Phoenix Rising (57 page)

ARTAN

Very humanlike,
Artan
tend to be delicate in appearance, with hair and eyes of exotic colors; they are extremely controlled in emotional displays as a rule. They often live in wilder areas—forests and mountains—but not, despite some assumptions, because they like to live “close to nature”; they prefer to be hard to find, and have a sort of racial paranoia that they are still being hunted by some nameless adversaries who supposedly chased them from beyond the stars to Zarathan. The Rohila are technically the same species, but are otherwise separated from them in culture, behavior, and associations, aside from being also isolationist.

CHILDREN OF ODIN/ODINSYRNEN

Short, broad, tough as stone, these appear to be—and in many ways are—the classic dwarves. However, they are not a species of hard-drinking and fighting warriors, despite appearances and the fact that their patron pantheon includes Odin and Thor. According to their legends, they were literally created by Odin, who forged them in Asgard from the heart of a world, using Thor’s hammer to do the striking. While their greatest city is indeed underground, the Children of Odin are equally at home above ground and are nearly as flexible in choice of profession and environments as human beings.

WINGED FOLK/SAELAR

Generally human in appearance but with a set of huge, compactable wings, the Saelar are almost certainly the result of some mage’s experimentation a few Chaoswars ago. The records are, however, lost, and they breed as true as any, so they are now an uncommon but widely spread species, most heavily concentrated in the region of the Broken Hills.

MAZAKH

Often called “snake-demons,” “snake-men,” and other more derogatory terms, the
mazakh
were originally the creation of the demons they worship (the
Mazolishta
), who literally constructed them from a number of other species. In appearance, they are actually somewhat less snakelike and more like small raptorian dinosaurs. Generally raised in a hostile culture that trains them for warfare and lack of empathy, the
mazakh
are not inherently evil, and some leave the service of the
Mazolishta
and join the greater societies above; these are called
khallit
.

Gods of Zarathan

The gods and their choices affect nearly everything on the planet. There are, literally, hundreds if not thousands of deities worshipped on the planet; for purposes of
Phoenix Rising
, only a few are of great significance, however.

MYRIONAR

God of Justice and Vengeance, Myrionar is at the heart of the action. In the grander scheme of things, Myrionar is a fading god whose influence is vastly reduced from what it was, but that may be changing. Represented as a set of scales balanced on the point of a sword.

TERIAN

The Nemesis of Evil, the Light in the Darkness, Terian is also called Infinity as he is referred to in prophecy as “The Length of Space.” A deity of unswerving good, Terian is also ranked as one of the most powerful of deities on anyone’s scale. Represented by a human figure mostly in black with a cape or cloak clasped with a golden sidewise-eight figure, and head blurred/concealed by a blaze of light.

CHROMAIAS AND THE FOUR

Generally portrayed as good, the Chromaian faith is extremely flexible, especially as it manifests all aspects of magic and power. Symbolized by a four-pointed jack-like object with crystals of four different colors at the points and a clear diamond at the center.

EÖNAE

Goddess of the world(s), Eönae’s focus is on nature, with control over the natural elements (earth, air, fire, water, and spirit) the most common manifestation of her power. She is frequently allied with
Shargamor
, a demon of water turned to the light, who is mostly focused on storms, streams, rain, and so on. Symbolized either by a woman (young, medium, old) with green and brown hair, or by her signature creatures, the
Eönwyl
.

ELBON NOMICON AND THE SIXTEEN

One of the most ancient pantheons, the head of this group of gods is Elbon Nomicon, Teranahm a u Gilnas (Great Dragon of the Diamond), supposedly father to all Dragons and a being of almost incalculable power. The Dragons tend to slow, long duty-cycles on Zarathan, either sleeping for ages or travelling to other planes of existence, with only a few physically present on Zarathan at any given time; it is, however, rumored that Elbon Nomicon’s own home is at the center of the Krellin mountains at the extreme southwest tip of the continent. The symbol of each dragon is its chosen gemstone; Elbon’s personal symbol is a stylized lighting bolt with rays extending out from it.

KERLAMION

The Black Star, King of All Hells, Kerlamion is one of the most powerful of the gods as well as one of the original Demons. He symbolizes destruction and conquest, and attracts only the worst sort of worshippers; he is, however, often quite active and those who please him may often get material aid. His symbol is, predictably, either a black starburst or a humanoid outline of pure black.

THE MAZOLISHTA

Great Demons who are the patron gods of the
mazakh
and other creatures of darker natures, there are several Mazolishta whose names are rarely spoken; the only one appearing directly in
Phoenix Rising
is
Voorith
, whose focus is life, forests, and such—in a corruptive and destructive sense.

BLACKWART THE GREAT

God of Toads (and anything else he happens to like), Blackwart manifests as a gigantic black toad, hence the name. While not powerful on the scale of many of the gods, he is much more savvy than many give him credit for (just like his people). He is symbolized by a stylized set of pop-eyes and a smile, or by a black toad figurine.

AFTERWORD

In many ways, the publication of
Phoenix Rising
is the most personally important and thrilling part of my writing career so far. Oh, the publication of my first book,
Digital Knight
, has a certain special something about it that nothing else will ever match, but the
roots
of
Phoenix Rising
are much deeper—even though the two books take place in the same overall universe.

The world that Kyri, Poplock, and Tobimar live in, Zarathan, was first created in 1977–1978, about 35 years ago. It’s changed a lot, of course, but there are elements that have remained the same for decades. Most readers will notice—will have a hard time
not
noticing—that there are a lot of things going on in the book which aren’t, precisely, covered, just touched on. That’s because Zarathan is, to me, a living, breathing, complex world, and the world-shaking events that Kyri and her friends encounter require more than one team of heroes to deal with. There’s room on Zarathan for many heroes—and many villains. There is the story of Kyri, Tobimar, and Poplock, which I call “The Balanced Sword”; there is the story of Xavier and his friends, which I call “Spirit Warriors”; and a third set of heroes includes none other than Kyri’s little sister Urelle and young Ingram Camp-Bel in “Godswar.” I know all their stories; with luck, I will get to tell them all as well.

I have always dreamed of having Zarathan presented to the world. It almost scares me, in a way; the only other people who’ve entered the world of Zarathan have done so in a very personal fashion, as people playing in the campaign for which Zarathan is the setting, where I can convey the world in the spoken word, with gesture and voice and hours upon hours of time; I can’t be sure how well I succeed in mere writing. But if I’ve done it well enough, some readers—maybe only a few, maybe many—will see the Towers of the Six and One glowing with the colors of a thousand jewels in the setting sun, momentarily come face-to-face with a mighty child of dragons, hear the thunder of the voices of the gods, or just perhaps, smile at the wit of a tiny golden-eyed toad, and feel some of the joy and wonder that I do as I survey a world that exists only in my imagination . . . and the imaginations of those who have visited the World of Magic.

Ryk E. Spoor

January 30, 2012

Troy, NY

www.grandcentralarena.com