Dispatch # 6: Meet The Cast, Part 3
Wherein We Introduce Two Friends And A Villain
A Note To The Reader
Please note that virtually everything pertaining to this story and book - The Other Side Of The Sun - is subject to change or revision over time, to improve the story and/or to conform to some newly discovered fact-based reality. Because I am as human as you are, rest assured that I will be unsurprised to discover that errors might exist in my dispatches.
Should you, the Informed Reader, identify something that you believe or know is in some way inconsistent or reality-impaired, you may write to me directly at me@beturpin.com to share it. I seek constructive criticism, not destructive criticism… Grace for Grace, please.
Today’s Topic: Meet The Cast, Part III
Greetings, Wonderous Readers! Welcome to the latest installment of Meet The Cast, from my incoming novel, The Other Side Of The Sun (TOSOTS).
Recall that two weeks ago in Dispatch #4, we met the book’s 5 protagonists, which I have informally nicknamed the Band of Five: two future Knights, namely Revin Morel and Modo Rostar; the Apprentice Mage Prya Atma; future Ranger, Lysela Angbroda, and her twin brother Brin Angbroda, an aspiring Mage who is tipped to be embarking on a path into darkness.
Then in last week’s Dispatch #5, we introduced you to a set of 4 supporting characters, including the Master Ranger Alya Kronar; the Renaissance Woman and grandmother of Prya, namely Dypa Atma; the great Archmage known as Kryd; and one of his companions, a Manikin named Nadylo Voax.
So this week, we’re going meet 3 other supporting characters, including Sî the Dandiprat, who is a sidekick of Alya Kronar’s; Ĵorma Xodin, a Montodwurin who accompanies Kryd on many of his travels; and a not so jolly old fellow named Mordax, a notorious Archmage of great power who seems to have more than a few resentments he wants to share with the world, and especially with Kryd.
Time To Meet The Next Three Characters!
Let’s begin by first introducing you to Sî the Dandiprat.
Sî the Dandiprat
Sî [pron. like Sigh] is a Dandiprat, a somewhat sapient humaniform species native to the nearby Valley of Dyad, where they have lived for thousands of years. Dandiprats are noted for having short attention spans, possessing a nearly incomprehensible language that sounds like gibberish, and an affinity for solving problems by creating whimsical, often child-like Rube Goldberg style contraptions.
Sî is quite small in stature, standing about 107 cm / 42 inches tall. He was born and raised in the Valley of Dyad, but one day he decided to leave, although to this day he can’t seem to remember precisely why he made that particular decision. Sî was wandering around the Jêda Highlands one day in the year 477 JE (13 years ago) when he encountered two Rangers, Alya Kronar and her uncle Jador Kronar, while they happened to be out on patrol. It was unusual to run into a Dandiprat just taking a random walkabout, but no matter - whether Alya and Jador liked it or not, Sî befriended them quickly enough, and they have been companions ever since. Alya has come to like Sî and defends him against others who accuse Sî of stealing or breaking things. Jador doesn't dislike Sî, but he does find him to be a bit annoying.
Being a Dandiprat sometimes brings with it certain unfortunate cultural misunderstandings. Dandiprats have a cultural belief that property not being used by others can be co-opted and repurposed for other uses. You know - share and share alike! Sî also has an unfortunate, child-like curiosity about objects - especially shiny, expensive and/or elaborately made objects. Another minor issue is, Sî has proven to be very adept at taking things apart, but not always as proficient at putting them back together. As a result, Alya and Jador have to regularly admonish him to put things back and try to keep an eye on him as he wanders around checking out things. More than a few storekeepers won’t let him into their shop at all.
Alya and Sî are supposed to have an understanding that Sî should always ask Alya first before picking up anything that might interest him… but occasionally Sî forgets this. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
While Sî doesn’t have a perfect record at reassembling objects that interest him, he is exceedingly good at throwing darts, winning such games roughly 95% of the time against most folk. Sî occasionally “sandbags” his opponents, hustling them by intentionally missing throws or making “lemonade” shots at first and purposefully losing in early rounds of the game before suddenly making a dramatic “comeback” and defeating said opponents. Sî finds this to be a really fun and profitable undertaking, but his opponents are not always as amused.
Ĵorma Xodin
Ĵorma Xodin [Johr-mah Thoh-dihn - the J is pronounced like the J in Japan] is a Dwurin, who are the most populous humaniform species found in the Known World after humans.
He is actually a multiethnic Dwurin. His mother was a Lagodwurin (a variety of Dwurin who prefer to live on lakes and rivers), while his father was a Montodwurin (a variety of Dwurin who live in mountains and valleys around the Known World).
Ĵorma was born and raised in Nîden, a human settlement located next to Lago Naŝ in Kiran Barony, in a slightly more central part of the Kingdom of Bryn. His father and mother worked together operating cargo boats across Lago Naŝ, conducting trade between human shore-dwellers and the semi-autonomous Lagodwurin folk, whose settlements literally rise out of the lake’s waters, having been built atop small islands and reefs.
Ĵorma is considered an accepted member of Lagodwurin society, but Montodwurin folk often look down upon Ĵorma with disdain. They usually see him as 1) a “half-breed”, 2) someone pretending to not be Montodwurin, 3) someone who is less than Dwurin because of his life and upbringing among humankind - or a combination of these things. Ĵorma has grown to become mostly indifferent to such derision but he has been in his share of tavern brawls because of such ridicule. Once fists start flying or weapons are introduced, Ĵorma rarely loses such confrontations. Luckily for his opponents, his companions usually intervene to stop these fights before they become too bloody.
Ĵorma doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, which is unfortunate because his Manikin friend Nadylo Voax does. He’s seen as a bit of a grumpy old fellow. Despite this, he tries to be unfailingly courteous to female humaniforms, and kind to children. Ĵorma relates well with misfits, and is unafraid to call out those who are being unduly judgmental of others. As he likes to say, “I measure others not so much by their appearances, but rather by what they do in the world.”
Ĵorma loves to carve things from wood, often fashioning out toys and trinkets that he gifts to children he encounters. He can also repair broken toys within minutes - even things that Sî has disassembled. He also loves to build and fly kites. Ĵorma’s other interests include collecting fossils and playing the skittles-like bowling game called Tasoda - something he and Nadylo are always arguing about how to properly play.
Ĵorma has quite a love for strong drink, especially for whiskey and other distilled spirits. He can drink nearly everyone else under the table, including Alya Kronar.
Mordax
Mordax [Mohr-dahth] is an Archmage of great power, and definitely a rival of Kryd’s.
Like Dypa and Kryd, his backstory is quite extensive, and much of that backstory will need to remain out of sight for now. Here is a snippet of what we can divulge for today.
Unlike Dypa and Kryd, Mordax has never lived in Avalonia, but he is not a native of the Known World either - although for a time he mistakenly believed he was. He had been living the life of a very humble gong farmer named Ador, who had a loving family that became successful operating “odiferous businesses” of various sorts. But after having a hapless encounter with a poisonous meteorite that went on to give him a longer lifespan but also made him more sickly, Ador had an even unluckier encounter with a bear while traveling down a mountain trail. While trying to avoid getting mauled, both Ador and the bear plunged over a cliff and crashed into a stream below. He was presumed to be dead… except he wasn’t.
Ador was rescued by a trio of young Manikin huntsmen who found him downstream from the crash site. They brought him back to Nyon, a small town in neighboring Teregon (where Nadylo Voax was born and raised, btw…), and nursed him back to health. Ador mostly recovered physically, but had no memory of what happened or who he was. The Manikins renamed him as Nîlin [Nile-ihn], the Manikin-speak word for “forgetful,” or Nîl for short.
A female Manikin named Irakaŝle [Ihr-ah-kahsh-leh], a leading Archmage and the chancellor of the nearby Nyon Chantry, first hired Nîl [Nile] to be a gardener for the Chantry’s lush grounds. A few months later, Nîl became an apprentice at the Chantry - the first human to ever study Agudeza, also known as the Other Sight - after he showed that he had the discipline to use the Skill.
For years, Nîl was prone to having nightmares a lot, which his Manikins friends and overseers assumed were caused by his tragic accident, but in reality came from Nîl’s gradually emerging recovered memories of his former, forgotten life - actually forgotten lives, because Nîl had a life prior to being Ador as well… The details of which will have to be revealed to the Reader later, to avoid plot spoilage!
For now, just know two things: 1) that Nîl will go on to “remake” himself yet again as Mordax the Old One, and 2) Kryd comes up in those recovered memories.
More Will Be Revealed
That should be enough for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading.
In future Dispatches, I plan to introduce you to a map of the Meldûn Borderlands, Bryn’s frontier region bordering the Jêda Highlands (which you saw in the first image above…). There are many interesting places around the Borderlands, like the Hill of Woe, the Forest of Kryd, and the Glimmering Spring, among others. I am not sure if the map will be ready to present by next week, but I will probably share something about these places and others soon.
I also need to introduce you to Queen Ydela and her Knight Protector Vêla Not-A-Lady. There’s also Alya’s uncle, Jador Kronar and Alya’s ongoing love interest, the masterful minstrel and bard Merin Indalon. And I still need to acquaint you with the Cloud Ships - wonderous flying vessels that glide across the skies above the wonderous land of Bryn.
More about each of these things will be revealed to the Patient Reader soon enough. Take faith in that!
Conclusion
That concludes today’s dispatch!
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Thanks for reading!
— B.E. Turpin