A Dreamer's Knight: Machinations

I'd like to write first that some faith in humanity has been restored, as today, June the 27th of the year 2015, the United States Supreme Court has decided in favor of recognizing gay marriage.  While not homosexual myself, I am nonetheless thrilled for those who are, and can now get married without fear of legal ramifications.  Happiness is what is important in life, and if two people truly find themselves perfect for each other, I fail to see how gender truly should stand in the way.

I'm sure there are some norms out there whining about how this act, an act that is clearly pro-equality (a stance the Elsewhere has always supported), is somehow violating their rights, to which I say this; it is not your right to be a hateful prick, and if you think it is, I'll personally make sure each and every one of your hate-mongering names is added to the top of the Elsewhere's 'People of Interest list'.  Perhaps a few decades as a bored Dreamer's hobby will teach you something about respect.

Enough about that, though; today, I'll be writing about A Dreamer's Knight: Machinations.  For starters, I've begun posting the chapters to my tumblr account (which can be easily accessed here), so if you want to read the story for free in a slightly inconvenient format, there you go.  It's a sequel to A Dreamer's Knight, and although I've made efforts to fill in the gaps as it were, I don't know how much you may need to have read the first book to understand what is going on.

At the end of A Dreamer's Knight, One has completed the Mikaen assignment and gone to the Dream Realm for some rest and relaxation.  Unfortunately, after some lingering concerns prompt him to stick his nose back into the trouble beginning to brew on Vinta, he inadvertently undoes the work of the first book.

The idea was to put Mikaen in a position where he wouldn't investigate further into what was going on in Ronisgald; by establishing a home in Homestead, a relationship that has led to an engagement, Mikaen was to eventually marry and settle down, leaving his troubled past as a Knight of the Star behind him.  Now, however, he's going to investigate Ronisgald, where the group behind the troubles in the first book are looking for something much larger.

The Raenqal is derived somewhat from the idea of the Kicksey Winsey (sorry if I spelled that wrong, Death Gate fans), in that it is an ancient machine whose purpose is important, but not altogether clear as of yet.  The discovery of the first part, an enormous crystallic worldstone known as 'The Amplifier', signifies great power, but with no clear clues as to what it might do.

This book also goes into more detail about One's past, namely his past with Teria Myssohn, sister of Tirinia (Mikaen's fiancee) and Daughter of Longshore.  Still recovering his lost memories, this book sees One beginning to remember chunks of his past, which will continue in the next two books and slowly show more about One prior to his time at the Elsewhere. Teria and Luck battling for One's affection is ... difficult to talk about without reaching spoiler territory, but I will say that while One seems wishy-washy about his affections for each of them, there is a good reason ... and it truly is not his fault.

This novel sees many of the other Dreamers, including the good Captain Morgan, Max the Inventor, Alex the Toymaker, and even a few showings of Alan T. Tryth.  I rather like the fact that the narrative goes to first person when he's around; after all, it's made clear from the foreword in the first book that he's writing this tale in his capacity as the Chronicler of the Elsewhere.

Ronisgald was an interesting place to write about (see my earlier blogpost for more detailed information).  I will add that idea of underground dyson sphere-like habitats was definitely Star-Trek inspired.  Where the first book was mostly magic and forest cities, I wanted to start showing the technological side of Vinta in this book, a side which is contrasted in the third book as well, as the Rimstakkens technology, while on par with that of Ronisgald, is very different.

This book also sees some cameo appearances of Rena Sakamota, the future mother of Jimmy Olsen Sakamota, protagonist of The Sakamota Journals, as well as crazy old King Iniagus.  I really enjoy writing King Iniagus segments, and must admit he's one of my favorite characters to date, based vaguely on Fizban and Zifnab (who are themselves possibly the same person).

It's a bit longer, but this book does start off the major story arch of the series.  Give it a read, though you might want to read A Dreamer's Knight first.

I should also mention that this is the first book to get a cover from my current cover artist, Julia Tuason.  I've always loved the dream-like quality of her work, and feel it perfect for the Elsewhere Universe. She also did a bang up job drawing a cover based off of the description 'a pirate ship bursts out of a public fountain'. Check out her portfolio here.

I'd also like to state for the record that I wasn't dissatisfied with Izorkin Anton, the artist who drew the cover of the first book (check him out here).  He did a great job too, but he also admitted that drawing people wasn't his thing.

Ebook versions (just smashwords at the moment), hardback (lulu)