Category: Lore

Character Profile: Leo Kanta

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Leo Kanta, Pan’s father, grew up to be the ruler of Braria. And by all accounts he was a good and just king. Renowned for his ability to judge people in separate capacities (father, husband, son, king, etc.), Leo was a respected ruler not only in Braria but in many other nations of Bolfodier as well. But like with any other person, he had his flaws. Being the third generation of the Kanta line to be born without magic, Leo grew extremely distant from all who were gifted, only acknowledging their existence when absolutely necessary. It got so bad that when it was discovered that Pan had been born with magic, Leo thought that he was not his son, and was on the verge of accusing Evelyn of infidelity until he noticed how much Pan resembled himself. As Pan grew, Leo’s detachment from the gifted in his kingdom faded, but were still a factor in his initial mistrust of Sabrina and the ultimatum he gave Pan on his deathbed.

But the most interesting piece of information about Leo is his Reckoning. Taking an abnormally long time to complete, Leo’s Reckoning was to travel to three different countries (Ginok, Ichmensch and Nefas) to study how to separate his opinions and widen his world views. He spent four and a half months in each country without talking to anybody as he studied the ways people interacted with each other and forcing himself to comprehend each person’s viewpoint and understand what they had gone through to reach this point in their lives.

Sadly Leo’s life was cut short at the age of 57, as he died from an incurable illness (lung cancer) at the start of the novel.

Let me know what you think about this look into Pan’s father. Does this make him more or less sympathetic as a character?

Lady of the Night Crest

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So one idea that I had early in transition from writing on fictionpress to publishing the book was that the Ladies of the Night would have a crest that distinguish them to each other and others in society. I’d originally planned to have Jazabel wear hers as a necklace, and so I drew a crude image taking some elements from The Legend of Zelda and The Sword of Truth book series by Terry Goodkind (a major influence in terms of the way Bolfodier works and is, as well as my love of fantasy in general). And since my artistic capabilities barely reach past stick figures, I’d asked a friend to redraw the design I’d created. And last week she finished that drawing, and so I’m proud to present the crest of the Ladies of the Night in a more proper glory. This design is featured on the cover of the Codex Nocturna.

 

Huge Thank You goes to Alicia for taking the time to do this and many more drawings related to The Kanta Chronicles. She’s been given an early copy of the book so that she has all the information needed to complete these drawings, and I will post them as soon as I get the final copies. Let me know what you think and I’ll pass along your comments to her.

Brudas Smiledoilt

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As today and this entire weekend are centred around the world’s most famous demigod (Jesus Christ), I thought this week’s post would be about the demigod in The Kanta Chronicles: Brudas Smiledoilt.

Brudas was born roughly 6000 years before the start of our story in the capital city of Nefas, Babomorah. As this was the during the rule of the Vigmece clan, it wasn’t exactly the best time to be living in Nefas. But despite the constant turmoil of the Vigmece clan, Brudas grew up happy living with his father. It wasn’t until his 26th birthday that he even knew who his mother was, or that he possessed extraordinary powers. The most powerful of these powers was his ability to freeze people in time. And it wasn’t until he was 28 that he discovered his Soul’s Twin: Anilla Nechrie; as well as having her taken from him. After Anilla’s murder, Brudas pleaded with his mother Lilith to assist him in unleashing terrible vengeance upon those who had taken his beloved from him in the most brutal of fashions. Knowing the unbearable pain her son is feeling, Lilith grants her son the ability to live until a Soul Twin is born to the Vigmece clan, so that Brudas can do to them what they did to him. In the intervening years, Brudas hones his knowledge of warfare and hatred of the ones who took Anilla and their Soul Twin descendant. And once Shade and Nikki announce themselves to the world, Brudas puts his plan into action, while also taking Jazabel’s advice to destroy them from within.

5 Secrets to the World of Bolfodier

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So to start off, I want to apologize for not posting anything last week. There was no reason for this besides my laziness and as my loyal readers, you deserve better. Hopefully this week’s post will make up for the lack of new content from last week. But in more exciting news, I finished doing my in-depth look over of the interior layout of the book and have sent it back to the editors with less than 25 changes, so hopefully I’ll have the next one by the middle of next week. I’m getting really excited guys about the upcoming release and can’t wait to start getting your feedback on the book. It’s going to be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters/Indigo, so be sure to leave your reviews on these sites (in this case quantity over quality is a good thing) no matter if they’re good or bad reviews-I’m always welcome to constructive criticism.

But now on to more important things; as I said earlier, I hope this makes up for not posting last week. Here are five secrets about the world of Bolfodier that are not found in The Kanta Chronicles, but affect it all the same.

Though he cannot remember her name, the girl that Pan took to his bed after Sabrina left him was named Brandi. She was a tavern wench/prostitute that had come to Terang hoping for a different life. But upon finding herself in the Nifehan’s bed on her first night in Terang, she fell into despair. While Pan slept, Brandi snuck away back to the place she’d been planning on staying at, grabbed her things and returned to her home. Once there, she promptly jumped off a cliff to escape her depression at being a whore.

While it is mentioned that Pandora’s tomb is the oldest and strongest of the Lady of the Night strongholds, it is never mentioned where the others are or how numerous they are. In total, there are five strongholds: Pandora’s tomb, the Hollow Mountains, the Vigmece Pyramid in Nefas, the giant forest in northern Ichmensch and in the Temple of the Goddess. With the exception of Pandora’s tomb, these strongholds are not exclusively in the possession of the Ladies of the Night. The Hollow Mountains are ruled by the Intunerica, who are aware of and slightly annoyed by the fact that they must share their home. The Vigmece Pyramid was once the site of the clan’s sadistic rituals and has been heavily guarded since their demise. The giant forest of northern Ichmensch is wild territory and many fear what is inside-even some Ladies of the Night. And final, the Temple of the Goddess is reserved only for the true queens of the Ladies of the Night as a private sanctuary.

The Intunerica are a secretive race of female assassins that base out of the Hollow Mountains. Though they are quite reclusive, secretive, and arrogant, every generation or so they would adopt a child to be taught their ways. No one knows how they would choose this child, or why this single act of ‘charity’ would be done by these women, but all agree why it stopped over a thousand years ago. Isabelle Megta was the last child the Intunerica adopted. It is said that her hatred for men disturbed even them and because they helped to create one of the evilest women of all time, they decided to give up this act of ‘charity’ to ensure that evil would never be unleashed upon Bolfodier again.

Although not all Royal families in Bolfodier have magic as most people think of magic, there is one bit of magic they all possess. Whenever new rulers of any country in Bolfodier are crowned, a jolt runs through the bodies of every other ruler that alerts them to the new ruler. Each country has its own jolt, allowing for a distinction between the many countries. Also, the jolts feel different depending if a king or queen is being crowned.

While many people gifted with magic today believe the magic circles of the Star of Death and Moon of Life are taken from Clowia as that is where most magic circles were designed, that is a lie. They are in fact magic circles created by Pandora for the Ladies of the Night many centuries before the creation of the circles from Clowia. A Lady of the Night in fact revealed the two circles to an outsider, and upon figuring out what she had done, the other Ladies of the Night killed her for revealing one of their greatest secrets. Unfortunately for them, they could not stop the spread of the circles as the strength they give to those using them is great. And sources of great power, like magic circles, spread quickly through Bolfodier.

Don’t be afraid to let me know what you think of all this either here or on the Facebook page.

Character Profile: Kailee

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One character that I feel that I constantly am overlooking in terms of the plot and of my favourite characters is Kailee. Partly due to my constantly calling K-lee, rather than the Khi-lee that is the right way to pronounce her name, and partly due to the fact that she has little to do in the final section besides officiating Shade and Nikki’s wedding, I’m constantly reminded of how important she truly is to this story as I’m rereading the formatted version of the book to make final adjustments before publishing. And the truth is, the story as it is would never happen if it weren’t for Kailee.

For those of you who don’t know who Kailee is, let me give you the highlights that make up her character. The younger of two daughters of the once proud but fallen from grace Lex family, Kailee is a kind, if meek, woman that grew up in the boarder town of OJA. Due to the actions taken by Hados when she was a child, Kailee grew up being subconsciously scared of men and with the looks of the goddess Nina. Despite all this, Kailee eventually grew to possess a confidence that, while not always present, gave her the strength to defy her family’s wishes and come to Terang to offer her help in bringing peace to the Royal family and leave Braria for 10 years with only her love Sabrina as comfort. She was constantly writing her parents and sister so they knew that she was alright and happy with Sabrina. After meeting Iselda, the two became fast friends to the point where Iselda having barely known her for more than a couple of months considered naming one of her children after Kailee. And it was Kailee who Iselda chose to be her surrogate mother to her children when she was kidnapped by the Empress of Toxai. Despite growing up a basic nobody, Kailee has become more than she could ever have hoped to be: loved by her extended family, a confidant to the Royal family and a well respected member of her community, as well as having removed the stigma that had followed her family for generations.

For those of you who have read the early versions of the story on fictionpress, let me know your thoughts on Kailee. Did you overlook her as I constantly have? Or did you realize her worth to the story from her first introduction? Do you wish she featured more in the third part of the story; or did you not like her character? Please comment and let me know your thoughts so I know what you want to hear more about from the world of Bolfodier.

Updates and The Mirror of Rheta

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First, as tomorrow is St. Patty’s Day, I’d like to wish everyone the luck of the Irish and a safe day of drinking for those of you old enough to do so. Secondly, I’m posting this week’s post early because I don’t believe I’ll have time to do so before it’s too late in the day. Thirdly, I’d like to give you all an update about how the book’s publishing process is coming along: greatly! On Wednesday I received the formatted version of the book to go over and make sure everything looks good. And I have to say that, as a whole (I haven’t taken the time to read every word yet), it looks pretty cool. It’s going to be about 600 pages, so hopefully you all will take the time to read each page; I included a special ‘Thank You’ page at the start, in which I give my deepest gratitude to you all for your support of not only The Kanta Chronicles, but of me as well. Lastly, I’d like to add another thank you to my friend Alicia, for agreeing to draw some character and location designs for those appearing in the book (I’ll leave a link to her art page below).
Now, for those of you who don’t know this about me, I love me some Beauty and the Beast and can’t wait to see the new movie. Belle was always my favourite princess and now to have the one and only Hermione Granger aka Emma Watson playing her is going to be just perfect. Now, I bring this up because, as one of my favourite Disney films, something from Beauty and the Beast of course makes a cameo in The Kanta Chronicles. And that something is the Beast’s magic mirror, which I used as my visual inspiration for the Mirror of Rheta. Those who have read the story on fictionpress (or more accurately, the third and final part) will know that the Mirror of Rheta is a minor MacGuffin that kicks off the start of the final chunk of the story. But something that you may not know is that the Mirror of Rheta’s power doesn’t come from it’s namesake, but is actually from Rheta’s lover Cosmar. On the eve of his death, Cosmar presented the Mirror to Rheta at a party to celebrate her upcoming birthday. Having a sorceress from Singia enchant the Mirror with its unique properties, Cosmar then convinced Rheta to use the Mirror in front of everyone to declare their love. But besides their eternal love for one another, the Mirror also revealed that Rheta was pregnant with Cosmar’s child. Sadly she miscarried due to the grief and stress of Cosmar’s death.

Let me know what you think of this backstory to the Mirror of Rheta. And don’t forget to check out Alicia’s art at: https://alicia091.wixsite.com/jtsartville. I’ll be posting her Kanta Chronicles related works as I receive them, both here on Facebook and on my website bolfodier.ca

Some Cool Things About the Ladies of the Night

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While the book explains how the Ladies of the Night came into existence, it doesn’t go into how long they’ve been a part of Bolfodier. The story of Cadel Thymab and her daughter Pandora (the first true queen of the Ladies of the Night) is one of the first things that has a global impact in the story. We learn from Hados that Korena has been Annabelle for 15,000 years; and the creation of the Ladies of the Night was around 500 years after the death of Nina. So needless to say, they are the oldest society in Bolfodier, and having members come from all over the world has also made them one of the most knowledgeable about the secrets of the world. For instance, they knew that the Kanta family was the name the Vigmece clan took when they fled from Nefas, or that Hados was in love with a goddess trapped in the world above and that he couldn’t tell her. The wealth of knowledge that they have gathered over the years hidden away not only at Pandora’s Tomb but their other strongholds (more on those at a later date) would put the combined information of the Valin Twins’ library, the Terang castle libraries and those of the Sanctuary of Darkefyre (again, more to come later) to shame many times over. Basically, they know more about Bolfodier than anyone, save for its creators. For all the Game of Thrones fans, imagine if Littlefinger, Varys, Bloodraven and all the maesters of the Citadel came together to share their knowledge of Westeros and you can start to grasp the magnitude of the amount of history, power, secrets and random bits of trivia these women have at their disposal.
Another interesting fact about the Ladies of the Night is that they live longer lives than most people. Because they only age in moonlight, living up to 120 after their becoming a Lady of the Night, And considering that Pan dies of old age at the age of 67 (keeping in mind the longer years Bolfodier has when compared to Earth), we see how they are able to collect all the information that they’ve amassed over the millennia.

In Defense of Lilith

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While she comes across as a one dimensional evil character in the book, I’d like to dedicate this week’s post to the redeeming qualities of the goddess Lilith. For starters, she truly would have called off Brudas’ assault on Shade and Nikki had they simply forsaken Hados and Korena as their friends and deities. Secondly, despite the previous fact and their current animosity, she still loves Hados and Korena; if not like a brother and sister than as her closest friends. She’s also quite devoted to Bolfodier, as she tells Shade and Nikki when they meet her, she is spending all her godly energies to keep Bolfodier in relative peace. But perhaps the most redeeming action Lilith has ever committed in her saving of Korena’s life on the night that Nina was murdered. She did this not only to give her daughter one last gift in saving the being that was both step-mother and daughter to Nina, but also for the love Lilith had for Hados (both platonic and romantic). Even in the modern setting of the story, Lilith still harbours feelings for Hados, but knows that he can never feel the same way about her. This is why every 100 years or so she searches out a man that reminds her of Hados in some way, shape or form and has a child with him.
Let me know if this helps redeem Lilith in your eyes, or if she even needed redeeming in the first place. I know that when I first envisioned her, she was meant to be the only god the world had while being a subtle jab at Catholicism with her appearance being that of the typical depiction of the Virgin Mary, but bearing the name of the mother of demons/one of the first demons (source depending). As I continued writing the other stories that would become the book, she eventually devolved into the seemingly antagonistic one sided character that she appears to be. And while I’m ok with that in terms of this story, I didn’t want you readers to feel that way about her; she’s like Iselda: the book only shows the Dark Union side to Lilith, not the queen of Braria that we see of Iselda throughout The Kanta Chronicles.

Shadowthyst

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I know I was supposed to post yesterday, but I got caught up in work and doing some other stuff, so I thought I’d make this extra special; one of the 25 secrets that I’ve kept from everyone about the world of Bolfodier.
White shadothyst is the rarest of all substances in Bolfodier and is worth ten times its weight in gold. It is so precious that it is believed that every bit in the world has been mined. But what makes white shadothyst so valuable is not its rarity, but the properties it possesses. When combined with the steel of weapons it imbues the steel with invincibility. Warding carved into it will create the strongest barrier imaginable. And when crushed, it becomes white sorcerer’s sand; a reusable substance to help in performing powerful magical rituals.
Shadowthyst (mostly occuring in black, its white form being the more sought after though) is a material that I invented that is a sort of cross between marble and obsidian. It appears only a few times in the book but is definitely a material I’d like to explore further in future works, so familiarize yourselves with its properties and look for it to play a more significant role in future Bolfodier novels.

The Value of Gold

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Though I didn’t know the real reasons (though I knew there had to be real reasons) when I wrote the second and third parts of the book, the concept of why gold is our most precious substance greatly fascinated me. And it was for this reason that I added the detail of the golden dagger that brought out the hatred of the god and goddesses of Bolfodier. Seeing the power the precious metal had over Nina and other divine beings, man spread the word of the power of gold. And it’s for this reason that gold becomes the highest form of money in the world (though by the time of the story, nobody knows this).
Just another little nugget of information to help enrich the reading experience when it comes. Leave your thoughts and comments below!