Madeline C.C. Harper's Blog
April 17, 2019
Hydra Hearts
"Each bottle cost them a sapphire to be shipped in from the Milania Kingdom, and a ruby to bribe the Hydra Heart stationed at the port."
- The Return of Light
In the YA Fantasy series, The Primloc Chronicles, Hydra Hearts are the law-enforcement of Diamond Rough, the capital of Vahalia, and are loyal to the High House. They're expertly trained in combat and are expected to live by a strict code of rules, known as the Oath of Light.
The Roles Of A Hydra Heart
In times of war, they hold the position of officers, along with a select few holding the position of captain depending on their rank within the Hydra Hearts. During times of peace, the main role of a Hydra Heart is to patrol the streets for criminal activity, escort foreign dignitaries, and collect taxes from the people.
Though they are mainly stationed within the capital, Hydra Hearts may also hold postings in ports to confiscate illegally-traded goods and review trade permits. Because of this, Hydra Hearts were essential to the outlawing of slavery during the Age of Thought due to their ability to stop new slaves from being brought in and arrest slave traders.
Who Can Be A Hydra Heart?
While many Hydra Hearts are the younger sons of the gentry, with some even being the younger sons of the nobility, commoners may also join the organization at the discretion of the High House. Unlike other organizations in Vahalia, a Hydra Heart of noble or gentry blood may never be given special treatment over that of a commoner. (Light Vow #7: A Hydra Heart Has One Blood, And Tis The Blood Of The Hydra)
Uniform Of A Hydra Heart
A Hydra Heart uniform consists of a black leather chest plate that is engraved with the symbol of the High House - a Hydra with nine coiled heads. Black tunics and trousers are worn as part of the uniform, along with iron neck-plates that have been burnt until they too are black. Dark purple silk capes hang from the left shoulder and attach to the right hip. Black helmets with slightly pointed tips are worn.
Each of the nine captains wears a broach of a single hydra head.
Corruption Within The Hydra Hearts
As with most organizations, Hydra Hearts are not without their fair share of corruption. Bribery is common amongst them. Most often, bribery is done by merchants who wish to import illegal goods or royal houses that wish to move their goods throughout the kingdoms without paying the trade fines.
"Mom will kill me if I get caught by some Hydra Heart patrolling the waters.The Return of Light
She'll save me just to kill me herself..."
-The Forge of Kingdoms
March 20, 2019
The Pixies and Sprites of Prim-Terra Aren't Your Everyday Tinker Bells.
Famous for their cherubic faces and soprano voices, pixies and sprites are known as the Woodland Children, due to the creatures making their homes in hollowed trees with beds of moss. They also enjoy a warm bath in the mouth of a rose after a good summer rain, though the sprites will tell you enjoying such a frivolous act is complete and utter poppycock.
Do not let their child-like appearance deceive you, however, for you may just lose an eye if you do – oh, the sprites love to collect eyes: green eyes and blue eyes, brown eyes and lavender eyes, eyes of a blind man and eyes of a seer woman. They can be fierce and ferocious creatures, those pixies and sprites, ones who have a tendency to play tricks of the mind to lure their victims into their traps.
Pixies are especially proud of their little tricks. They do so hate to get their hands dirty in a fight. (Blood is stickier than lavender sap, a pixie always says. And nearly impossible to get out of their wings, mind you!)
CREATION
While the Woodland Children wield many of the same abilities, they were not created as equals, nor for the same purpose.
In a bid to gather information from an enemy’s camp during the War of the Gods, the Goddess Calypso created the sprites, tiny winged creatures – no taller than the size of one’s pinky – due to their ability to sneak around crowds without being noticed or detected by hounds.
RECIPE TO MAKE A SPRITE
Ingredient:
· Hiss of a Jaguar
· Venom of a Black Serpent
· Wings of a Golden Fly
· Blood of a Hydra
Direction:
1. Mix ingredients together until they turn black and bubble. It will smell like death. Don’t worry, that’s normal.
2. Carve the body of a small man and woman from coals and submerge these figures in the black liquid.
3. Add a few drops of Calypso’s blood and give them a goddess blessing.
And it was through these two sprites that all the other sprites were born. For over a moon cycle, Calypso's sprites would fly through the campsites of her enemies, gaining information and slitting the throats of primloc soldiers.
However, Gandos, King of the Gods, soon learned of the sprites' existence and retaliated by creating tiny creatures of his own.
RECIPE TO MAKE A PIXIE
Ingredients:
· Fang of a Dragon
· Scale of a Meremaiden
· Baby tooth of a Primloc
· Petals of a Wilted Ice Rose
Directions:
1. Grind ingredients together until they form a paste. The frozen rose petals should be able to mask the stench of a dragon fang. If it doesn’t, add more.
2. Carve the body of a small man and woman out of sun crystals and wrap these figure with the paste.
3. Place in the sun for the paste to harden.
4. Once paste has hardened, give them a kiss on the head to awaken.
And so, during the War of the Gods and the long years that followed the Great Separation, the pixies and sprites fought against each other for domination of the woods, wielding their fang and claws with a vicious passion.
For the Woodland Children were created by their masters to be enemies, as they shall be, until the end of time.
STRENGTHS
Pixies
A pixie can control the minds of any creature or primloc, aside from ogres and sprites, and are able to fly for long periods of time.
The record for the longest flight of a pixie is currently held by Gerald Greenpetal in 5033 AS after he flew a round trip from Maloria to Salt Isle.
Sprites
Like pixies, sprites too can control minds, though their abilities are limited to chaveonuses, known also as switchers. (Nasty creatures, those switchers are. Quite smelly too.) A sprite also has the ability to regrow their wings if they are destroyed.
WEAKNESSES
Pixies
Slugs are poisonous to a pixie, as are the roots of magnolia flowers. And they have the terrible habit of sneezing until they pass out whenever they hear a joke.
The joke - “What do you call a cruowolf with a leech infection? – A wolf” – once caused a pixie to laugh himself into a coma for a fortnight.
Sprites
Long exposures to sunlight will cause a sprite’s wings to turn to powers. Four hours sun exposure during a summer day and POOF goes the wings.
A sprit’s wings take an average of 6-8 moon cycles to fully grow back.
To learn more about the pixies and sprites of Prim-Terra, land of the primlocs, click -The Return of Light
Do not let their child-like appearance deceive you, however, for you may just lose an eye if you do – oh, the sprites love to collect eyes: green eyes and blue eyes, brown eyes and lavender eyes, eyes of a blind man and eyes of a seer woman. They can be fierce and ferocious creatures, those pixies and sprites, ones who have a tendency to play tricks of the mind to lure their victims into their traps.
Pixies are especially proud of their little tricks. They do so hate to get their hands dirty in a fight. (Blood is stickier than lavender sap, a pixie always says. And nearly impossible to get out of their wings, mind you!)
CREATION
While the Woodland Children wield many of the same abilities, they were not created as equals, nor for the same purpose.
In a bid to gather information from an enemy’s camp during the War of the Gods, the Goddess Calypso created the sprites, tiny winged creatures – no taller than the size of one’s pinky – due to their ability to sneak around crowds without being noticed or detected by hounds.
RECIPE TO MAKE A SPRITE
Ingredient:
· Hiss of a Jaguar
· Venom of a Black Serpent
· Wings of a Golden Fly
· Blood of a Hydra
Direction:
1. Mix ingredients together until they turn black and bubble. It will smell like death. Don’t worry, that’s normal.
2. Carve the body of a small man and woman from coals and submerge these figures in the black liquid.
3. Add a few drops of Calypso’s blood and give them a goddess blessing.
And it was through these two sprites that all the other sprites were born. For over a moon cycle, Calypso's sprites would fly through the campsites of her enemies, gaining information and slitting the throats of primloc soldiers.
However, Gandos, King of the Gods, soon learned of the sprites' existence and retaliated by creating tiny creatures of his own.
RECIPE TO MAKE A PIXIE
Ingredients:
· Fang of a Dragon
· Scale of a Meremaiden
· Baby tooth of a Primloc
· Petals of a Wilted Ice Rose
Directions:
1. Grind ingredients together until they form a paste. The frozen rose petals should be able to mask the stench of a dragon fang. If it doesn’t, add more.
2. Carve the body of a small man and woman out of sun crystals and wrap these figure with the paste.
3. Place in the sun for the paste to harden.
4. Once paste has hardened, give them a kiss on the head to awaken.
And so, during the War of the Gods and the long years that followed the Great Separation, the pixies and sprites fought against each other for domination of the woods, wielding their fang and claws with a vicious passion.
For the Woodland Children were created by their masters to be enemies, as they shall be, until the end of time.
STRENGTHS
Pixies
A pixie can control the minds of any creature or primloc, aside from ogres and sprites, and are able to fly for long periods of time.
The record for the longest flight of a pixie is currently held by Gerald Greenpetal in 5033 AS after he flew a round trip from Maloria to Salt Isle.
Sprites
Like pixies, sprites too can control minds, though their abilities are limited to chaveonuses, known also as switchers. (Nasty creatures, those switchers are. Quite smelly too.) A sprite also has the ability to regrow their wings if they are destroyed.
WEAKNESSES
Pixies
Slugs are poisonous to a pixie, as are the roots of magnolia flowers. And they have the terrible habit of sneezing until they pass out whenever they hear a joke.
The joke - “What do you call a cruowolf with a leech infection? – A wolf” – once caused a pixie to laugh himself into a coma for a fortnight.
Sprites
Long exposures to sunlight will cause a sprite’s wings to turn to powers. Four hours sun exposure during a summer day and POOF goes the wings.
A sprit’s wings take an average of 6-8 moon cycles to fully grow back.
It’s called silva dust,” her mom tells her, voice shaking with barely concealed laughter. “Only the pixies and sprites used it, but the woodland children are long gone from this realm.
To learn more about the pixies and sprites of Prim-Terra, land of the primlocs, click -The Return of Light
February 23, 2019
What Is A Chaveonus?
The smell of their blood will kill you. That is, if they don’t kill you first.
Origin
Known also as switchers amongst the primlocs, the chaveonus was created by a coven of warlocks around the year 860 A.S., during the Age of Magic. The Spell of Occia Besta, one of the Seven Forbidden Spells amongst the Twelve Clans of Endora, was used to create the chaveonus.
Appearance
When not wearing the skin of a victim, a chaveonus has a bear-like body with a boxed-shaped head and four massive fangs that protrude from its long snout. Hairless, as well as skinless, webs of veins are wrapped around its body. These veins are easily broken, thus causing the chaveonus to constantly be coated with their own blood.
Abilities
A chaveonus is able to take on the form – wear the skin – of their victim, which they use to lure in other potential victims and walk amongst the primlocs who are none the wiser. When in their original form, they are incredibly strong and can run at fast speeds. Though blind, their sense of smell is strong enough to make up for it. They are skilled trackers.
Strengths
The phrase “One Is Smarter Than One Looks” holds truth when it comes to a chaveonus. After taking the skin of a victim, a chaveonus will gain all of his/hers memories, thus harnessing their knowledge. What would’ve taken a single primloc a lifetime to amass, a chaveonus can gain with only a single kill.
A chaveonus cannot feel pain and are determined hunters. Due to this combination, the only way to stop one mid-hunt is to kill it.
Weakness
Onions.
Near Extinction
Following an attack on a village in the Kingdom of Maloria in the year 6654 A.S., King Felix the Flayed-Skinned announced the Purge of Chavenous, which led to the hunting of the species. A popular hunting technique used during the Purge of 6654 was burning the caves where the beasts lived.
The Return of Light
Origin
Known also as switchers amongst the primlocs, the chaveonus was created by a coven of warlocks around the year 860 A.S., during the Age of Magic. The Spell of Occia Besta, one of the Seven Forbidden Spells amongst the Twelve Clans of Endora, was used to create the chaveonus.
Appearance
When not wearing the skin of a victim, a chaveonus has a bear-like body with a boxed-shaped head and four massive fangs that protrude from its long snout. Hairless, as well as skinless, webs of veins are wrapped around its body. These veins are easily broken, thus causing the chaveonus to constantly be coated with their own blood.
Abilities
A chaveonus is able to take on the form – wear the skin – of their victim, which they use to lure in other potential victims and walk amongst the primlocs who are none the wiser. When in their original form, they are incredibly strong and can run at fast speeds. Though blind, their sense of smell is strong enough to make up for it. They are skilled trackers.
Strengths
The phrase “One Is Smarter Than One Looks” holds truth when it comes to a chaveonus. After taking the skin of a victim, a chaveonus will gain all of his/hers memories, thus harnessing their knowledge. What would’ve taken a single primloc a lifetime to amass, a chaveonus can gain with only a single kill.
A chaveonus cannot feel pain and are determined hunters. Due to this combination, the only way to stop one mid-hunt is to kill it.
Weakness
Onions.
Near Extinction
Following an attack on a village in the Kingdom of Maloria in the year 6654 A.S., King Felix the Flayed-Skinned announced the Purge of Chavenous, which led to the hunting of the species. A popular hunting technique used during the Purge of 6654 was burning the caves where the beasts lived.
“The beast continues to move closer, stalking her. Rancid breath hits her nose and bile well up in her throat. It smells like rotten fish, spoiled milk and old pennies.
Then the beast lowers onto its hind legs and lunges.”
The Return of Light
