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Kora's Backstory
Kora was the firstborn to Feewa and Timmit. Her chaimeach did not come through the portal that terrifying day, as he was not there. This left Kora’s young cheelah to care for her alone on the other side. Feewa, who was unable to nurse Kora for lack of milk, was almost a year old when a Shaymanite named Looma approached the young cheelah with a proposition. She needed to agree to exchange the child freely, thereby saving her from starvation. Her only consequence was that she would suffer the memory of the baby’s death. Feewa gave her up out of love.
Kora was taken to a secret chamber where a small group of highly skilled Shaymanites began the task of changing her with a small amount of their own DNA. As the transformation began, Kora and her beast, Doefa, were placed in a coma, protecting them as their body underwent the painful process of rapid growth. Eventually, her body stopped growing around the age of sixteen. She was held in stasis while her newly acquired Shaymanite powers took root within its new foreign host. When she was finally awakened, she was given a guardian named Dean’arra; she was also given the memories of her growing up as a Borrion-I and her subsequent adoption into the Shaymanite colony after the tragedy of the Exodus.
It was at this point that her training to use her powers took place. As she mastered each skill, she was given more liberties to interact within the Shaymanite group until the time came to meet Brezlin. She had been informed of his past and his relationship with Calleya. She had also been assured that Brezlin would be her mate. But still being young and impetuous, Kora didn’t understand why Brezlin couldn’t accept their future together, even when she had told him of it several times.
His repeated rejections brought about doubt and heartache. This caused Doefa to hate Brezlin for the pain he caused Kora. For further reassurance, the Shaymanites revealed a glimpse of each of their children’s futures to her. Kora is also aware of her own role in the upcoming Borrion~I civil war. Knowing this, she was expressly forbidden to alter her path. Now I know, this sounds like she knows the outcome, but she doesn’t. Mounting within both she and Doefa is the feeling of dread as the time for the upheaval draws closer.
Brezlin's Backstory
Brezlin is the youngest of five boys or as they say in Ol’Sackay, basuls. In most cultures, the youngest is often overlooked or, many times, babied; Brezlin was no exception. With both of his parents dead at the time you meet him, you only see a spoiled, youthful brat. (That’s partly my fault; that’s just the way I see him) Brezlin is a hard-working 17/18-year-old kid who, at the moment, has nothing but time on his hands. Usually, he works with the Ground Crew, defending over one thousand villagers from dragon attacks from the Black Clutch. Generally, these seldom take place right overhead as you read in Exodus, but the dragons did attack now and then, and Brezlin loved the fight.
One of the overriding reasons Brezlin likes keeping his feet on the ground so much is that he has not felt the calling to bond with a Wind-dodger like all his broars had. He believes the real action is on the ground, face to face with his attackers. He enjoys the rush of letting Raj, his beast, rise within him, strengthening his body and sharpening his skills. With a Wind-dodger, your focus lies more in tune with the creature during the fight, not your beast, something Brezlin never wanted to give up, as his broars had.
Being the youngest afforded him a certain amount of freedom. It was extremely unlikely that he would ever become a leader, so free time was generally spent on pursuing females. Later, when we see him emerging through the portal, the anxiety of leadership has not hit him; he relaxes when he sees his cousin Ceranth. Besides, he fully expects the portal to open again and, poof, all would be right in his world once more… Sorry, Charlie!
Without giving away the story, you, the reader, get to see Brezlin grow from this point on. I know, big deal, right? But it is. Often, the hero or the lead character is already amazing, but not so in Brezlin’s case. He struggles with all the misguided impulses that every kid experiences at his age. He is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to lead, but lead he does. It’s this inner strength of Raj’s and Brezlin’s tenacity not to back away from a fight that keeps this unlikely hero persevering throughout the book. Hope this helps you cut the poor guy some slack.
Washota's Backstory
Washota is the proverbial dark horse in the telling of these Castalar stories. He is introduced to us as this older, brooding character that would rather be left alone, so we don’t give him much of our attention, or at least I didn’t until lately. So let’s peel back some of those layers like one of Shrek’s onion analogies. I think you’ll start to find there is much more to him than what he lets you see on the surface.
He is the eldest of five children to Canbit and Hilla. Canbit was already a master tracker under Chieftain Tormerac of the Ol’Sackay clan when Washota was born. Young Washota was quickly followed by three more brothers, and then, lastly, his sister Kiki arrived. He was in his early twenties when Canbit died suddenly from a heart attack, taking the entire family and the clan by surprise. Washota, however, had been prepared to take on the role of provider and leader to his cheelah and siblings thanks to his chaimeach’s strict teachings.
The Borrion~I family dynamics are uniquely structured so that each chaimeach will focus all his training knowledge on the eldest basul for just such an occasion as death. He will also seek out the best teacher to hone in their basul’s particular skill sets; for Washota, there was no one better than his chaimeach.
As Washota further embraced his role as head of his house, he reluctantly placed both of his broar’s in the care of Rechet, Khellin’s eldest broar. Rechet was currently training R’lend to lure and then seduce a Wind-dodger to become a flyer. Washota buried his disappointment in his broar’s alternate path. There were so few superior trackers these days, it was a shame to lose his chaimeach’s teachings when his time came for the beetles.
Washota often struggled with raising Kiki. There were definitely two separate ways of thinking, and theirs never did match. He was thankful when Kiki finally grew up enough to gain the attention of a young warrior from the Blue Mountain clan. With Washota’s blessing, Kiki left, taking their cheelah and their youngest broar with them. Now that his family was taken care of, Washota was free to hone in on his craft, diving deeper into the art of everything.
Soon, Washota had captured the attention of Ma’lay. She had arrived two years earlier with her broar, who was here to become another flyer. She was average in looks and competent, according to Washota’s assessment of her; she was also persistent. Even though he had privately rebuffed her advances, she continued to show up with meals when he returned from scouting missions. Her magic rubdowns had Washota admitting he rather enjoyed her company.
After several years of this kind of treatment, people began to think that there was something more between them, and eventually, there was. It was around this time that Khellin became leader after Tormerac fell in battle. Washota stayed close, assuring Khellin he would be his master tracker, as Canbit was to Tormerac. Ceranth, Khellin’s cousin, stepped up too and became a ground crew leader. Rechet’s brother took over the position of his second. They were a well-working team for many years until that fateful day.
Here is where I’d like to interject. Tormerac had a second, several ground crew leaders, and trackers, as well as other positions, but when he fell in battle to establish Khellin, they stepped aside, but not to the extent of being replaced. They stayed and helped their replacements to keep the clan strong. Ok, back to Washota.
Just four days prior to the attack of the black dragons, Washota fell into Ma’lay’s embrace. With his eyes filled with intent and heavy breathing, he feathered kisses down her belly while asking permission to claim her. He couldn’t believe what he heard next.
“Stop.”
Washota held still, his lips still pressed to her stomach. She propped herself up on her elbows and explained that she wanted to go through the whole Calave bell cutting ceremony first. Washota just kept thinking how close he was to actual sex for the first time in his life, and now this. His body was at a fever pitch with arousal, aching for release when he reluctantly lifted his head, having no choice but to agree.
Three days later, the black dragons attacked, and she never got her Calave ceremony. Washota was so focused on getting as many as he could through the portals that day that he failed to look for her. Once the portals closed, effectively trapping them on the other side, he soon discovered that Ma’lay was not there.
Washota’s training helped him to suppress the rush of emotions he was feeling at her loss. He submerged himself into his trade of tracking, and why not? Life here on this side of the portal didn’t make any sense. Somehow, Khellin’s spoiled youngest brother, Brezlin, was now their leader instead of Ceranth, which made no sense. He was of the same bloodline and a far better choice.
It would be a full year before Khellin managed to find a way to bring them home again, and he would have gladly returned with his chieftain had it not been for Ceranth. He was lost out there somewhere, and Brezlin, of all the weak-minded warriors, had elected to stay and find him. Washota would never forgive himself for leaving his childhood friend’s fate to that boy.
One night, Washota disparagingly mentioned to Smoke ‘He can find anything that he sets his mind to, but a mate has eluded him.’ Washota is now in his late forties, and he has accepted that his chaimeach’s talents will be lost with his passing. He has briefly entertained the idea of An’nay, who is in her late twenties. But life just keeps getting in the way.
Curze's Backstory
Curze, one of the few Borrion~I whose beast matched his personality to the tee. He was born to Bezzer, a tracker by trade under Canbit’s command. Curze, it is said, was captured by a wild, restless spirit affecting his ability to behave. Growing up, he hung around R’lend and Torbin, Khellin’s younger broars, until Raylith came along.
They were closer in age and in racialism. Curze was cursed with striking good looks and an eye for things he couldn’t have. Being the youngest of three boys, Curze managed to get himself overlooked as a child. His cheelah died when he was just fifteen, with some sort of wasting disease the healers could not cure. He honestly tried not to get into trouble after her passing. Still, between Big Boy, his beast, who was always wanting out at inappropriate times, and the ladies making advances on his person, there seemed to be a target on his back for trouble to find.
He was never more thankful than the day his eldest broar became a flyer and moved to live with the Winokins. Life after he left became a lot easier. Now all he needed to do was stay out of his chaimeach’s sight, leaving him and Raylith to do as they pleased, Until Raylith buckled under the pressure of becoming someone of value to the clan. To this day, he wished he had said no to Raylith when he said, ‘Come on, ground crew is calling us.’ Honestly, he heard no such call.
Life under surly Ceranth was taxing. Often, he and Big Boy would escape on hunting trips lasting two to three days, earning him several reprimands. But he didn’t mind. What were they going to do, throw him out? Then he met Meala. She had arrived with a group from the Menopan clan, and all that silly roaming stopped. She had it all: looks, smile, eyes that knew the minute he was lying to her, and a fire that took him well past that stupid petting line.
She had him mated to her within weeks of their meeting, and Curze never looked back. It didn’t even matter to him that she never got pregnant; it was shameful how she could make him scream during sex. He proudly wore her marks on his shoulder.
Then the attack came. Meala was to go see her family the day before, but there were no flyers from Menopa to take her, so she waited. Adrenaline was already rushing through his body when he realized that the dragons were targeting those on the ground. Curze ran to his den to get her to safety, disregarding the fact that he was abandoning his position within his ranks.
Running as fast as he could he stopped in disbelief when he saw that there before him was a pile of rubble that once was his home. Spotting Meala, he rushed to her side. Sliding to his knees, he begged her to be alive, but her body was lifeless. Holding her head and her hand, he cried out in anguish as the rest of her body was trapped beneath the timbers. Everything that he valued lived within her, and now those dragons had taken it, and they would pay for his pain. Determined to kill them all, he left his love and rushed back into the fray. It was only when the portals opened and he was ushered through that he knew he would never see her again.
On the other side, life lost all its meaning, so he focused on duty. With the announcement of the split, he said goodbye to his best friend and set his mind to the success of Brezlin’s plan on getting them home. It wasn’t until they reached Sutton Cove that he heard that Ceranth and his group were lost. The day Khellin returned for them, Curze didn’t hesitate when Brezlin’s call for volunteers went out. Staying behind and finding Ceranth gave him a sense of purpose. After all, Meala was dead, and his best friend was out there, whom he still needed.
Ceranth's Backstory
Ceranth was born to Ta’bain, the second-oldest broar of the Ol’Sackay chieftain Tormerac.
He was born just three days before Khellin, and as kids, he liked to remind him of that title every chance he got. Being so close in age, Ceranth and Khellin grew up together, playing in each other’s homes, forging a closer bond than most cousins. Khellin’s next three broars came along, and Ceranth and Khellin still managed to get into no end of trouble. This close relationship is one of the reasons Washota had such trouble watching Brezlin, Khellin’s youngest broar, take on the role of Ol’Sackay leader after the exodus when it should have gone to Ceranth.
The unpleasant day that Khellin chose Rechet, his oldest broar, as his second after Tormerac’s death was not a surprise to Ceranth as it might have been in any other situation. He was fine with the decision; a close broar should be his advisor.
It was also during this time that he watched his own chaimeach teach him a valuable lesson in how to serve with dignity. Ta’bain stepped aside almost as soon as Tormerac died. While you might think this is insensitive, it was the way of things. Ta’bain stayed on to groom both Khellin and Rechet in the unseen ways of their chieftain that only Ta’bain was privy to, creating a stronger leader. Now, what does all this talk of Khellin have to do with Ceranth? Plenty. It is in this phase of his life that he learns the weight of duty to his people, not to himself. He also witnessed the toll it took on his cousin.
Also during this time, his cheelah went on to have another boy and three more girls, who eventually grew up to be very attractive females, driving his chaimeach crazy with prospective warriors wanting a chance with one of them and focusing less on finding him a mate. Ceranth was thriving, learning the tactics of ground crew training, which gave him a feeling of importance.
But one early morning, as he ran through his door rushing to get to a training test he was late for, he brushed past M’kayha, knocking her down. He looked at her on the ground in horror, realizing who she was. M’kayha was not from here, having only recently arrived with her broar to find a mate. “Shalta, I’m sorry” were his first words to her, and he has been apologizing off and on ever since for one thing or another.
It wasn’t long after their first meeting that they were mated and Teyhon was born. M’kayha’s pregnancy was so bad that Ceranth vowed he was happy with just one basul, but that was not to be. Because during a Kanue outbreak, she was pregnant again, and this time she lost the baby. The loss was too much for them both. Ceranth would be more careful from then on.
Over time, Khellin finally had his children, and the world settled into a rhythm that Ceranth understood. Yes, there were outbreaks of dragon attacks, but they were not as common at home, so the Ol’Sackay felt safe.
Teyhon was now nine and a half, and Ceranth and M’kayha took him on his first hunt in beast form. Ceranth couldn’t be happier until on their return trip home, the sound of an attack from the dragons separated him from his mate and basul, changing their world completely.
After the attack, the duty to M’kayha and Teyhon was now secondary since they were on the opposite side of the portal. The welfare of Calleya and Khellin’s children was now paramount. The decision to split up was announced, and he was not selected to care for Khellin’s children as he had anticipated. Brezlin took responsibility, and Ceranth bowed again to the bloodline. ( I could go on with other examples, but I think you are getting the picture here.)
Ceranth is not so complicated to understand; his kind can be found throughout history. Though he has lived a life of authority on various levels, he never lived up to his potential; someone was always stepping onto his path, diverting his abilities. I think that is why somewhere deep inside both he and Tember, there is a voice that wants to cry out ‘I am important too,’ but instead settles for the contentment he sees when he looks into M’kayha’s eyes and receives her loving sense of balance.
Raylith's Backstory
Raylith was the second basul born to Wo’dean, who was a flyer in Tormerac’s forces. Like Ta’bain, Ceranth’s chaimeach, Wo’dean was blessed with four shasulas and only two basuls. Raylith grew up somewhat carefree amongst all those females. His eldest broar was not as lucky, having been trapped to study the teachings of his chaimeach. This freed Raylith to forge a friendship with a slightly older, wild child named Curze.
By the time he was forced to settle down into a position within the community, Raylith chose the ground crew after one of his friends was badly injured attempting to bond with an unwilling Wind-dodger. Raylith and Curze soon caught the attention of Ceranth, a rather brooding fellow obsessed with rules and duty, something neither of them knew very much about.
Now suffering the misfortune of being under his command, Raylith slowly discovered that there was something about Ceranth’s staunch ways that started to appeal to him. He had never had any real sense of duty, other than ‘hunt for your family as well as donating to those stupid stew pots,’ which had been ingrained into his head from the moment he and Storm began hunting together.
His time with Ceranth was different; his training gave him a sense of importance, as if he somehow mattered to the fabric of the whole. He soon became Ceranth’s second, who was over a huge number of ground crew warriors that had learned to fight as a team. However, Raylith was not the only one who benefited from his pairing. Ceranth started to smile more. He even drank and hung out around personal campfires just to talk; it was a side of him few had ever seen before.
Raylith and Curze were known to have a way with the ladies. But Curze was always planting seeds of doubt in his head whenever a prospective female caught his eye. Raylith began to think Curze just didn’t want to be a lone bachelor. The Ol’Sackay villages vast in size offered unsettled warriors and females from other villages a huge selection to choose from. But as with all things, there are rules over this as well. Playing around with a future partner’s body is restricted to petting. Sex was meant for the time of claiming, leaving many to take the act of petting right to the edge of crossing the line. Raylith was one of those almost line crossers. He loved females and the fact that so many came to their village looking for a mate was like a fat shulet standing there waiting to be plucked. That was the Raylith before the exodus. Life on the other side took on a darker more duty-driven tone to get back. The devastating attack of the Black Clutch and the subsequent loss of so many good warriors and friends all but killed his youthful antics. Having to cut off a child’s arm was something he could never un-see. Then not knowing where Ceranth was just dug a deeper pit in his belly.
Khellin's Backstory
I’m here today to talk about my leading man, Khellin, who resides on the continent Versa. This is not to be confused with the planet that is also called Versa or the fact that said mentioned planet is sentient but has a huge following of various beings who think she is a god… woof.
Back to Khellin. He is the firstborn basul (son) to Tormerac, the Borrion~I chieftain of the Ol’sackay clan. Sadly, as a side note, I never gave Tormerac’s mate (Khellin’s mother) a name; so she is only mentioned as cheelah (mother)…yikes!
Khellin’s story picks up after Tormerac’s passing, where he is now the chieftain, responsible for over a thousand lives. Fun fact: In Borrion-I culture, you start out as a leader; you must earn the right to be called a chieftain. So for many years, Khellin was known simply as their leader, but by this point in time, he had already proven himself worthy of the title chieftain.
At this time, Khellin is in his thirties, has taken Calleya as his mate, and now has a shasula (daughter) and a basul (son). He has four younger brothers, but it’s his youngest brother, Brezlin, who is currently giving him trouble, which couldn’t happen at a worse time. So please don’t get me started on him; that’s for another blog.
Khellin, like many of his male clansmen, rides wind-dodgers. These are a dome-headed, ribbed-eared, dog-faced creature with a dual set of wings. It also happens that they have a poisonous bite as well as venom in their stinger at the base of their tail. Khellin’s own wind-dodger is named Aton. (Sure, I know, give the dog a name but not his mother, anyway.) Castalar’s Elementals gave them these creatures to patrol the skies, something he and Aton have done quite well for many years. What more can I say without giving the story away? Khellin is that standard good-looking kind of guy that you find in almost every story when that story is based on everything going horribly wrong… that’s him!