Armen’s
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(group member since Mar 23, 2009)
Tiffany, I could recommend one book "40 days of Musa Dagh" as a sort of explanation of the Armenian point of view. From the british POV, I found this rather good (and recent) posting on the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwar...
That would at least give you a start.
All the characters are humanoid anyway. I never specify. There aren't any lizard people or stuff like that. Naerians are definitely armenians. The Barabreen are roughly, and not exactly, bedouins. My imagination game them a sort of a Lawrence of Arabia (movie) quality, since I never lived there. I had to kinda imagine what my father was describing. That's why I gave them the knowledge of horsemanship.
Roughly, very roughly very very roughly:
Naerians = Armenians
Barabreen = Bedouin Arabs
Albion = sort of Americans who sound like Brits
Neznoir = Sort of french
Darjiki = Ottoman Turkish Empire
Barsifi = Persian Empire
Raslavon = Russian Empire
So for example the Esciscian monks dressed like franciscans but the the reference to their ancient language were inspired by a visit I made to a coptic retreat center here in Massachusetts.
It was a framework to start with, anyway.
Everyone needs a context :-)
The Darjiki Grand Council met 5 times a year. These meetings were timed by an ancient lunar measurement. The 3 largest moons around their home world would come into alignment 5 times a year. This ritual of having meetings timed to this event pervaded all levels of society. It was an pre-Khardish ritualistic anachronism. The Darjiki empire had long ago become a secular empire, albeit with strong religious undertones. Khardish influence was everywhere, one felt like you were walking through a museum.
This museum-like environment was in stark contrast to how Khardish was prevalent in other cultures. Barabrum, Barsif, and other systems Khardish was the way of life, it was the government, it was the home. There was no separation. The Darjiki viewed themselves and the inheritors of the role of evangelists of Khardish to the world (by whatever means necessary). And, of course, this was the main point of contention between the old powers and the Darjiki. The Barsifi in particular preached against the secularism of the Darjiki empire as a corruption of Ramesh’s teachings.
The Grand Council consisted of the Emperor, otherwise known as Raja and the elected Waziri from the various tribes and communities. There were 20 members of the Grand Council (replicating the revelation to Ramesh of the Pantheon of 20), and the Emperor’s quasi-cabinet was selected from them to head the four ministries: The Armada, Interior Ministry, Infrastructure and Religion. This separation of Religion into its own ministry subservient to the temporal power of the Raja was the signal point of disgust that other Khardish peoples railed against. The argument was that God is not the equal of armed forces, interior discipline, and the implements of human life. They all, including the Raja, were subservient to it.
That being said, the Darjiki rulers considered that the effectiveness of the empire in the wake of the Barsifi decline was proof enough that they had the proper mixture and that they understood how to take God’s will and make it manifest on earth. The Grand Council was meeting for the 4th time this year and on the agenda for this meeting was their current détente with the Barsifi empire and what cooperation with them would mean for their struggle against the Raslavon empire for control of Naerius. They also had to discuss their odd trade relationship with the Albion empire, now in control of Barabrum.
The Raja opened the meeting by leading the full council in prayer. They got down in a prostrate position. They all pointed themselves in the direction of a moving orb along the wall which was covered by a map of space in this quadrant painted on it. This orb was a holograph that projected the position of Naerius relative to the current position of Darjik.
The Raja began to chant, “Ramesh guides his people home”
Antiphonally, the Religious Wazir responded, “we wait for our joyful return”
Now the right side of the assembly in unison with the Raja chanted, “The universe will be purified by the third of three.”
And the response, “And we shall be glorified”
And then a gong was struck. Everyone rose slowly and took their place at the table. The Raja now addressed the assembly: “My friends, our study of Raslavon movement and their communications tells us that they deplete certain sectors in order to fortify the Palo Systems. This is counterintuitive since their ultimate goal is to move on Naerius. I consider this a bluff. I believe they will strike at Naerius.”
The Armada Wazir, addressed this issue, “Your greatness, our forces are spread thin right now with the difficulties that the Albion are causing us. I think there is a common movement here, an attempt to catch us in their pincers, and while they hit us left and right, they’ll strike out and attempt to take Naerius.”
The Raja pondered this. “Emperor Philip is a brilliant leader. He makes no hasty moves. My study of him would be that he wants to pick off one system at a time and eventually surround Naerius. Either he believes that he is of the prophecy, which would be a gross misreading of it, or he is buying time for something or someone else.”
The Raja had deeply ambivalent feelings about Philip. They had met before several times as they were growing up. These were during diplomatic missions and treaty negotiation of both their fathers. During these negotiations Philip even as a teenager was at his father’s side giving advice in the presence of the great powers of the galaxy. As young boys they played in the Raslavon castle while their father’s hammered out a 10 year cessation of hostilities.
In Darjiki there is no word for comprimise. There was a word for cessation, which was the concept that we fight no more today to allow us to grieve for our dead. Albion scholars often point this out as to why they were able to take up the Khardish cause and spread in the wake of the Barsifi retreat.
During those ten years, the Rajamin (the little Raja) and the Crown Prince saw each other several times each growing into the leader they were today. Philip, analytical and brave, excelled at games requiring strategy and sacrifice. The Raja, strong and charismatic, would often lead a team in sporting competition. There was respect between them even to this day for the qualities that they each lacked that manifested themselves in the other.
Respect was one thing. Competition was another. Darjiki reading of the prophetic words given to Ramesh and their contact with the Dolist culture of Raslavon and Albion led them to believe that these prophecies were allegory and a dangerous allegory at that. The Darjiki interpretation was that Ramesh was prophesying about himself and not some future trio of leaders. On the other hand, the Dol prophecies were so littered with descriptions of beasts and strange happenings that they could only be the work of a deranged religious fanatic.
Naerius, the seeming pivot around which both of these prophecies centered, was not a significant planet to the Darjiki on its own. Even within its own system, it was not a particularly hospitable planet. It had only one major resource, metals for building space vessels, but this was not a differentiator since these metals were found spread throughout the galaxy. Its people were not special except in their gift of gab and a certain pluck that allowed them to survive these many eons. Strategically it was important as a system only to the extent that it was the deepest penetration into Raslavon space, almost like a sore thumb....
I put explanatory chapters like this through the book to give the future perspective of those timesThe Compendium of Universal History
Chapter 53:
A study of religious and political conflict and the effect of comparative eschatology of Pre-Naerian Empires
During the Pre-Naerian period two competing prophetic texts and eschatologies were used by men to vie for control of known space. The religion behind each eschatology consisted of a mythological messianic figure around whom hope and eternal favor was sought. The historical spread of these religions had some cultural biases that they exploited.
Both of these religions grew from a common monotheistic myth. This myth was based on a single god that created and destroyed at will. That god created the universe and under his watch individuals had to prove their worth and goodness daily. This proto-religion started on planet Naerius but now that religion is lost to time. Naerius is a mountainous and rocky planet with great storms and extreme changes in weather which inspired this belief in a fickle lord of the universe.
One of the competing religions had a messianic figure who was cast as a mythological divine sacrifice. His tenure in the universe was marked by his rejection rather than acceptance of temporal authority. There was no physical conquest but rather spiritual and intellectual. This religion was so closely identified with its messianic figure that it had the eponymous name “Dol-Tarprush” or “Dol our sacrifice” in Albion.
Dol descended from the stars to Naerius and during a period of off world hegemony preaching his new form of human interaction based on love of others and self-sacrifice. Dol was a strangely charismatic figure and caused more trouble by avoiding direct confrontation with authority than by indicting it. Eventually he could no longer avoid a confrontation with authority and in an epic battle in which his crazed followers attempted to protect him, he was captured and killed in a gruesomely slow and painful way. He was slowly tortured and eviscerated. Long ago, the people of Naerius aligned themselves with “Dol-Tarprush”.
His death was broadcast into every direction of known space as an example to all what fate awaited them. Of course the opposite of the desired effect happened. Whereas his death should have been the end of his religion, it continued to spread initially under the radar of temporal authority through the close by Raslavon system and eventually to the Albion system across several other systems.
Dolism’s spread was rapid through races in which religious life and secular life were somewhat separated and more personal. In these systems there was a common thread of viewing both religious and secular authority with some degree of skepticism. Although each pervaded a person’s life, and somewhat controlled it, the two were never merged in any of those systems into the rule of a theocrat. In fact the philosophical view in those systems was such that it was healthy that the two opposed each other...each giving way to the other in a time or event that was appropriate.
Several centuries later1, and in direct response to Dol’s death, a separate movement arose on the Barsifi home world. The name of that religion from the ancient tongue from which it arose was “Khardish” roughly translated into Albion as “submission”. The mythological figure who led this movement of cleansing was Ramesh, who was fully human but whose actions and victories seemed to portend divine backing.
After seeing the transmission of Dol’s death, Ramesh was so affected that in a dream that night he saw a vision of many super-beings sitting at a table and giving him the mission to cleanse the universe of its barbarity and particularly Naerius. In his dream, the super-beings who were organized somewhat in a pantheon, ordered him to have the universe submit to their will. Hence the name “Khardish” or submission.
The revelation was provided to him by the pantheon of 20 beings the head of which identified himself as the source of the monotheistic belief. He noted that the other 19 were of his race, but only he had authority over creation. The others interacted with the creation but could only affect the outcome of events but not create or destroy directly.
Ramesh, awaking from his dream, began to scribble down what he had seen and the message to creation. “Submit or be conquered” was the first message. Each night for 14 nights, Ramesh was given new insight into the history of the universe and the desires of the creator and of the members of his race. He compiled these revelations in a book call Yeraz. He carried this book into battle and was virtually invincible. He led his horde of conquering races across the quadrant and enveloped Naerius.2
At this point the Raslavon empire had begun to form and seeing that the cradle of their religion was about to be taken, they fought a great battle with the Barsifi, each claiming divine recognition for their deeds.
Ramesh was stopped here. This wave of conquest spanned the latter part of his life, and at the pinnacle of his power when he was just about to take the seed of iniquity (Naerius) and cleanse it, he disappeared without a trace. Khardish philosophers of the subsequent era opined that he was assumed into the pantheon awaiting for a situation in which to return.
Successive generations of followers watched the Barsifi influence slowly drained until once again they were contained in their own space. In the power vacuum, the Darjiki race became ascendant and fought wars under the banner of Khardish with Raslavon. Naerius passed back and forth between their empires for many centuries having only sporadic self rule.
The unique nature of the Darjiki was that they attempted to separate secular rule with Khardish. In all the systems in which Khardish was the prevailing religion, the Darjiki were viewed as blasphemers or at least usurpers of Ramesh’s religion. To these traditionalists, religion and secular authority were one and the same and the Darjiki system a blight.
In both the collected sayings of Dol, and the revelations given to Ramesh, there is a similar eschatology. In different allegory, they speak of a three generation war, in which Naerius would be the center of conflict and field of Armageddon. Both eschatologies dealt with the return of an object to Naerius which we assume was to change interstellar relations amongst the warring clans.
Albion philosophers for centuries had argued these two prophecies were of the same myth. The interpretation of both stories say it would take 3 successive generations of one family, a patriarch who would attempt to return home but gain power outside of Naerius. He would pass the mantle of return to his son and he also would fail to return but take another great power down, and finally a grandson who wuld restore order in the galaxy on his father’s death and retake his rightful place.
A long distance away, Philip sat with his cabinet ministers and senior members of the Boyar Council and of course the Crown Prince. Intelligence reports from spies embedded in the Barsifi court were that there was a visit from the Darjiki Grand Council. There were indications that the Darjiki and Barsifi would align themselves, or at least were in some sort of temporary non-agression pact and they would direct their energies against the outer system of the Raslavon Empire completely cutting off Naerius from the Raslavon reach.
This turn of events was not unexpected, but also was not tolerable. The Darjiki and Raslavon empires were in the midst of a sort of Cold War, in which there was no explicit competition for systems, but rather using those border systems as proxies for war. It was a time of small systems fighting the battles of the larger empires.
The importance of keeping close enough to Naerius so that a quick stab might wrestle control of her from the Darjiki was always a goal as well as destiny. Control of that planet was paramount. And if Philip’s religious philosophers were correct, the Crown Prince was the second of 3 who were to finally restore control of the galaxy.
In Philip’s reading, he was the first generation patriarch that had already failed but stopped one empire, the Darjiki Empire. Edward II had to assume control and stop a resurgent Barsifi empire. And any heir to Edward would be the fateful 3rd of 3. The Crown Prince knew nothing of these interpretations. He was preoccupied with learning statecraft from his great-uncle and his astute wife.
Only one thing bothered both Philip and Edward. After 2 years of marriage, there was no heir. That heir should have been the 3rd of 3 taking control of Naerius and according to their interpretation of collected sayings of Dol, putting down the 3rd Empire, which Philip suspected was the Albion empire. The court physicians tested and retested Veronica but there was no result. They attempted all kinds of medicines and rituals on her, all to no avail. In fact she was quite distraught both by the failure to produce an heir, and the blame they placed on her. The Crown Prince, for his part, was completely devoted to his wife and put the tests and “cures” to a halt.
Philip looked at his defense minister and asked, “What is your plan Grigori, General?”
Grigori got up from his chair and went to the display screen showing the grand map of the quadrant and began pointing to the systems in danger. “Sire, we will move forces from the 5 systems in the Rejik Nebula to the Palomar, Palomid and Palodar systems close to Naerius. This will leave us slightly exposed to the Albion, but we can rush forces from the center of the empire.”
“Is there any chance the Albion might see this redeployment and take advantage of it.”
“At the moment, Your Majesty, the Albion are quite over-extended trying to surpress the Barabrum system and seem to be concentrating most of their other fleets in trade escort.”
“What is our intelligence from Albion telling us?” asked Philip.
“Uncle, I’ve looked over the reports and the Albion are having enough trouble internally in their system in response to their foray in the Barabrum system. Lots of protests and dissension amongst the political class.”
“Normally, Edward, Crown Prince, I’d take some solace in that, but in this instance I need to evaluate the risk here.”
“Uncle, you must understand that a quick stab can only be done with forces available in other places. The Albion are meddlers but not necessarily ready for direct confrontation with us.”
Philip needed to ponder this. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He then said, “Dol, bless my path, move the forces as needed. Dimitrius, General, we need to have more intelligence from the Albion and Barsifi empires. We need to make sure we are reading their movements correctly.”
Dimitrius was a small man, very fit with an almost chiseled physique. Many thought that he overcompensated in this fashion to make up for his diminutive stature. The one fact that no one disputed was that he possessed a great intellect. He was a sort of counterpoint to Grigori, who was a large barrel-chested middle height man. Grigori rose through the rank for his bravery under fire and his ability to lead and rouse men. He was no strategic genius, rather he was tactical...he was a fighter. Dimitrius was more subtle in his ways, as brave as Grigori and had some legendary examples of keeping his head while all around him failed to do so in battle.
Some thought that they were rivals, and some tried to create a rivalry, but in truth they relied on each other even though it was obvious that they had no personal friendship or rapport. They each had their past, their current job and needed each other to do their respective jobs...professional respect is about the best description.
Philip was very concerned. The hand that fate was dealing him made no sense in the context of the prophecy. His own lack of a direct heir, the death of his chosen heir, the lack of the Crown Prince having an heir. The situation was reading like what was prophesied. It just seemed that his family’s place in it didn’t fit exactly. No matter, he needed to play out this game.
Chapter 6 Pascal was in the virt-sim looking at the terrain aware that Willem would appear soon enough and begin the test. After years of Willem’s training, Pascal had a good idea of Willem’s strengths and weaknesses. Knowing Willem’s weaknesses were no advantage since, as Pascal remembered, Willem’s speed, even when a weakness was exploited, was sufficient to parry any blow that Pascal could attempt.
For his part, Willem knew Pascal’s qualities. Although he was not particularly quick, he was a natural positional fighter and was extremely strong given his smaller stature. In combat, Pascal would rely on his ability to position himself to achieve the maximum strength he could muster for defense or for landing a blow. Willem had once or twice misjudged this strength while training his young friend and paid for it as dearly as any teacher had ever paid for misjudging a student.
Pascal had one other quality that Willem respected and had not seen in most of the other acolytes he had trained. No matter what the situation, no matter how dire, he never ever lost his head. Those around him could always rely on him to be constantly assessing the situation and to be able to give sensible advice. He wasn’t the type to choose a suicidal charge when faced with overwhelming odds. Back off, find a better position, then come at the opponent again.
In the first scenario Pascal found himself on a Raslavon Corsair fighter. Their odd pointed shape with the long laser cannon on the tip and 6 wings led them to be called “Skeeters” short for “Mosquitoes." These were small two man crafts used for short range attacks or close support of large transport vessels. They tended to fight in swarms and had relied on guidance systems that could see the waste and emissions from an enemy craft even when cloaked.
Pascal had fighter training and was a good shot no matter whether the weapon was buckshot or a laser cannon. Pascal’s virtual pilot led him near an enemy dreadnought class vessel. Immediately they encountered a hail of fire from the vessel. Suddenly from above he could see a squadron of Barsifi Telk fighters. As his virt-pilot avoided the transport’s fire he began to focus his attention on the Telk fighters looking for the control vessel.
The Barsifi Telk was a snub-nosed fighter mounted with twin cannons on each winglet. The Barsifi fleet was deployed in such a way that the control Telk, known as the “Queen” would readjust the flight path of all the drone vessels as the situation in the battle changed. Pilots on these fighters had some level of tactical control, but overall direction and deployment was done from the rear in the control vessel. If Pascal could discern the Queen, he could disable the strategic control of the drones and make a run for the Barsifi Transport.
The tell tale sign of the Queen was that it moved behind the main battle formation from squadron to squadron. This allowed the commander to assess the situation from any point. In order to figure out where the Queen was, the normal procedure was to deploy certain fighters to seek it out without getting enmeshed in the main battle. This was usually done by flanking the main battle from any direction - up, down, left or right - and using both visual and sensor path assessments.
Of course the Barsifi knew this and created decoys for the Queen. Shoot a decoy and that seeker fighter was now vulnerable as a target since the Queen would sense the disruption of its own protection. It was a very effective offense and defense.
Pascal concentrated on the movement of several of the rear vessels and he saw his quarry. In his sensor he noticed the movement of each squadron when a certain vessel was behind them. He continued to track that vessel and compare the movements of the squadrons when that Queen was not in the area. A sudden shift of a squadron near the lower right center of the battle formation tipped him off that the Queen was near them. He tracked a vessel leaving that formation and began to stalk it.
Suddenly his own virt-pilot had trouble. Their recon mission was detected and they were under attack. After several maneuvers to avoid being hit, a bright light lit up the forward cabin of Pascal’s skeeter. Pascal checked his sensors and noted that his pilot was hit and control was being rerouted to his panel.
Trying to keep his cool he put the vessel into a quick reverse, a maneuver unique to the skeeter. It could reverse its thrusters without changing its attitude. The engineers of the Barsifi and Darjiki fleets had some very sophisticated equipment in the fleet of fighters, but the Raslavon Corsair was unique in its maneuverability in close combat. These quick moves required pilots and gunners that had the greatest ability to withstand the g-forces that were generated by the vessel’s ability.
Willem, controlling the Barsifi fleet through the Queen, noticed Pascal’s movement and smiled. “Well, my young friend, you have detected me, taken your hit, kept control of the vessel and now are in the enviable position of destroying the attack squadron I sent after you and exposing the Queen. I consider this test a success. I know few people who would have made that move successfully from the gunner position of a Skeeter.”
“So I passed?”
“This round, yes.”
There's a story as to how this chapter was written before there was a concept of the book:Chapter 1
Hunting is a skill that many people wish to acquire but never attain. They seem to concentrate on the actual kill rather than the chase. Pringle and Parker were attachés of the Albion government. “Mr. Pascal” was recommended to them as a guide who knew the best places to find prey and he was multilingual. “Mr. Pascal” was Pascal Adam Scintilla. His real name was Adam Scintilla. Pascal was a nickname given to him in an orphanage-monastery by the monks who enjoyed the company of this youth of uncommon cleverness and gift of gab. His fate was intertwined with the monks who raised and trained him and he accepted this nickname as a badge of honor.
In truth, fate was something in which Pascal did not take stock or believe in. He thought that chance and effort combined to make a person’s future. Presented with chance, he believed that effort was required to take advantage of it. Through effort sometimes chance became visible to seize.
So it was chance that Pringle and Parker looked him up to lead them through the forest looking for their prey. The prey was a deer. They both rather enjoyed traipsing through the woods and shooting at fast moving animals. Pascal thought they were tolerable fools, but he was enough of a player to understand that with a bit of effort he could parlay this relationship with them to his advantage.
Pascal spoke seven languages fluently and idiomatically. Well, six fluently and idiomatically. He struggled with an accent in the local Barabreen. In both Barabreen and the Naerian language there were two sounds, a “g” like esophageal sound, and a “k” like sound that was a sound one could make removing the phlegm from one’s throat. In Barabreen, there was unfortunately for him a third sound, more of a guttural hiss, that he never mastered. It was the one way the locals knew he was different.
He was different...he was educated. The Barabreen respected him as a peacemaker, an impartial judge to their many grievances. Since he was not one of them, he had no stake in whose claim was stronger. Calling him “Mr. Pascal” was the deference they used with him. He was no doubt an infidel in their judgement, and yet he was strangely superior to them in their eyes.
Pascal took Pringle and Parker into the woods for the morning. This was the best time to catch the deer as they had emptied their bellies and were spending time concentrating on eating. He saw several deer that the two men did not notice. He had to make the hunt slightly time consuming so that it was worth their time. Nothing more boring than an easy hunt.
A real prince was off in the distance. Pascal saw it first, of course. He stopped to peer in that direction. Parker came over and saw Pascal’s hesitation. He looked in the same direction and saw his victim. He immediately raised his shotgun and Pascal grabbed his elbow gently and whispered, “Mr. Parker, you are 100 yards from that animal, if you shoot now you’ll wound a tree and scare a deer.”
Pascal was quite proud of this shotguns. They could be very lethal against a prey at close range as the many projectiles cause multiple penetrations in a small area. Pascal used large pellets which carried enough kinetic energy to be lethal at about 40 yards and Pascal had custom built his weapons to increase accuracy over that range by giving them a slightly longer than normal barrels.
Pringle caught up to them at this point. He was a tall, gangly man and moving through the woods with all the low branches was more effort for him than for Parker or for Pascal (who was barely 5’6”). The deer had not noticed them. Pringle said, “ So, gentlemen, have we a victim?”
“Possibly, Mr. Pringle, but we need to move closer. Please stay together as I do not want us to accidentally shoot each other”
“Mr. Pascal,” said Parker, “I was a carabinieri in the Queen’s forces, and I would never shoot my own troops.”
“Typical,” thought Pascal. “Nevertheless Mr. Parker, humor me by staying close as you have asked me to be your guide”
Parker said nothing but was concentrating on the deer. Pringle was now crouching next to them as best as he could. They moved slowly forward, about 10 paces apart. The deer was chewing on a leafy branch of some shrub enjoying what might be his last meal.
When they had reached about 25 yards, Pascal signaled to the two men. Pringle gestured to defer to Parker to allow him a chance at this point. He raised his shotgun and fired. The deer dropped his rear legs and struggled to run. Pringle waited what seemed an eternity to Pascal and then took his shot and the deer went down. The two men smiled at each other. “Why thank you Mr. Pascal, this was a success”
Pascal replied, “Good job, gentlemen! Let’s take it back.” Thinking to himself, “Two shots? With a hesitation in between? What was he waiting for? Barbarians.”
They proceeded back to the town with their fallen prey as their prize. Pascal tolerated these men because they were useful to the town. They had set up a communications tower in the town which could signal back to Freeport if there was any trouble by the local insurgents as well as several other improvements. He hoped they could be useful to him in other ways, like getting him off this planet.
Hi,My name is Armen Chakmakjian, and I've written a book and published it on the Kindle and now in paperback form on CreateSpace. I've got a website you can peruse to find out more about me:
http://www.urtaru.com
Suffice it to say that I took the Armenian experience in the world and transposed it into space using my grandfather's story and his character as the protagonist in a superpower conflict.
I'm going to respond to questions and posts from Dec 3-31 here on goodreads. I have a full time job, so I might not answer until the evening, but I will try to answer any questions that come in about the book, writing and what I plan on doing next. There is an excerpt available on the website above that has a few chapters from different points in the book that I thought were emblematic of my style.
I'm looking forward to meeting readers and writers. This is my first time through this, so please bear with me :-)
The book is about 350 pages, although that doesn't mean much on the Kindle. I've placed excerpts from few early chapters from the book in a folder here for any comments they might inspire.
Armen
