description). (You’ll learn more by reading Dragon Prophecy. This is only a brief explanation of where the name originated.)

And what about these Dragon Wars? This is the time starting when the Red Clan was created to when they were put to sleep. The dragons were the first army formed by either side to defend the claims of their masters over control of Gairdra.

You’ve already met the leader of the Red Clan. The name Lusiradrol was given by the mage Makleor shortly after the black dragon was exiled to human form. It is derived from the words for black, lusif, and the word for heart, drolasa. She liked the new name, which was intended as a curse, and abandoned her self-given dragon name of Nefarthissen.

So, there’s a start to what you can expect, but it’s only the proverbial “tip of the iceberg”. This information will be available for download as a PDF by the end of February 2008, when Dragon Prophecy will be available. Mark your calendars and be sure you check back for updates!  Next week, we’ll touch on the dragons of this world.

Writers are some of the worst sufferers of lack of self-esteem. We say we write for ourselves, but that’s not totally true. We do write first for ourselves, but we also write for others, that is, those of us who carry the hope of seeing a publishing credit. So, while we write what we enjoy, we also want our ego’s stroked with a little praise.

Ha! First we have to set aside the ego. (Easier said than done.) There comes a time with every story when we have to put aside the vision we have, and accept what others have to say, in the form of criticism. That is, we have to take ourselves out of the picture and look at our writing from outside eyes.

The new writer is usually afraid. Their self-esteem is low enough and harsh criticism can feel like a personal attack. Woe on them! No one appreciates their mastery of the craft. As if! It’s like being a teen, when you think you know everything but you really don’t know squat. Like growing up, growing as a writer involves learning that the more you think you know, the less you actually know. As any apprenticeship or new job, you start at the bottom, learn the skills to be good, and eventually–maybe–become a master of the craft. And no matter how far you go as a writer or how fast or slow you get there, it’s a process of always learning.

That’s where critiques come in. I’ve learned to accept them, but find that my ego still likes to step in the way of improving a piece in someone else’s way. I have to put a work aside after receiving criticism, even if it’s constructive, until I can take control over my ego and shove it away, or stomp it flat. It never dies and grows back, but I’ve learned that I can master it. It just takes time, usually a few days to a couple of weeks. In that time I also step away–out of–the world in that piece. When I’ve mastered my ego, I come back with outside eyes and more readily see what others saw.

To improve on any endeavor, we have to find the courage to push our ego’s aside. It’s part of the process of growth and maturation.