Book Signing at the Lion and Rose

I had a great time on Saturday signing books at the Lion and Rose Pub at the Forum in San Antonio, and wanted to share some pictures with you!

They let me hang up the banner outside. I was going to set it up the day before but the weather looked bad and I didn't want it to get wet.

This is the proverbial calm before the storm. Can you see my Crystal Skull stage right? I think I'm going to name him Fred. :-)

 I had a great time and met some really neat people. I really enjoy that part of this book writing adventure.

Harmonic Wars is available on Amazon and e-books at Kindle, iBooks and Nook. It can also be bought at  3L Publishing.   For those of you who have read my book, I would really love to hear back from you on your thoughts, and I could use the reviews on Amazon.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What made you pick the name “Harmonic Wars”?

A: This is a really complex question, but here is the short answer: The advanced ancient society that I created for this series had advanced knowledge of sound technology. All things in the universe vibrate, because everything is in constant motion, at least at the subatomic level. With this in mind, they understood not only about those vibrations, but also about the importance of harmonic resonance. They learned how to control harmony and dissonance at the subatomic levels like we understand magnetism today. The north pole of a magnet attracts the south pole of another, but two north poles will repel each other. The ancients used this knowledge to build many of the great structures that still survive today as they levitated the massive blocks of stone into place. We can see early examples of scientists doing this today with sound and ping pong balls or even drops of water. Changing the frequencies has an impact of the object being levitated. Check out videos of “cymatic experiments” for a greater illustration.

Q: What are “Cymatic Experiments”?

A: The short answer, it is the study of sound as it impacts matter placed on a membrane or metal surface. The higher the frequency the more complex the patterns become. For a better explanation check out Wikipedia.

Q: What is the meaning of the symbol on your cover?  

A: The “Great Circle” was the symbol for the Holy Warrior, who was an urban legend in the society I created for this series. Most believe that the Holy Warriors are all gone, but one remains in this solar system. To be a Holy Warrior, one had to be purified in a hopeless battle against the odds and remain faithful to the will of the Light (Creator). 


The symbol was a carved wooden circle with a twisted crystal triangle in the center. When the Holy Warrior earned the “Blessing of Light” in battle, the crystal triangle in the symbol changed from clear to the same color of the crystal blades of the Qatassendor, the weapon of the Holy Warrior.

The circle had dark flames that spun off the outside in a counter-clockwise motion while the inside of the circle had light-colored flames that spun clockwise toward the twisted crystal triangle in the center as if drawn to it. This represented the “Circle of Life” that surrounded the “Creator” and served as a reminder that people lived in the circle of life and served the Creator at the center. Those who rejected the Creator were cast out, but all were welcome.

Q: At the beginning of “Guardians of the Crystal Skulls” some of the names are difficult. Is it going to be like this the entire series?

A: The short answer is No! Many of the characters are from the Mayan culture, and I tried to stay as true to history and cultural norms as possible. For instance, the Mayan King Ukit Took at the beginning of the story is the actual name of the last known king of the Mayan culture, at least in my research. I couldn’t find much about any wives he may have had, so I made Ana the Queen since I was already committed to that name. However, I wanted the name to have more of a royalty feel to it, so I created the maiden name “Ana’ka Tua’agar”. By adding the surname “de Took,” it’s supposed to mean she now is married to the “Took” family. I only refer to Ana’s full name once at the beginning, then after Chapter 5 she drops the formal name and adopts just Ana. For those who have problems with any other pronunciations, go check out the glossary at the back. I spent a great deal of time making sure to include a comprehensive glossary that is organized by topic to make things easy to find.

Q: You said you were already committed to the name “Ana”. How is that?

A: Harmonic Wars is a series of books, and “Guardians of the Crystal Skulls” (GoCS) is actually the second book in this series that I wrote. My first try at this storyline was actually “Ghost Warriors” (GW), which will now be released as the second book in this series to keep things in chronological order. When I wrote GW I placed no limits on myself. In doing so, it greatly helped my creativity but the book was huge. When we got to somewhere around page 1,000, my publisher Michelle Gamble at 3L Publishing said “Time Out!” She cautioned me on the tremendous hurdles I would have to overcome in marketing and selling a book that large. So the best thing I could do to introduce the storyline was to write a prequel. And so, GoCS was born.

Q: How many books will be in this series?

A: I have four books planned, which I hope to release one every year. I have ideas for at least two more trilogies after these four are done. The second book is already in draft, and I have outlines completed for books 3 and 4.

Q: The story is about absolute good vs absolute evil for control of the universe. What role models did you use for good and evil?

A: I could not find better role models than angels and demons. The angels I describe are awesome warriors as I envision God intended. Remember that the angels are God’s army. Likewise, the demons are wicked looking.

Q: You claim that something happened while you were first introducing the angels and demons. Tell us about that.

A: Something absolutely did happen. I was really stressed out about getting the introduction of the angels and demons down correctly. I didn’t want to write a story that was in contradiction with my Christianity, so I included it. When I was writing a particularly evil part of the story my MacBook Pro died. I lost about 2 weeks worth of work, but I was able to recover all but the final scene I had been working on. While my MacBook was in the shop, I continued working with an old PC that I pulled out of storage. I still had a good outline to work from, and all I had to do was recreate that final scene. Saving often, I continued with the story. As I got to the same point in the story, the power supply on the PC fried. I stopped working on the story while I talked to my Pastor about the project in general. Since I was writing a SciFi story and was not trying to pass my story off as a theory or truth, he said it was literally no different than C.S. Lewis’ Narnia story. He suggested that I continue and just have fun. I never had a problem after that, but it was a little tense until I got the computers up and running again.

Q: Is this a religious book?

A: No, it is a SciFi book. Neither will it be part of your reference library from a science standpoint…it’s a SciFi book, but there are facts associated throughout. Just as the good characters in this book do and say good things, the evil characters do and say evil, even shocking things. It is designed to make a person think about the possibilities.

Q: How is this a multidimensional war?

A: I spent a great deal of time thinking this out, in true SciFi fashion. I envisioned that there were thousands of dimensions with infinite possibilities. That allowed me to bring the war between good and evil to multiple dimensions, making us all pawns in a much larger ongoing battle.  

In this figure, you can clearly see that some of the dimensions belong wholly to the

 “Realm of Light” or to the “Realm of the Dark”. Likewise, there are many dimensions that are not completely decided for the Light or the Dark, but they’re leaning in one direction or another. The truly contested dimensions are balanced and struggling to go to the Light or to the Dark. These contested dimensions are where the battles between the Light and the Dark are the fiercest. We live in the “Isle of Man” which happens to be one of several thousand dimensions that are contested, but we’re beginning to lean to the Dark.

Q: What happens to a dimension that goes to the Dark?

A: The Creator takes those who still stand for the Light, then He lets the rest fall. This is a race to see who collects more souls. Currently, the Light has more souls. The Isle of Man has a huge number of souls, and the Dark wants control of this dimension desperately. If the Dark gains control then he will be close to tipping the scales in his favor, then all will fall under the control of the Dark. Evil will rule, or so they think.

Q: What about this “Land of Dreams” that you speak of?

A: Again, another flight of fantasy. I had 13 characters who were Guardians of the Crystal Skulls, so I had to make them awesome. I thought the ability to be a Dream Walker would be cool. I placed the Land of Dreams as a realm of its own that permeated all of the dimensions, and could be accessed by anyone regardless of the dimension they lived in. When people have nightmares about monsters, maybe they were actually interacting with beings from another dimension? It seemed like a really cool added layer. Then I made it so that Dream Walkers could access it at will, and I gave it two sides. Dream Walkers could use it to manipulate the active dreams of people sleeping and to gain information and push people to do things through the power of suggestion. But they could also walk in a dreamy haze that is more or less parallel to the waking world, but invisible to them. In theory, a Dream Walker could be standing beside you in the Land of Dreams spying on you. I think that’s cool!

Q: What are Anti-Grav Suits?

A: What if you had absolute control of all matter at a subatomic level out to about a 50-yard circumference? You could feasibly burst things into flame or freeze them by speeding up or slowing the movement of the electrons. At least in my story you can! The Anti-Grav Suits are designed specifically for descendants of the Balsarius in order to keep them from the hands of the sworn enemy, the G`Alad. In theory, a person wearing an Anti-Grav Suit could also make new forms of matter, or change items from a solid, to a liquid or even to a gas and back again. Remember that the humans in this ancient society also had mastery of frequency and harmonic resonance. So they could also use the Anti-Grav Suit to levitate objects, including themselves. All of the Guardians wear Anti-Grav Suits, as does the Elder of the Warrior Guild for the peaceful Balsarius, the Shihan Marcus Kahn.

Q: How is the empathic nature of the Guardians significant?

A: They can not only sense emotions in others, but they can project their emotions into other people. Can you imagine how devastating it would be to be able to project emotions to overwhelm your opponent? Sending wave after wave of gripping fear into them just as they begin an attack? Or doubt? Confusion? All of these things could help to falter a charge on the battlefield. Additionally, the Guardians can project nothingness so complete that it would leave their enemy standing there senseless like a drooling idiot. When you add this to their abilities with the Anti-Grav Suits, they become formidable soldiers.

Q: Why Crystal Skulls?
A: For the most part, society will see a skull and have visions of death and for good reason. However, in Harmonic Wars, the Crystal Skulls are a gift from the Light to be used as a weapon against the Dark. Throughout the book, I hid meaningful numbers and multiples of numbers. One of those is the number 13. The legend of the 13 Crystal Skulls has been written about several times, and it fit my requirement for a meaningful number. In the Bible, there were 12 Apostles, but if you add Jesus, there were 13 in the group. Even after Jesus was crucified and after Judas hung himself the remaining Apostles elected Mathias to replace Judas. But I believe that God likes to keep numbers consistent, so He added Paul, making the number once again 13. There are 12 Zodiac signs, but did you know there were originally 13? You may find the numbers 3, 7, 12 and 13 and multiples of those numbers throughout the series.

I made a theme about crystals in general throughout the series. Shihan’s weapon, the Qatassendor (Kah TAH sen DOR) had crystal blades the same color as the triangle in the center of the Holy Warrior symbol. This is also a throwback to some of the research I did on ancient sites. All of the mysterious structures around the world are built using large stones with a high quartz content. Quartz has many properties associated with modern electronics because it gives off a consistent frequency. It can also save massive amounts of data if we can ever learn how to use it. Lastly, it will chime like a bell if struck. I wonder what structure is harmonically tuned and reacting when those obelisks in Egypt are resonating? It's a reference to harmonic resonance.

So, the number of skulls and the use of crystal fit the general theme that I wanted to use for this series.

Q: What was your motivation for writing this book?

A: I was watching a documentary of the Great Pyramid of Giza, and I was blown away by the high level of engineering that was used in its creation. Then, as I began to research more about the Great Pyramid I found that the narrative of traditional historians and archeologists quickly began to fall apart when looked at from a practicality aspect. The Great Pyramid is made from some 2.3 million stones weighing anywhere from 2-70 tons each, all cut with copper chisels. That’s like using a plastic knife on a redwood. Yes, you can probably do it, but human ingenuity will take over very shortly and a better way will be found. Also, they claim that it took 100,000 people roughly 20 years to complete the structure. That means a stone had to be cut, transported and placed about every 2 minutes. Some of the larger granite blocks weigh 70 tons and were brought across the desert from the Aswan quarry some 500 miles away…manually, before the invention of the wheel. That’s an incredible amount of work to put a dead guy inside. At what point does human nature take over and say “That’s good enough for government work”?

The last and most important detail is that the Great Pyramid was built by the Egyptian 4th dynasty and its perfection was never matched. In fact, many of the pyramids built by the 9th dynasty are falling apart, but not the Great Pyramid. Did they just forget how? That seems unlikely based on how human nature works. People learn how to do things, then improve on them, so that the later models are nearly always better than the previous one. That’s almost how it worked with the automobile industry, except for the cars of the 80’s.

Q: Is this where you got the idea for the Pyraportals?

A: Yes, but only when I looked at the work that Nikola Tesla did on the Wardenclyffe tower. It has been said that Tesla routinely was able to illuminate light bulbs from miles away WITHOUT any wires by transmitting the electricity through the ground or through the air. Our ancestors would not build a structure like the Great Pyramid to such exacting tolerances some of which were down to .001 of an inch just to bury a dead guy inside. But they might do it in order to recreate a machine or a once lost power source. Those who understand the advantage of a society who controls electricity would work very hard to recreate it. So in this series, the pyramids were power plants that generated vast amounts

of energy naturally from the earth. It could discharge that power through the sphere that was used as a capstone, for either a weapon or to power a wireless worldwide grid. Inside the “King’s Chamber” there was a crystal altar that served as a portal capability that was disrupted at the beginning of the war. The picture here is from the famed "Gates of Paradise" by sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, on the Baptistery of San Giovanni depict a different scene from the Bible. The scene in this panel is Noah’s Ark, which strangely enough is represented by a pyramid. This door is some 500 years old, so how did they make this huge leap of faith?

Q: How can a highly advanced society disappear from existence without any trace?

A: That’s the easy part, and could happen so very quickly even today. How many structures have we built in the last 50 years that would survive 200 years without a massive amount of maintenance? None. In fact we have not built anything that would last for even 100 years, much less thousands of year. If there was one well placed electro-magnetic pulse weapon placed in the U.S. by a terrorist organization it could take down the entire power grid. It wouldn’t stay down permanently, but the chaos it would create would be devastating. It might take years to fully recover. All one has to do is look at the recent riots in Baltimore, Oakland, and Ferguson. Look what happened in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Imagine what would happen to an entire nation without electricity. Gas pumps stop, water pumps stop, so food and water is non-existent and there will be no help for the short term since the infrastructure and supply chain will no longer be operable. Most citizens only have enough food to last a week, if not a couple of days. But they do not have a stocked supply of water. As citizens become thirsty, things become desperate very quickly. 

Now, go one step beyond that, and make the attack a coordinated “Al Qaeda” style attack on all continents. Or better yet, a super-massive solar flare could take out all the power grids worldwide. It has happened before, and will happen again. As ordinary citizens struggle for survival, people will very soon forget about the luxuries we now take for granted. Those type of things would be talked about as a memory of the “good ole days” as grandparents tell their grandchildren fabulous tales about electricity, clean running water, indoor plumbing, and magical things like the internet.

Q: Certainly we would have remnants of that former society long after the governments fell?

A: Sadly, I don’t think so at all. How much do you really know how to do, or do you just look up everything on the internet? Most people don’t have to remember how to do things, because the information is so accessible. We don’t print it up, even. We save it to the cloud along with all our pictures from our phones. Most of the book stores have all folded with the advent of the e-books. Newspapers and magazines are all heading virtual as most people don’t want hard copies anymore. Do you know how to make soap? When to plant certain crops for the different zones? Do you even know what zone you are in? Certainly some know these things, but not everyone by far. How about cement? Can you reload ammunition for your gun, or make gun powder? Can you make repairs to your car? Can you manufacture the parts you need? Even the simplest of things become impossible to make like paper. The more abilities we lose the harder it will be for us to be able to maintain our existing structures, much less be able to access our histories.

There would be pockets of civilization that would continue, but eventually, they would retreat to the safety hidden fortresses so that they did not have to share their hoarded wealth with the commoners who had all but forgotten about the excesses of the past as they struggled for survival on a daily basis. For the most part, I believe within two generations we will have forgotten much of where we once were. We are but a couple of generations from WWII, and yet even in this day and age we’re having debates on whether or not the holocaust really happened. It’s sad, but true.

Q: What about the theories of ancient aliens building the Great Pyramid and some of the other structures around the world?

A: I’m willing to consider it as a possibility, but only one of many since there are so many unanswered questions about our past. It is harder for me to accept ancient aliens, than to accept the fact that our ancestors may very well have been more advanced than we are even today. Look at how far we have advanced in the last 50 years. We went from a society that barely had color televisions, certainly not even a TV in each house, to hand held smart phones in nearly everyone’s hands with more raw computing power than the most advanced computers in the 50’s and 60’s, the size of which would fill a room and still not be nearly as powerful as we now carelessly throw around daily. But most historians and archeologists would have you believe that in the last 12,000 years humanity has never been this advanced before? I find that much harder to believe, considering the advancements of the last 50 years alone.

Have you ever played “Pass It On” in school? The teacher gets the entire class into a circle and tells a secret to the child beside her and instructs the students to whisper the secret to the person next to them, and so on. By the time the secret passes through 30 students a mere 10 minutes later, it is unrecognizable from the original words whispered. This was how our history was passed down for thousands of years. Imagine how much things would have changed over 4,500 years much less 12,000 or more.

Pronunciations!

I have had several people ask me about the pronunciations of the characters names and some of the weapons for Guardians of the Crystal Skulls (GoCS). For the characters names, I spent a great deal of time researching both family and first names in the Mayan culture. There was surprisingly a great deal of information on that. Not all the names are authentic, but I tried to stay as close to the intent of the culture as possible when I had to stray like I did on Ana.
Most of the names in the Mayan culture are pretty much common to other Hispanic names in the region, so that made things easier.

Ana's character and name were already deeply ingrained into the storyline because I had already written the second book in this series first.  Since I needed to write the Genesis of this storyline, I wanted to show her relationship to the actual last King of the Mayan, who was really named Ukit Took.  I didn't find much about his spouse, so I used some poetic license. I wanted Ana to have been someone of great importance in the past, so I made her the Queen. Rather than Ana having a really simple name as a queen, I needed to pick a more royal name that still had some semblance of the Mayan culture, so I made up the name Ana'ka so that I could meet both needs and still be able to use the name Ana in future books. For readability, I dropped it down to Ana pretty early in the story once the Guardians have become settled, and her full name is used very seldom. As a reminder, I had already written about 1,000 pages on this story before I began GoCS. That will now become the second book, tentatively named "Ghost Warriors" and that storyline will pick up somewhere around the year 2020. The GoCS story begins somewhere in the early 1400's in South America, prior to Columbus' arrival to the new world.

Many of the 13 Guardians are only mentioned in this story on purpose. I fully intend to go back and write an extended series on the battles to push the G`Alad out of Hyperborea, which will focus more on Shihan, Alana, and the remaining Guardians.

I added the glossary from the book and included a few more pronunciations for you just in case you still have trouble with some. To simplify things, just think of Ana'ka as Ana, and here is how you pronounce Qatassendor (ka TAH sen DOR).

GoCS is available on Amazon, Kindle, iBooks and Nook. If you order directly from my publisher at http://3lpublishing.flyingcart.com  I get a much better percentage of the profits. Just saying! :-)

Glossary

Arturo Dominguez - son of a Spaniard and Hopi Indian squaw, was born on the Summer solstice at Tuuwanasavi. It was a Hopi sacred place southwest of Third Mesa in the Northern continent. Arturo had beautiful green eyes, a cleft chin, and shaggy brown hair that framed his tanned angular face. At twelve-years-old he was a gangly youth at 5’ 10” tall. He was athletic but very clumsy as he continued with incredible growth spurts. Descendant of Abuela Ana. (See “Laxle” and “Ana’ka Tua’agar de Took”)
Roberto Dominguez - Arturo’s older brother, born at Second Mesa. Strong empathic, but not as promising as Arturo.
Jade Skyhawk - descendent of Marta Skyhawk. Jade had a round face; high cheekbones and thick eyebrows framed her beautiful large dark-brown eyes. Her full lips spread into a brilliant dimpled smile. Her long, straight brown hair waved gently in the cool breeze. She did not have any of the characteristics of the Guardians and could not control the Anti-Grav Suits, so she was never brought to the Pyraportal for training, but lived in the northern continent.
Council of Guild Elders - The Elders were the head of each of the Five Guilds that made up Balsarius society: Science, Religion, Worker, Warrior, and Artisan. The Elders made up the ruling class of the Society. Each wore white robes with a four-inch-colored cloth sash worn as a belt around their waists and embroidered with the symbol of their guild.

Artisan Guild Elder Shanle Galen - (Shawn lay) The Artisan Guild sash was purple with an inkwell and quill crossed over an artist’s paintbrush and palette in full color. His red hair flopped down over his eyes as his hand thoughtfully covered his mouth. He was slim and the youngest of the elders and the least patient. He is well known for being flamboyant and enjoys antagonizing Elder Sandowski.
Religious Guild Elder Eric Danshe - thick gray hair, a portly older gentleman with small dark brown eyes. Blue cloth sash, with silver triangles, embroidered the length of the sash.
Science Guild Elder Roberto Salvatore - a short, thin man with a red face that resembled a rat because of his buck teeth and big nose, but he was a brilliant scientist. The sash for the Science Guild was yellow with a glass beaker with an atomic structure in the beaker. The protons and neutrons at the center were red and blue with the multiple electrons orbiting the nucleus were dark gray.
Warrior Guild Elder Shihan Marcus Kahn - red cloth sash, with golden swords crossed. He is a Weapons Master with the rank of “Shihan” and Warrior Guild Elder on the Ark. Slender in build this man’s movements flowed effortlessly. He was 6’ 7” tall with long arms and legs. He had an ageless look with his well-trimmed beard and long brown hair was now peppered gray. He kept his hair neatly pulled back into a thick braid that hung down to the middle of his back. The lean muscles in his arms and chest rippled with his movements, and he commanded attention whenever he entered a room. His piercing blue eyes ever vigilant, he looked like a cobra ready to strike.
Worker Guild Elder Gregory Sandowski - weathered, bald man with strong hands that showed the scars of the years in the smithy. He hated his position and would rather have been back with a hammer in his hand in his shop than at this meeting, but he was a man of duty. He has an extreme case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and hates it when Elder Galen teases him. The sash around his waist green with a hammer and wood saw crossed over an anvil all in gun metal gray.
Guardians of the Crystal Skulls - All Guardians are mostly of Balsarius descent, and had become the ruling class in Mayan society because of their wisdom, advanced society, and extended mental capacities. All are empathic and are experts at projecting emotions as well as reading emotions. Just as some people have blue eyes and others have brown, their mental capabilities developed differently.
Ana’ka Tua’agar de Took - (Ana KAH TOO a GAR de Tuk) AKA Abuela Ana Acevedo de Garcia - She was very short for her race at just under five-foot tall. She had delicate features, olive skin, large slightly slanted green eyes, auburn-colored hair, full lips, and the telltale somewhat elongated head of the Balsarius descendants. Ana’ka was known for being among the strongest in her empathic abilities. Second talent: Compulsion

Alana Akholay - (AHK hoh LEY) a warrior at heart, and the strongest in battle. She was short, barely taller than Ana’ka. She had an exotic look with her brown almond shaped eyes and waist long flowing brown hair. She was even curvier than Ana’ka. If her figure didn’t make most women jealous, then her creamy clear complexion would. Her husband was Acan. Second talent: Dream Walker
Adrianna Noh - Guardian with secondary talent of Possession
Alessandra Pech - Guardian with the secondary talent of Empathic Blocker.
Alejandra Balche - medium height, dark brown hair, and dark complexion. Her large almond-shaped brown eyes accentuated her full lips and high cheekbones. She had a beauty mark high up on her right cheek. She kept her athletic figure by running. Second talent: Manipulating memories
Fabienne Pitz - was the most beautiful of the Sisters. She was five foot seven inches tall with a perfect figure and flawlessly fair skinned. Her long blonde hair fell in ringlets down the middle of her back, and her blue eyes had a sweetness and motherly kindness to them that melted the hearts of anyone who looked into them. She rarely used her empathic abilities, as her beautiful smile was effective enough on its own. But when that was not enough she was the strongest empathic of all the Sisters. Second Talent: Empathic Blocker
Gabrielle Cabich - had dark hair that fell in waves down her shoulders. Her blushing cheeks and large dark brown eyes that always looked as though she was about to burst out into tears. She had a tough time saying goodbye to her husband Anki every morning when she woke up and realized he had sacrificed himself to the Crystal Skull. Gabrielle was one of three Guardians who refused to take another lover, Ana and Miriam being the other two. Second talent: Mind Bonding
Isabella Kuxim - Guardian with secondary talent of Mind Bonding
Josephine Itza - was the tallest of the Guardians at 5’10” and was the most athletic. She had a beauty mark above her lips on the right side. The top layer of her long curly dark hair was sun-bleached a light brown. She had large dimples in her round cheeks that matched her cleft chin. Second talent: Compulsion
MeNana Took de Batan - (Meh NAH nah) Princess (sister to Ukit Took) and best friend to Ana. Was one of the original Guardians, but also was the first murdered by Arturo Dominguez who now possesses her Crystal Skull and Anti-Grav Suit. Her lifemate was Senai Batan. She was 5’2” tall with her slightly oblong head. A dark- haired beauty, MeNana had large almond-shaped brown eyes that complimented her dark hair and dark skin. MeNana was built very different than Ana’ka. She had a very athletic build while Ana’ka was very femininely curvy. MeNana loved to run, and her runner’s physique made for a lean look. Second talent: Dream Walker.

Marta Skyhawk - Council Member who identified Arturo as the Shea’s killer. Marta was a kind-hearted woman with a round face and long straight dark-brown hair that a she wore it in a braid that hung so low she had to move it before she sat down. Her dark tanned skin and high cheekbones set her far apart from the rest of the Balsarius. Her head was not elongated as the others were since she favored her mother’s side of the family who were Masu`Ri. She wore rabbit and deerskin clothes to cover her round figure. She spent most of her time with the primitive Wa She Shu in the As-Sin-Wati mountains. She became a very powerful Medicine Woman as she used her talents and the Anti-Grav Suit to protect her people. Second talent: Healing.
Miriam Mucuy - Guardian with the secondary talent of Possession.
Shea Ashandra - (Shay) second council member murdered by Arturo. Not certain if Arturo took her Anti-Grav Suit as her body was charred beyond recognition, but he did take her Crystal Skull. Shea was Ana’s childhood friends. Her light complexion and soft brown hair stood out in contrast to Ana’ka. She had a bubbly personality, big beautiful blue eyes, lightly freckled cheeks and large dimples. Her life mate was Umberto San. Second talent: Manipulating memories

Talents
Each of the Guardians had secondary talents that surfaced after they were bonded to the Crystal Skulls.
“Compulsion” or “Pushed” - a secondary talent of the Guardians. They can force their will on others and make them do, as they want. The person being Pushed doesn’t know it’s happening, but can become surprised after they complete the task. A suggestion is given and they obey. After the task is completed they are released back to themselves, often wondering what happened and why.
Dream Walker - a very rare secondary talent of the Guardians. The Dream Walker can enter the Land of Dreams and control the dreams of others. Can also be used to spy on others to some degree. (See “Land of Dreams”)

Empathic Blocker - a secondary talent of the Guardians. Can shield others from empathic projections and manipulations. Blockers are known to be the strongest empaths.
Healing - a secondary talent of the Guardians. All Guardians can do this to some minor degree, but some can do great feats of healing.
Manipulating Memories - a secondary talent of the Guardians. Can reach into a person’s mind and plant new memories or change old memories. Very close to reading another person’s thoughts especially when added to their innate empathic abilities to Project.
Mind Bonding - a secondary talent of the Guardians. The ability to share the life memories between two people. This must be done through the Crystal Skull. Some have a degree of control that allows them to share only select memories. Unlike Manipulating Memories, the Mind Bonding is a very intimate sharing where memories are shared to both participants.
Possession - a secondary talent of the Guardians. Can control other’s actions and bend the “puppet” to her will. Only worked on weak willed people. Different from Compulsion because Possession requires the user to stay focused and concentrate on the task to maintain complete control. The puppet is aware of the intrusion but cannot prevent anything. Stronger willed people can sometimes overcome the user, but it takes a great deal of energy and force. The user can see, feel, hear everything that the puppet experiences. The most feared of all talents
Project or Projecting - All Balsarius descendants can project their emotions to oth- ers around them to some degree during intensely emotional moments. The Guardians can Project at all times, which is useful during battle to throw the enemy off guard. This also refers to Projecting thoughts, which is a side effect of being linked to the Crystal Skulls. Everyone linked to a Crystal Skull can Project their thoughts to each other and have a general sense of direction where they are located.

Artifacts, Events, and Special Locations
Anti-Grav Suit – one-piece suits genetically designed specifically for Balsarius descendants and select others. These suits are nearly black in color with swirls of dark colors throughout the suit. Made of a biological substance, which converts hydrogen into power and is located only in low gravity planets. The suits are easily recharged by soaking in water. The suit automatically adjusts to the individual, is skin-tight and joins neurologically with the wearer. The wearer becomes aware of all forms of matter at the subatomic level and is allowed to manipulate matter as needed. The effective range is dependent on the strength of the wearer.

Anti-Grav Unit - the predecessor to the Anti-Grav Suit, this first run of equipment allowed users to manipulate matter at the subatomic level. It was a large box-shaped piece of equipment that had a control platform to allow two operators through the use of a control rod. Unlike the Anti-Grav Suits, anyone with access to a control rod could use it. Infinitely more powerful, with a hydrogen-based power supply the range was only limited by the amount of water it could access. Was used to help terraform planets, build or level mountains, and construct long-lasting structures out of the hardest stone. In the wrong hands, it could be used with devastating effect, though none are thought to exist in any of the colonies due to the ongoing war. (See “Harmonic War”)
As Sin Wati Mountains - Native American reference to the Rocky mountains.
Crystal Altar - This is a chamber at the heart of the Pyraportal that powers the entire structure. It acts also as the gateway to other Pyraportals and can transport people and supplies from planet to planet when fully operational.
Crystal Skulls - 13 artifacts given to the Mayan Grand Council by the Light to help balance the war between Light and Dark.
Crystalline War - an ancient war that lasted for many centuries that happened thousands of years before humans settled in this solar system. It was waged against the alien Kaldori and Klah races over mineral rights at the edge of human outposts. Humans decimated both societies and discovered a number of Klah weapons that provided great power to the wielder, but absolutely corrupted them.
Deep Space Exploration ships (DSE) - Human society built and commissioned a fleet of 20 ships to search for habitable planets to support the home world that had all but depleted its own natural resources. These ships were built in huge space docks that orbited the home world. The DSE’s were protected by four large laser cannons mounted on each side. The Command Module was located on the top center of the ship. The Command Crew operated in a Virtual Reality Environment (VRE) that was supported by an array of holographic displays fed by multiple wide-angle cameras installed on top and bottom of the DSE. The VRE provided full spectrum view permitted the Command Crew the sensation of being in the middle with nothing but space around them. These nuclear-powered ships used four electric/magnetic drives that spun a dense solid (iron) and liquid metals (mercury) in concentric circles around a crystallized core of radioactive material, which provided artificial gravity for the central fuselage of the ship. A full compliment of crew and settlers was limited to 5,200 with 500 of those reserved for crew. Settlers were placed in self-contained stasis pods until they arrived at a habitable planet. Each stasis pod had its own power source and could serve as an escape pod under emergency conditions, to ensure the safety of its precious cargo for hundreds of years. When ejected, the stasis pod would deploy solar panels and transmit a homing beacon for the eventual rescue party.

Deep-Space Attack Carrier (D-SAC) - retrofitted DSEs with a massive weapons platform. Completed at the beginning of the Crystalline War, humans converted ten DSEs into heavily armored weapons platforms and converted one of the Space Docks into a mobile command post. Both the Command Post and the D-SACs were retrofitted with Force Field Tech and Smart Drones operated remotely. The Smart Drones were disposable drones six feet long and weighed 800 pounds. They fired lasers, and guns until depleted then crashed into the final targets or return to be recycled. Smart Drones were easily and affordably replicated.
Dreamscape - an alternate parallel reality where the Klah weapons and it’s wielders can commune. See also “Land of Dreams”
Great Circle - This is the heart of the altar for the Holy Warrior. It is a symbol made of wood that floats freely from the surface of the table in between the two solitary candles. The “Great Circle” symbol was a carved wooden circle with a twisted metal triangle in the center. The circle was carved with dark flames that spun off the outside in a counter-clockwise motion while the inside of the circle had very light-colored flames that spun clockwise toward the crystal triangle in the center as if drawn to it. This represented the “Circle of Life” that surrounded the “Creator” and served as a reminder that people lived in the circle of life and served the Creator at the center. Those who reject the Creator are cast out, but all are welcome. The Qatas or Qatassendor rest in stands on either side of the table with the blades up. When the Qatassendor is first placed into the altar the metal triangle at the center transforms into the same color crystal as the blades and the medallion.
Great Circle Medallion - a golden medallion worn around the neck of the Holy Warriors and the initiatives. The center triangle is transformed into crystal to match the Qatassendor when the initiative receives the Blessing of Light. See “Qatassendor” and “Great Circle”.
Harmonic War - Started by the G`Alad filled Warrior Guild in the newly established colony. The G`Alad’s greed for power and control resulted in the attack against the other guilds’ colonies for control of the solar systems resources being funneled back to the home worlds through the space portal. The destruction of the space portal cut off the main ties to the home worlds and marked the beginning of the war. The G`Alad sabotaged known Pyraportals throughout the solar system and raided weapons caches and put the other colonists at a huge disadvantage.

Holy Warriors - an ancient sect of select soldiers who became known for their prowess and invincibility during the Crystalline War. Thought to be only on the home world in dwindling numbers since they were no longer needed with the growing popularity of the G`Alad filled Warrior Guild.
J’Anx - (Ja, AY nks) Klah weapon belonging to Apollon. The golden-bladed kukri glowed and the blue stone in the hilt pulsed. Runes circled the base of the hilt and continually changed.
Klah Weapons - beautiful knives and swords claimed as spoils of war by the G`Alad led Warrior Guild. All are sentient weapons with a golden glow to them, and all have a large stone that acts like a mood ring to show if the wielder has accepted the bonding to it. The weapon speaks telepathically with its wielder to soothe them with music unique to each weapon. By killing a person with the blade, the wielder receives the life force that would have remained with the victim had they lived. This gives the wielder great longevity and superhuman strength but requires continual “feeding” to maintain their strength. All Klah weapons are capable of firing black demon fire. The weapon can also fire a plasma type projectile that devastates opponents, but only if they take and maintain over 1,000 life forces. The strongest can even determine how many life forces a wielder has taken. The strongest and most trusted are bonded with a matching set, which includes a bracelet with connected rings and a silver pendant. These were given to “Political Officers” who became part of a symbiotic relationship with the wielder.
Klaxon - Klah sword belonging to Admiral Ares. A small golden-bladed scimitar. Runes circled a band of gold just above the hilt of the scimitar where a large blue stone shown brilliantly when held by the evil and corrupt Ares.
Kairos - (KI rohs) Klah weapon, this golden short sword, had a gently flowing 36-inch blade curved elegantly back at the point. The blade itself glowed through the elegant scrollwork along the top edge. The double handed handle ended with a large diamond which changed to a brilliant blue that pulsed when it possessed someone willing to submit to evil, and it always corrupted the bearer. Bonded to Hafs
Kreel - Klah weapon bonded to Ben Anderson. This large, golden hunting knife had a stone in the hilt shone a brilliant blue as it pulsed in Ben’s hand. Just below the polished brass tang was a gold band with several runes that rotated counter-clockwise around the handle. Hundreds of layers of metal made microscopic thin edges along the blade that flashed from the inner glow of the blade.
Land of Dreams - an alternate reality that Dream Walkers access. It has two sides that are normally entered during a trance-like state between sleep and awake. They can go directly to a dreaming person by concentrating on a specific individual who is represented by a light. The lights are all different colors against a pillow gray background. Dream Walkers can also choose to travel the planet in a hazy, dream-like state. This allows the strongest Dream Walkers to visit areas all over the planet. Some are able to eaves drop on individuals as they go about their daily activities. Referred to as “Dreamscape” by wielders of the Klah weapons and “Ashandaria” by angels and demons.

Laxle - (LAHCKS lei) Klah weapon with a blade that never needed to be sharpened. In many ways, it resembled a small samurai sword about 16-inches long, except the blade glowed a warm golden color. The many layers of folded metal created tiny ridges in the blade itself like a Damascus blade. The knife was always warm to the touch, with a bone handle that had darkened from the years of handling. Like all Klah weapons, the hilt had a large jewel in it that always shown a brilliant dark blue like triple “A” Tanzanite whenever a lost soul held it, then it radiated and pulsed. The jewel remained clear in color until it possessed someone willing to submit to evil, and it always corrupted the bearer.
Mobile Attack Robots (MARs) developed for the G`Alad during the Crystalline War against the Klah. Thirty feet tall manned heavy artillery weapons could extend its force field out 80 feet to protect its troops during battle. Its torso was the size of a van and the round head sat upon its shoulders like a small command module for the squad leader. It’s nuclear powered with a diverse weapons platform complete with machine guns, rocket launchers, shoulder-mounted lasers, and sonic pulse cannons. Maneuverability was hampered only by the operator’s limitations. The suit was designed to respond to the operator to run, walk and jump as if it is an extension of the operator. With the rocket boosters in its legs and arms, it can fly through air and space, and special ramjets in the power pack on the back allow for under water operations. The torso held a squad of 10 soldiers for very short distances. Operated by each Squad Leader and stored in the study legs of the much larger MARCs, each squad deployed from the same leg as the respective MARs leader, but troops were housed in the giant torso of the MARC until ready for actual deployment.
Mobile Attack Robotic Carriers (MARCs) like the smaller MARs unit, it too was developed for the G`Alad during the Crystalline War. Each MARC towered over 100 feet tall, carried 80 troops in addition to its 20-person Command Crew. It was the mobile hospital and heavy artillery support for the four Squads of 20 infantry soldiers. Launched safely from orbit, each of the heavily armored MARCs could drop into hot landing zones (LZ) and clear the LZ with a combination of rockets, flame throwers, lasers, sonic bombs and other particle weapons for up to 250-miles circumference. Its force-field technology established a perimeter of 1,000 feet to provide safety for troops and equipment during battle.

Portal - traveling system created by the Balsarius to hide the movements of the Guardians and other Balsarius agents from the eyes of the G`Alad spies. The Portal created a series of stable wormholes across the planet along Ley Lines. Portal access points were disguised as various megalithic stone structures or grave markers across the planet. Mostly made of granite or other stones of high crystal content, natural power from the Earth was channeled through the stones and accessed with specifically tuned “bell stones” and harmonic notes sung when the two stones were ringed like a chime.
Pyraportal - Used in ancient times to create a worldwide power grid to provide wireless energy. It also acted as a planetary weapon of tremendous power. The altar at the center opened a transport portal across space and time to other planets and dimensions, though very few people know it can stretch across dimensions.
Qatas - (KAH tas) practice weapons for initiates to the Holy Warrior Order. Made of simple wood and blades of layered metal similar to a Damascus blade. The wooden handles are four feet long, which end with a one-foot-long metal blade. The handles can connect together to create a ten-foot long staff for use on an outdoor battlefield.
Qatassendor - (ka TAH sen DOR) the preferred weapon of the Holy Warrior. It is a set of Qatas used during a battle that received the Blessing of Light, which is the hallmark of the Holy Warrior. This turns the metal blades to crystal, which emit an impenetrable light that can cut through anything, and create a shield to protect the Holy Warrior. The crystal blades are different color for each Holy Warrior. When the Holy Warrior receives the Blessing of Light, the medallion they wear around their neck also transforms to the same color crystal at the center. The Qatassendor provides protection, healing and longevity to the Holy Warrior. See “Great Circle”.
Tituan Mean Time (TMT) - a binary star system of type F stars (blue to white in color and roughly 1.7 times the size of the sun). They orbit around a common central of mass or barycenter. A day on Tituan Alpha or Beta would last 39 hours, and a Tituan year is 507 days. This makes the year divided into 13 months each lasting exactly 39 days each. The magnetic field generated in this binary field combined with its distance and speed created a near perfectly stable orbit, with a decay rate of only .001 mm per 100,000 years. In the year 2197, humankind began to search out new worlds that could help support the struggling colony. Long depleted of its natural resources, humans found other planets to colonize. With several outposts and colonies established they adopted TMT and started their new calendar at year one. They sent out probes to help find solar systems in the galaxy that had the best natural resources to help support the home world. But the vastness of space takes a long time to cross, and several thousands of years passed before humans colonized what we know as Earth today. For humankind, the year is now 15,789. The date is indicated by “year.month.day”, which would look like: TMT 15,789.3.15, or it is the 15th day of the third month in the year 15,789. Time is identified in military style by a simple number of hours and minutes in a day based on each minute lasting 60 seconds for a total of 39 hours in a day.

Races
Balsarius - (bel SAH rius) second human colony established from dissidents in Masu`ri due to religious conservatives dissatisfied with the political corruption. Named after the Reverend Malcolm Balsarius who took 10,000 of his followers to start a new society on “Planet B” which orbits the star Mintaka in Orion’s belt. While Basarius did not have the vast rainforests of Masu`ri, it did have large deposits of uranium in its deserts and could grow grains in the large grasslands that were lacking on Masu`ri. The two societies quickly developed a symbiotic relationship and trade was established making the two societies independent of Mother Earth. The Balsarius society focused on enlightenment through religion. While a somewhat balanced society with religious tolerance, the Church provides the moral fiber and is fully in control of the justice system. The society is based on conservative Democratic principles that focused on respect for all life. Governing is done through consensus in a utopian manner. This makes decision-making a laborious time-intensive task, but once a decision is made they are quick to implement. Their understanding of the paranormal and focus on enlightenment has enabled them to develop higher brain functions improving their ESP and empathic abilities. They are strategic thinkers, and are extremely patient, making them great facilitators. Strengths include longevity, high intelligence
Colonists - refers to the average human settlers who are unaware of their origins.
G’Alad - (GAH A lawd) third human colony established. Located in the Sirius solar system. Named after the heroic General Muulaantani Al G’Alad (pronounced: `moo oo la an `TAWnie) who commanded the Defense Network during the First Klah Invasion at the start of the Crystalline War. His heroics in battle and theories on war helped to mold the society into a Warrior Caste. G’Alad was a diverse planet with high deserts, vast grasslands, thick forests, and the surface was covered 65 percent with deep oceans. Rich in minerals and the purest quartz crystals in the galaxy. Trade agreements were set up quickly amongst the other colonies to take advantage of the superior quality quartz being mined on G’Alad. These quartz crystals became the cornerstone to the Human technology, provided tools, power sources, and memory for its vast computers. G’Alad focused their efforts on the Warrior Guild and eventually became a Warrior Society with a Caste System governed in a more socialist manner. Their advancement in weaponry was only hampered by the lack of focus on developing sciences. Their space and air warfare tactics were however limited to convention projection or laser technologies due to the Orion Colonies’ distrust of G’Alad after the Crystalline Wars. They compensated for their lack of high-tech weapons with greater numbers on weaponry at a lower cost.

Klah - an alien race defeated by the G`Alad during the Crystalline Wars. (See “Crystalline Wars”)
Masu`ri - (MAH soo, REE) The first human colony established outside of the home world. Established on “Planet-C” that orbited the star Mintaka in Orion’s belt. Renamed after Capt Wilfred Masu`ri, the revered Commander of the DSE “Platheus”. They developed a great understanding of Quantum Physics and manipulation of matter, and eventually perfected Anti-Gravity technology. This technology was never shared with the Warrior Guild established on G’Alad as the Masu`ri feared they would weaponize it. A balanced society that operated a Republic style of government in minimalist fashion. While predominately a scientific community, their roots in the old religion was still firm and they respected the paranormal. Due to the Republic style of government, they’re prone to corrupt politicians. They maintain a vastly technically superior armed force. Strong allies with Planet Balsarius.

G`Alad Agents
Admiral Ares - resides on the luxury ship Argus which is a D-SAC. Ares was an elderly man who was tough as nails, and that reputation far preceded him. His somewhat lopsided head was large for his slender body, and his nose was huge and had obviously been broken long ago. What was left of his hair was snow white and ringed his balding head. To most people the permanent scowl on his face would lead them to believe he was always in a bad mood. He stayed in suspended animation for the most part, so that he could live to see the successful end to this mission. See “Klaxon” and “Deep-Space Attack Carrier.”
Commander General Menelaos - (MEN eh louse) the political officer on Admiral Ares’ ship the Argus. Like most political officers, he was a dangerous man. Commander Menelaos had greasy dark hair combed to the side in typical military fashion. His short dark mustache and goatee was neatly trimmed and was equally greasy looking as his hair. His slender build and pasty white skin reminded Ares of a funeral parlor director. He wore the matching set of the Klah weapon Klaxon, which consisted of a bracelet and rings on his left hand and the silver pendant that looked like a lightening bolt pinned to his lapel on his dark blue military uniform. The stones shown in a deep dark blue to match the stone in the hilt of the small golden bladed Klaxon

Commander Abdul-Wahid Abu Hafs - a good-looking, middle-aged man with dark skin, dark brown eyes and a well-trimmed beard that showed enough gray to identify him as distinguished and experienced, but not old and out of touch. High up on his left cheek, a large mole stood out as an unmistakable feature. He could have had it removed it anytime, but it became his distinguishing trademark. His Klah sword’s name is Kairos.
Commander Apollon (A poh LAWN) - a professional soldier with thick, brownish-red hair. He was highly groomed with large dimples and brown eyes. His tanned skin marked him as one who spent a great deal of time on the colony. His lean muscular body moved confidently as he walked. A.K.A “Alan Spatz” the personal servant for Elder Galen of the Artisan Guild when he infiltrated the Balsarius space station as a spy. His Klah weapon is J’Anx.
Commander Ben Anderson - a tall slightly overweight caucasian man with blue eyes, light brown and grey peppered hair and a cleft chin.”

Spiritual Forces
Cherubim - Warriors of the Light dressed in white cloaks over their silver and gold armor. These are the main force of the army for the Light. Four wings layered with silver and gold feathers that resembled their armor protruded through the backs of their cloaks. Each feather was razor sharp and glistened in the light. A beautiful aura emanated from them. There were no blemishes or scars on any of them. The only hair that could be seen was on their heads and fell loosely about their shoulders. Their faces were not clean-shaven, they were devoid of facial hair as was the rest of their bodies. Cherubim normally had limited communication abilities with humans, unless the Light specifically wills it. Cherubim only appear in their warrior form for battle, otherwise, they appear as a wolf, jaguar, or as a light that floats. During a battle, their faces continually changed appearance from that of a man to an ox, then to a lion before changing to an eagle. Their skin colors varied from angel to angel, but their eyes all sparkled a deep blue. Weapons hung from their belts and were as diversified as the angels themselves. Whether it was a sword, cudgel, war hammer, staff, ax or bow each glowed and radiated warmth as the angels prepared for battle.
Dark Lord - Lucifer, Father of Lies, Evil Incarnate and former Archangel for the Light. Also referred to as Dark. 
Gabriel - Archangel, his dark curly hair, and dark tanned skin were set off by large blue eyes that sparkled and cleft chin. He was heavily muscled and dressed in magnificent gold and silver armor. His strong wings extended out 12 feet and resembled the armor with rows of alternating gold and silver feathers each edge razor sharp. In his right hand, he carried a brilliant gold and silver sword that glowed and shot beams of light during battle. In his left hand, he held a small buckler that grew into a full shield during battle.

Inshae (In-shay)- a beautiful succubus with jet-black hair that flowed down her back and framed her pale skin and black eyes. Twisted black horns grew from either side of her head several inches up. Two more twisted white horns curled out forward of her face as part of a bone structure that surrounded her head. Two long pointed ears grew out from the bone structure. She wore shear black clothes that highly accentuated her womanly figure and left very little to the imagination. She was very strong inside the Land of Dreams.
Legion - a collective of demons that had banded together and had become of one purpose. They were nearly as powerful as the Dark Lord himself. Legion had seduced many lower ranking demons to join the collective with the promise of strength in numbers. Can take on any form, but preferred the form of a huge black dragon.
Light - the Creator, God.
Michael - Archangel for the Light, his golden hair fell in soft curls on his shoulders. He had large dimples on his cheeks, cleft chin and large glittering blue eyes stood out against his fair skin. He was heavily muscled and dressed in gold and silver armor. His strong wings extended out 12 feet and resembled the armor with rows of alternating gold and silver feathers each edge razor sharp. His strong hands held twin scimitars that glowed and shot beams of light when in battle.
Sarath - guardian angel for Alana. (See Cherubim)