Eric K. Barnum's Blog

My friend, Michael DeAngelo at Quantum Quest, will be putting Dar Tania as a playable character into the digital version of the game. I won’t tell you where (pssst… it’s further in as befits a high level priestess of Tiamat). She looks really good, huh?

Against this, I realize it has been some time since I posted an update. I wish I could tell you that the Merakor book is done; it’s not. I wish I could you that that the next novella is done – Tiamat’s Heresy; it’s not. I wish… well, no point. My IRL job has been super busy and my oldest daughter is going through college applications – she got into all but 3 of her applied to schools! So, between all of that, time just vanishes. If I were to wish, I would wish to fall back out of the River of Time –

I have a burning fiery desire to write and finish Khalla’s Play 2: Disakcion. If I had time to focus, I think I’d be able to finish, edit, and finalize in 3-5 months. So, it’s close! So close! Hang in there. It’s not all work and adult life.

I’ve continued to build onto the Hobgoblin Lore in the Forsaken Isles. That has been really fun. For example, did you know that… like I’d say it here.

…Okay, fine. Ylgolth did not really truly die. I mean, he’s a Slaad. For a Slaad to die, really die, you have to eradicate ALL of the clones and other colors of the same type. The climactic ending of Dar Tania 2: Set’s Dream might have suggested to you how truly awesome a feat it might have been to end Ylgolth permanently.

So, what does this have to do with a more contemporary Virenese Hobgoblin empire nestled south of Morbatten and west of The Quat Orcs? If only, we knew!

Picture of Hobgoblin from Dungeons and Dragons

I’ve always considered that Hobgoblins, or Hobbies, as they are called would exist in my fantasy world. They don’t seem to appear in fantasy literature. Now, I’ve been playing DnD since I was 8… and they rarely appear in games, unless I’m the Dungeon Master. They are kind of lost in the level skip between fall over easy kobolds to goblins to the more powerful ogres and trolls. So, where do they fit?

They don’t fit… and that’s where and why they exist. They don’t associate with those races, except as for-hire mercenaries. In the world of FI, Hobbies exist as tribes led by a warlord. They set up shop on the fringes of civilization and hire themselves out to the highest bidder. They do not look, act, smell, speak, or behave like their goblin kin and take offense at the suggestion they do. They might worship Gruustir. They might worship no one at all.

Honor bound and rigidly caste-oriented, and stubbornly-proud of their caste system, Hobbies aspire to be the best at the hand they are dealt. If born into the warrior caste, they will try to be the best. If born into the servant caste, be the best. By excelling, they can rise up and attain power amongst and within the other castes… and so, while being caste-rigid, a meritocracy has enveloped the caste structure so that recognition brings rewards and power and honor. While the warlord is always a warrior, the most powerful members of Hobbie society can come from literally anywhere based on merit first, followed by familial and caste status.

And then there is magic. Hobbies barely recognize the difference between the magic of a wizard and the divine origin of a cleric’s power. Magic from “what?” they ask of a wizard. “Magic from who?” they might ask a cleric. “It’s the same outcome. Same thing.” Rather than get caught up in recognizing one deity over another, they look at the relative power of a mage or priest versus others they may have known and talk about being favored, and treat it the same as a warrior’s strength. Caste is irrelevant for magic or clerical power though it is harder for a wizard to get the attention they might need to rise up and actually become a wizard if they begin in a poorer caste.

Ribbons and beads in the hair or tied to clothing are used to outwardly designate caste when within Hobbie territory. These are removed when traveling outside among aliens. Hobbies struggle to understand aliens through their own social structures and it makes them quick to take offense at compliments or a standard practice like a bribe or even a simple gift. Honor and good-favor cannot be bought; it must be earned. Any attempts to short cut these are only worthy of spite… and Hobbies struggle with these ideas among aliens.

In the years of Malcor’s reign, a new warlord has been able to unite many Hobbie factions together west of The Quat. They call their country, Viridian and fly brilliant green flags the color of emerald. They worship Gruustir and their priests enjoy especially strong favor from him. Each faction has had its warlord join the emperor’s ruling council leaving a priest, or a Legion, in charge of that faction as the 1st, 2nd, and so on Legion.

Wary of The Quat, Morbatten, and distrustful of Morilon for centuries of abuse, where will this new power turn for direction?

Let’s take a look at works in progress on this cold Dec 7th day. Here we go:

Khalla’s Play 2: Disakcion update – to be released by March 2020

Previously announced with the cover art by Darko Tomic, this approximately 200k word print and ebook release is in its editing stages. FOr more information look through past blog updates as there have been many.

Tiamat’s Heresy – to be released soon as a novella

Welcome new artist, Elena Dudina! Check out her website and Deviant Art gallery for more too. I expect to do lots more work with her in the future.

Cover art for So, You Want to be a Vampire? – no release date yet

the God of War, unrelenting

Another note from a reader of The Healer’s Making is telling me that there is plenty of room in the universe for a pacifist god of healing. The key resonator is similar to other notes: 1) the transformation of one possessed by Kargoth (that guy shown in the art) to a healer god Braden, 2) Velspren’s love story, and 3) the writing style. It felt daring to challenge my writing style in this novella. I’m feeling emboldened to do another!

On a personal note, I’d like to give a shout out to a Mr. Thomas Mayor of Ontario and his Roll20 Dungeons & Dragons group! I’ve been trying to figure out Roll20’s tutorials for my own gaming and Thomas gave me a most kind jumpstart. Many thank yous!

Khalla continues her quest in Merakor but progress is slow. I am tempted to magically travel the group to the Tower of Aler Alerest, or break the book into two at the point. It makes me wonder if Tolkien felt this way with the eagles in The Hobbit and had to tell himself, “No, future memes may mock but there is a story afoot here!”

Kallis is, of course, up to no good and is about to infiltrate Stone in his quest for a mage host for Joviel’s soul.

Calvin of Klenna poses in Dockside with his paladin shield

Calvin, born the son of the prominent mayor of Klenna, grew up with the best things in life. He jumped at the chance to join Tiamat’s Order of the Shield (bodyguard and protector unit for siege equipment and VIPs) but was expelled by his mentor for failing to understand key doctrines. Calvin found himself in the City Watch of Morbatten assigned to the poor area of Dockside, where he appointed himself Captain. Having come from the Temple of Tiamat none of the other Watch Officers were willing to challenge him. That Calvin had joined the Temple of Tiamat at the same time as another paladin candidate from the same village who excelled and become a hero in the most prestigious Order (now King of Morbatten – Malcor Kel’Tayris), makes Calvin feel second rate and exiled from ever returning home by this comparative failure.

Handsome and lackadaisical, Calvin’s good looks and understanding of higher society enables him to get away with more than he should. A skilled fighter, Calvin could be a paladin but lacks conviction and faith in himself though he is not above name dropping his connection to the king. More than this, he prefers to rely on other’s. Outside the Temple, he fell in love with a mage where he became addicted to charm magic as a way to make it through his Watch duties; he would have her charm him to ensure he could “bear the ennui” of a normal person job.

Calvin has been so successful in his job as Watch Captain that the people of Dockside elected him Mayor. All he needs now is a quest of glory to name him hero, and he can reclaim all that was lost when he was expelled from the Temple… or so he thinks.

Special thanks to Nsikak Udofia for this excellent portrayal of Calvin. Check him out on Facebook!

Tiamat saw the pain of a world without dragons and said, “Mothers, this shall not be. We shall leave this place poisoned sick with Time. Even should the world fall, we will lie in wait until the moment is right. When Set least expects, we shall strike with fury and fire. We shall take the world back from Set and do what my Consort was too scared to do: Slay the Beast of Darkness.

Even though Disakcion is only 70% done as a first draft, Darko was able to take a crack at the cover. Let me know what you think! My goal is to have this ready for publication by November 2019.

Book Cover for Khalla’s Play 2

Shown battling before an altar of Lolth, Khalla faces off against Ynsal Cx, Holy Matriarch of House Rudan in the Underdark. The geared legs visible in the altars construction are so that sacrifices can be suspended over the main body for blood letting. This is done while the target is being healed for as long as the priestess wishes.

Khalla’s bloodstones are visible and active. The earring allows her to communicate with her team. The one behind her neck, the Marcello Stone, is the mark of her leadership role as head of Morbatten’s Thieves Guild, Perdition.

I’m having a lot of fun writing this book. The story is coming together really nicely. I’m not going to lie though. In NaNoWriMo ’18, it hurt to scratch the entire thing and start from scratch. But, I’m glad I did!

I’m 115,000 words into the sequel to Khalla’s Play, which continues the timeline of Malcor’s Story >> Bomoki’s Gate. My cover artist is engaged in portraying the scene and – it’s one of my favorite moments in writing. I’m not going to lie… writing is really fun. Editing is less fun but necessary. However, there’s something magical about the cover art work. I’m still months from being done with a complete draft, but wow. I just got a sketch of Khalla as a dark elf.

You see, for Tanians to leave the Forsaken Isles, all kinds of things have to happen. To travel in Merakor, an entire continent controlled by the Dark Elves, they had to be polymorphed and geased to be Dark Elves. And more! Poor Veralyx… through a truce with Lolth, all of her faith is redirected to Lolth and she doesn’t even remember. In the story, where I’m writing, she’s up against a powerful Holy Matriarch for one of the Drow kingdoms, an ancient mother named Ynsal Cx. The poor lady cannot fathom why Veralyx’s faith keeps manifesting as fire when it should be spiders.

Khalla’s group, Disakcion, has its hands full on Merakor. Too much time has passed for Daryx to give them even accurate information. They’re getting by in a world where might makes right and the cagey Drow enjoy powerful friends, but how long will it last before their story of having come back from a safari come under more intense scrutiny? I mean, all they want to do is figure out what Ynt’taris’ treasure map has waiting for them, right?

Hi Everyone,

I’m going to say it straight up. I did not like the books all that much. I struggled with A Song of Ice and Fire several times before powering through it years ago and then read the next three out of a sense of duty and because I was vested,… and because RA Salvatore had not yet released new Drow books. The continual shifting focus on this group vs that one and so on… I could go on, but will not. I want to talk about the HBO TV Series.

Without the ability to binge watch this and a wife who really likes it, I would never have made it through Days of Our Lives in Fantasy. There’s not nearly enough magic for my liking. That’s my hang up. Sorry. Everytime someone refers to GoT as “fantasy”, I die a little inside. GoT is 90% not fantasy at all. It’s a violent soap opera baby mama drama.

Brienne of Tarth and Jon Snow have been the only characters I consistently like. Ser Jorah and Tormund take close second. All of them because they have a code of honor and stick to it like paladins and, in that vein, remind me of something actually fantastical.

So, we get into Season 8 and everyone in the world is sad because Danaerys fell into madness too quickly, or because she or Jamie, or whoever acted out of character. I submit to you all that the TV series has been remarkably consistent with only a few gaping out of character flaws. I give you the biggest:

Leaving Dragonstone undefended to fight the Night King in the North… and when they return, they failed to send advance scouting parties. This allows Euron Greyjoy’s navy, which must have ninja like stealth ship powers, to ambush and kill one of the dragons.

That, right there, is where – if I am Danaerys – I go insane and torch all of my military advisors. I’d scream it in their faces: “Euron’s navy wiped out my navy! They cost us Highgarden and Dorn! Why did not a single one of you consider this might happen given how close Dragonstone is to Cersei?! Hmmm? Drackaris!”

Imagine being so in love that you never die…

In days of Merakor’s fall, before Merakor dreamed it might end, an Elf Princess fell in love with a Drow named Invri. She offered him safe shelter in her garden while her father hunted him for years. Unable to leave (and not wanting to, for they were both alien to each other), they fell in love and secretly married each other taking his name and pledging herself to the Drow. Her views on magic, the uses of power, and the nature of rulership aligned more with the Drow anyway. She did not like the overt racism she saw manifested only against this one man she had fallen in love with, and so she judged all Drow by Invri, perhaps unwisely for he was atypical of the Drow.

So it was that an atypical Grey Elf forsook the Elves and an atypical Drow forsook the Drow. When the princess became pregnant, Invri knew he had to leave or the child would be executed. If he left, the child might survive even if the charges of forced assault and worse might be laid at his feet. He knew even if his love told him otherwise.

He left and the hunt followed him. The child was taken from the princess, never to be seen in Court again. Invri? He was touched by Heaven in Merakor’s darkest moment. The love that made him different ignited a flame and he vowed to find a different way. He endured multiple assassination attempts until at last, the Drow Nation assembled against him. The gods transformed him into a ghenhalyx, or revenant storm. He awaits his princess and daughter’s return. Until then, he hunts the Drow.

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This is one of the many legends of Merakor, yet the ghenhalyx is real. It hunts Drow on the surface of Merakor. They have built stone shelters to outlast the storm’s fury. Any caught outside of natural stone shelters, or without magical protection, are claimed by the storm. Rumors of a haunted banshee-like wail reverberating behind the thunder are told from those who survived with enchanted safeguards. Those slain by the storm cannot be recovered by divine prayers to Lolth. The storm only takes Drow.