Character Lists

I think character lists/dramatis personae/cast role call are important for any novelist. Not all books should have one (if any ever do). They should be for the author only. This helps in case you forget a character or their profession.

Example:

Title of Book
   Main Characters:
     Jack Wells, commander, Death Commandos (human male from Rulnudor)*
     Rhys Jones, commander, Liberty Rangers (human male from Libertia)
     Tamara Lamnar, lieutenant, Liberty Rangers (human female from Libertia)
     Jessica Green, lieutenant, Death Commandos (human female from Calassa)
     Jori, lieutenant, Liberty Rangers (human female from Libertia)
     Kyle Daly, reporter, Calassa News Network (human male from Calassa)
     Jon Green, senator (human male from Calassa)
     Prince Khariss, head of Darkstar criminal organization (human male)
   Secondary Characters:
     Juan Lopez; lieutenant, Liberty Rangers (human male)
     Q, lieutenant; Death Commandos (Mar'ahli male)
     Nick Trang; lieutenant, Death Commandos (human male)
     Sarha Poland; captain, Liberty Rangers (human female)
     Tessa; captain, Death Commandos (human female)
     Latchton; assassin (human male)
     Y'Canthra; mechanic (Azhiiry female from Azhiiry)
     T'ol; mechanic (human female from Hydronkker)
     Tixe; general, Rulnudor Special Operations Brigade (human male from Rulnudor)
     Vhoz Lamnar; general, Libertia Special Operations Brigade (human male from Libertia)
     Stone; general, Libertia Special Operations Brigade (human male from Libertia)
* = this may be different if your story is only set on earth, main stream fiction, or doesn't involve other species like dogs, cats at which point the "(human male/female)" becomes irrelevant.

I don't recommend this for all writers though. It mainly works well with Sci-Fi or Fantasy (if you have a lot of characters, mind).

New Characters for a new story

Since I took a break from SOC, I started working on its followup story. Mostly for myself and cause I just had to get the ideas down somewhere as a "just in case".

Returning Characters:
Jack Wells; prisoner (male human from the territory Rulnudor) {Arrested for killing the Emperor}
Rhys Jones; fugitive (male human from the territory Libertia) {WANTED for suspected brainwashing}
Jessica Green; fugitive (female human from the destroyed city Calassa, now from Rulnudor) {WANTED for suspected brainwashing and assassinating the Emperor}
Tamara Lamnar; prisoner (female human from Libertia) {Arrested for being brainwashed and spreading Rulnudor propaganda}
Jori; fugitive (female human, origins are unknown) {WANTED for suspected brainwashing}
Kyle Daly; prisoner (male human from the destroyed city Calassa) {Arrested pending investigation of unknown circumstances}
General Tixe; general of the Rulnudor Special Operations Brigade (male human from Rulnudor)
Griff Wahl; prisoner (male human from the territory of Libertia) [moved from the original prologue and epilogue of SOC to here. His events have been erased] {Arrested for bribery}

New Characters:
Y; prisoner (female Mar'ahli) {Arrested for old prejudices}
Master Tesqui-Wiit; Ji-Jorhan martial arts instructor (male Ji-Jorhan from the territory Raji-Jorha)
Rou'tre; mechanic (female human from the territory Hydronkkers)
Sarline'batra; prisoner (male Azzaery) {Arrested for political reasons}
Oph'la; prisoner (female human/Hydronkker) {Arrested for sabotaging Rulnudor and Libertia vehicle compounds}
Bylee; prisoner (female Ji-Jorhan) {arrested for "threatening" an emissary}
Mira; Ji-Jorhan student (female Ji-Jorhan from Raji-Jorha)
Emperor Malton Alhai; ruler of Rulnudor (male human from the territory of Rulnudor)
Chief Walrot; ruler of Libertia (male human from Libertia)
Jeksonn Alhai; son of the Emperor (male human from Rulnudor)

Today's blog update is going to be nothing more than a rambling from me. I have found myself in a corner, working on a lot of additions to and modifications of my novel. I have seemingl gotten bored with the book and have so put it to the side for now. I have started working on another project I put into the drawer for some time. It is a follow up to SoC, and details the events of the survivors and the basic outline for the next story.

In it, I have old characters, some new, and some who we've heard from/of, but never seen. For instance, in SoC, we get epigraphs from Kyle Daly, but in the second story, I give him scenes and a life. The other is the Emperor. All I have on him is he's a friend of Jack Wells, and wants peace. I haven't decided upon a  name yet; I'm still considering what name would be appropriate for him.

New characters introduced are a broken Mar'ahli, two female prisoners who have a love for weapons, the Emperor's son, an exiled Hydronkker, and a lithe Azzaery assassin. I don't have names yet, but I am having fun writing their descriptions and stats down. Hopefully, I should break out of this spell and get back on that book.

SOC lingo

Words/phrases you will find in the novel, as well as what they stand for.


HUD--Heads Up Display
Lt, Loot, Lieut--Lieutenant
Rash’lavikh (RAHsh-lawVICK)--Mar'ahli derogatory term for drones (both living and mechanical)
Plasmacid blomb--a plasma and acid bomb
LRC--Libertia Rangers Command
LMI--Libertia Military Intelligence
RMI--Rulnudor Military Intelligence
SOB--Special Operations Brigade (used for both Rulnudor and Libertia commandos)
VIP--Very Important Person
LRaD--Libertia Research and Development
RRaD--Rulnudor Research and Development
Magtrain--magnetic train
CDF--Calassa Defense Force


[will update as I write more and find more in the book]

The Races of Crandox

No, this is not about sports racing. It is about the races that make up the population of Crandox (CRAHN-dosh). There are five races, and only three of those are prominent--meaning they are the most seen.

The first are, of course, the humans. Native to the Northern hemisphere of Crandox, they used up most of the resources available to them. Infighting and thousands of wars have forced them to split into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The two major countries/territories are Rulnudor (ROOL-new-DOOR) and Libertia (LIE-ber-SCHA). Libertia is in the North and Rulnudor is in the South.

The second are/were the Mar'ahli (Mahr-AHlee). Humanoids with chitinous skin, they are warriors as well as builders, artists, farmers. They have one leader and rarely an historian. They used to belong in the Southern hemispheres, but the humans drove them out, butchering their peoples. They drove the warriors into extinction, killed their leader and historian, and left the race in ruin. They disappeared overnight, but make no mistake. They are still out there, waiting for the next leader to return to them.

The third are the Ji-Jorhans (Szchee-Szchor-hahnz). The Ji-Jorhans have lived their lives in peace. They have martial experience in defense. They never attack their "opponents" unless there is no other option available to them (for example, the Ji-Jorhans would rather disarm an opponent, sometimes this means breaking an arm or knocking a weapon away). They are pacifists and are skilled in diplomacy. They are often used to negotiate between people, organizations, territories. They live on the equator, in between Libertia (LIB-uhr-schia) and Rulnudor (RULE-new-dohr) Territories

The fourth are the Azhiiry (Ash-IRE-ee). They are water-based sentients who live entirely under water. They have bases all over the bodily waters of Crandox. Their height ranges from five feet to five inches. If you can picture them like this: teeth of a shark or piranha, human-like exoskeleton, fins on the back of their arms and legs for propulsion.

The fifth are the Hydronkkers (HIGHdrunkKERS). The Hydronkkers are disowned beings from all the races. They take new age technology of Crandox and run it off ancient hydro machines. This powers their ships and machines (and the machines are said to be far better than the human technology). If you want a comparison to real day life, they would most likely be Steam Punk. They live in the South-Eastern hemisphere.

Of those five, only the Mar'ahli and Ji-Jorhans are in the minority. Two thousand years before the humans wiped the Mar'ahli warriors, it used to be the Ji-Jorhans and Hydronkkers in the minority.

Today, humans, Azhiiry, and Ji-Jorhans are the majority forces on the planet. If by some miracle any one of those groups falters, either the Mar'ahli or the Hydronkkers could take their place.

Mar'ahli history and culture

The Mar'ahli warriors have been in existence on Crandox (CRANdosh) since its beginning in the dark ages (before civilization). They waged war on numerous being and settlers seeking to take their land away. For 5,000,000,000 years, the Mar'ahli race fought for their ideals and principles.

Origninally, the chitinous warriors and peoples were farmers and ruled under a caste system. The caste system had one leader. The leader would only have one designation (i.e. 1, 2, A, B). Successors were named a thousand years in advance. Sex does not figure into the cast system. One can be male, female, of even hermaphroditic. The first Mar'ahli leader was hermaphroditic; the leader was called "O" and was the first to lead them into a fight to protect the Mar'ahli grounds. The names for the leaders are chosen at random, some from a favorite drawing (for O, it was a circle that inspired its leadership), favorite number, even how many offspring they have. Mar'ahli can have up to nine offspring.

If the offspring do not wish to become warriors, they are not scorned or disavowed from the families, like other races on Crandox do. Instead, the Mar'ahli encourage their offspring to take up any field they are drawn to. Most offspring take up the Warrior way, but some have taken up paths of Artists, Farmers, Hunters, Builders. Only ten have taken up the title of Historian. Oral traditions are a way of preserving their history. They do not forbid writing them down. When a Historian is about to die and there is no successor at the present time, the histories of battles, way of life, code are written down for the next Historian and are preserved, even if it takes millennia for a new Historian to take the mantle.

The lifespan of a typical Mar'ahli is 5,000 years. They are bipedal, 8 feet in height, bulky chitinous skin, two arm, two legs that bend backwards and forwards, as well as side-to-side, allowing them to be extremely flexible during combative engagements.

Mar'ahli make bonds over time. If a friend is killed during their presence, the Mar'ahli is held responsible unless they have tried everything to save them. It is rare that a Mar'ahli looses their control and lash out. Be warned, though, that it can happen under the most extenuating circumstances.

Caste System is as follows:
Leader--there is only one leader. The Leader is responsible for the Mar'ahli race as a whole.
Historian--rare. Teaches the oral traditions of the past and may preach wisdom to the Leader if the Leader is believed to be acting against the Mar'ahli way.
Builders--they build buildings, weapons, farming tools, armor, equipment. You name it, they build it.
Warriors--they are the protectors of the race. They are under the direct control of the Leader and respond only to him, unless his/her/its actions are deemed unacceptable by the race as a whole.
Farmers--are responsible for the food, harvest, livestock.
Hunters--they hunt for meat. Can be used as scouts and bounty hunters.
Civilians--the civilization of the Mar'ahli
Artists--painters, art, dances, culture are their way.

The Mar'ahli Code of Honor is as follows:
1) If an enemy is too close to death, or if a comrade is too close to death, finish him quickly, saying "I'm sorry for your loss."
2) Unless you are provoked, do not become confrontative
3) Children are not to be harmed. Unless the child is the one wielding a weapon, do not take action
4) If you stumble across an orphan from an enemy, and their are no survivors, you must take them and raise them as your own.
5) Slavery is inexcusible. If you have a slave, you will be executed
6) Your comrades are your responsibility. Treat them well.
7) Do not take offense at any profession your offspring or an enemies offspring choose.
8) Fighting is not always the answer. If there is a peaceful way to achieve victory, it must be tried before war can begin.
9) [For Leaders only] Always name a successor. You never know when you might be the last warrior/leader.

The Last Great Battle

1,100 years before the war between Rulnudor and Libertia (LIEbertSCHA) began, the Mar'ahli were fighting the human population of Crandox over survival. The humans, xenophobic of the Mar'ahli and believing them to be nothing but insects and butchers, decided to exterminate them. The humans launched an all out provoking strike at the heart of the Mar'ahli race, their Historian.

The Historian was writing down all her knowledge at the time. Before she completed her task, humans barged in and shot her to death multiple times, reducing her to a pile of ash. They set fire to her home, destroying all she had written. Little did the humans know that the Historian made an oral recording of the history and teachings of the Mar'ahli race.

The Leader and a select few who traveled with him discovered her remains. Angered at the death of his beloved, the Leader declared war on the humans. Breaking the Code of Honor, the Leader led the Warriors into battle. They met the humans on the plains of what is now Calassa and exterminated the settlement there. The humans launched a campaign against the Warriors, meeting them on the field and fought.

100 years of war raged as the Mar'ahli beat back the humans again, time after time. Only twelve times did the human race win. During one of the engagements, the Leader struck down an unarmed group of children. He was alone. Faced with the possibility of someone finding out about his actions, and overcome with grief at his desecration of the Code of Honor, the Leader chose a young warrior and named him his successor. During a ritual, the Leader declared to his Warriors that the young warrior was his chosen successor. Mesmerized by a human character, the young warrior was about to take his name when the humans launched a surprise attack.

The fighting raged for hours, during which the Leader was injured. Overwhelming the Mar'ahli, the humans backed them into The Valley of Peace and bombarded them to death. With the Leader dead, the young successor tried to rally the Warriors to safety, but they were all massacred. Fires raged for months as the once luscious valley was turned into the most unlivable desert in the South-Western region of Crandox.

During the fire, a backlash occured killing most of the human warriors, injuring others. Overnight, the Mar'ahli race disappeared from the face of Crandox. For the next thousand years, the Mar'ahli race traveled in secret to the Valley of Peace, looked upon the ashes of their protectors and the Leader and began to rebuild in secret. In the center of their new town, was a pillar of rock bearing the human letter "Q". The Builders used advanced technology to block the buildings and beings from being scanned by the human satellites. For the next thousand years, they rebuilt their lost civilization.

Little did anyone realize, that days before the arrival of the Mar'ahli race, the young successor survived and carved his name into a pillar of rock. Naming and declaring himself the new Leader. Despite all evidence, all persistence by the Hunters, there was no trace to be found of the young Leader now called Q. The Mar'ahli believe that Q is still out there, waiting, biding his time before his return. Few Mar'ahli believe that he perished with the Warriors, and that they are without both a Historian and a Leader for the first time in history. Only three injured Warriors who did not partake in the final battle believe he has joined with the humans as a slave. Little do they realize how close they are to the truth about Q. No one, though, would find out about Q for the next 1000 years.