[Orig fic universe] Notes II - The Spoiler Stuff
Last point was about background. This post contains The Spoiler Fantastik for the actual fic. (ETA: Not really. I decided not to write out all my plot notes.) Which is not a fic but a series. Anyway, first, I get to record nonsense like my motivation behind writing The Whole Shmuck In The First Place.


This has been about 6? 7? 8? years in the making. I never started counting. It started life when I was a plebian completely-wet-behind-the-ears writer, who wanted to do Yet Another Story on Good and Evil.

Well, that was the most embarrassing thing about the entire affair, and has all been scrapped from the final reversion. The Spirits were supposed to be the embodiment of all that was good, blahblahblah, the alien forces the embodiment of all that was bad, blahdiblah, the Ioniels the Heralds champions of good yaddayaddayadda.

Suffice to say, my l33t present day plotting skillz (HA) dictate that that is Not Done, and all of it went out of the universe.
That's why 'struck down' has been changed to 'murdered' somewhere in the Background. XD Anyway.

The present incarnation of the universe as we know it started around the time I posted Kedron's story (July last year). The background written below was actually done between May and October in my honest-to-God paper notebook, where you can still see the old terminology being used. However, the ideas have been around for far longer.

This entire project aims to be as scientifically correct as is possible for me. I have geek notes on Rigel. It was originally, as I said, supposed to be a blue spectrum A9? star from the Orion constellation, hence the name 'Orias' for the planet. However, I seem to have wanted to change that to a standard G5 sequence star in 2005.

The idea of wormhole travel was taken from Hyperspace by Michael Kaku?, which I read about 7 years ago, and inspired by the Star Wars concept. (Basically, slicing through the 10th dimension before reappearing in Real Space). Wormholes are theoretically possible to generate, although the amount of power required to do so is enormous. As such, the wormhole from Earth to Orias was the pilot project of scientists at the time, a project whose important grew immensely in import around the time it became obvious that humanity was Destroying The Planet and had to Go Elsewhere.

At the time of the 2nd Ionium, wormhole travel was still Awfully Expensive and occasionally dangerous. Conceivably, a worm-hole can real any part of the universe, but it's taken that calculation of the exit vector is impossible beyond a certain range. Moreover, it is impossible to sustain a long term gate. Long-range (intersystem) wormhole jumps of several light years are therefore dependent on structures supported by a planet wide power system. I've forgotten the workings of this, but this generally involves a planetary ring -- a particle accelerator surrounding the planet. Jump points are fixed, coordinates having been calculated extensively in advanced. Calculation of new exit vectors is possible, but time consuming. Ships jump into the general vicinity of the system and micro-jump in system. The effects this has on traditional space combat hasn't been decided yet, although it is conceivable that there would be some kind of neutralizing defense field. Either way, jumping too near a planet is dangerous business, since the movement of the planet and the effects of the gravitational field may have unpredictable effects.

So that was largely the contribution to the Project at about 2000, where I spent more time focusing on the technology than on the characters. I also spent a lot more time thinking about the 1st Ionium than the second.

Cyrus appeared later than Elnor, but was also a very early character. The ideas from that time (2001?) have been preserved, but since I wasn't qualified at that time to back it up, and I haven't thought about it a great deal since then, the entire arc remains very unsubstantiated. I.e. How the Hell did he do that?

The explanation of the manipulation of elemental energy being a simple mental manipulation of energy was also an early idea, but unsubstantiated. It was probably 2002 before they appeared in their present form and got their names ironed out. However, it was probably 2004 before I actually decided on how this would actually work. The original idea was the manipulation of molecules in their various states, and this was preserved for the Cardinals, although the relation of fire to plasma was a 2005 idea, as was the manipulation of elecromagnetic energy in relation to the Zanthras ('Storm'). The original works actually use the translated names: 'Firelord, Earthlord, Windlord', etcetc, and while this has been almost entirely eliminated to confuse you / to sound cooler, I decided to keep the terminology and blame everything on the Vrykardorians. There's actually a fairly amusing scene planned out where an Earth user (Kerathra) pwns everyone royally for thinking that he's only able to work with soil.

One thing that may have gotten the boot entirely is the Jonathon Livingston Seagull influence -- the idea of there being progressive levels after death, this is being the Explanation for the Spirits and why they were the embodiment of all that was amazing.

(This is the Jonathon Livingston Seagull reference:
</i> Sullivan shook his head. "The only answer I can see, Jonathan, is that you are pretty well
a one-in-a-million bird. Most of us came along ever so slowly. we went
from one world into another that was almost exactly like it, forgetting
right away where we had come from, not caring where we were headed, living
for the moment. Do you have any idea how many lives we must have gone
though before we even got the first idea that there is more to life than
eating, or fighting, or power in the Flock? A thousand lives, Jon, ten
thousand! And then another hundred lives until we began to learn that
there is such a thing as perfection, and another hundred again to get the
idea that our purpose for living is to find that perfection and show it
forth. The same rule holds for us now, of course; we choose our next world
through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing, and the next world is
the same as this one, all the same limitations and lead weights to
overcome.")
- http://seekers.100megs6.com/Gull.htm

The intrinsic relationship between this idea and the whole Good and Evil shtick meant that it all went down the drain at the same time. (The idea being that living things evolve into Spirits eventually.)

The governmental structures were definitely 2005's contribution, and thanks to too much Public Law. Originally, the Ioniels were the leaders and That Was It.

Love has never been a particularly strong theme in this Project, although it got fleshed out over the years. Ioniels didn't love originally, being boring people duty obsessed. (*snort*) I can't remember when Cyrus fell in love with Jaye, although Everion and Sylvon were together since 2002. Amusingly, however, I switched Sylvon's gender (he was Sylvan, originally, and female) in December 2005. Then I realized that one of my plot points required they have a kid. I am now Stuck and considering switching it back. The series' love triangle definitely appeared in 2005.

Trian appeared in 2005, when I wanted more characters, while Kedron's backstory got fully fleshed out. That was when I decided to leave off focus on the 1st Ionium as well, and focus on the second.

The Prophecy was Dec 2005 addition, while the write-up of the Spirits' relationship with their bonded was done on Jan 01 2006. I concede that this was influenced by FF8.

I still don't think I'm qualified to write this, although I daresay I'll give it a shot soon. I actually still have the early drafts sitting around on harddisk. Anyone who accuses me of plagurism dies.


Interesting stuff:


The story starts during the tenure of Cyrus Incarion, Arch Ioniel extraordinaire of the 2nd order. Needless to say, the '1st order' refers to all the nonsense that culminated in all the Ioniels dying and the Ionium basically getting the crap bombed out of it. '2nd order' refers to Cyrus onwards. For this reason, Cyrus is also called the Phoenix.

Note: Average lifespan is about 130 - 150 years. This is in no little part due to cross-breeding with the longer lived Vrykardor species.

The Circle at the time is, in order of appointment,
Cyrus Incarion, male Firelord, Arch-Ioniel
Jaye Aethlion, female Airlord, Regent
Vilhelm Gilthion, male Abysslord
Simon Kerathion, male Earthlord
Rikka Terion, female Waterlord

Meet Trian 'Wolf' Aethelwulf. He was teenaged during the alien invasion, and one of the first to be enlisted into the new Carithwan on acccount of great potential. Sees little actual combat during that invasion, as he had only basic training.

The alien invasion is repelled, and there proceed a few years of peace and rebuilding, finalization of alliances and signing of treaties. Vrykardor formally cedes to the leadership of the Ioniels, and the 2nd Order Ionium is fully consolidated.

Trian's skill is entirely in a potential form at the moment. He shows signs of being one of the strongest psion users the Ionium has, and is definitely slated to be a Scinthra if his potential manifests. This also means that he stands a very good chance of becoming Scinthion and the next Arch-Ioniel.

However, things go wrong. Trian fails his Ioniel selection test -- the test of being able to establish contact and bond with a Spirit -- on account of his potential still being nothing more than potential. Long story short, he fails the 2nd try as well, and basically decides that his potential is never going to manifest. However, his inability to use his elemental powers have forced him to be faster and more skilled than the typical Carithwan user, and combined with a flair for leadership, he is eventually appointed as Head of the Carithwan.

On the contrary, there is Kedron: a young rogue user spotted on a border planet. Talent doesn't normally manifest until training brings it out, and most peoples' abilities never mature to the extent of being able to do serious harm. Kedron's talent manifests early, he learns how to use it himself, and does a lot of serious harm, and the Carithwan is dispatched to bring him back to Orias immediately. However, Kedron, being a street rat, doesn't know What the Hell is Going On, and thinks they're out to kill him. He kills someone, the order to deploy elemental force filters down, since it is obvious that they're not going to get him otherwise. Kedron still manages to evade them, until Vilhelm Gilthion himself turns up, and stops him dead in his tracks. Kedron gets hauled back to Atlantis Major, seat of the Carithwan and the civilian government of the Ionium. Kedron, naturally, is instantly pegged as an incredibly strong attacking elemental user, with a strong primary in fire (offensive) and significant secondaries in air and earth. Kedron is black haired with light blue eyes.

To complete the set, there is Rufen: a young orphan who was adopted by Carithwan parents. He's the defensive counterpart of Kedron, although with no particular speciality. He seems to have no real primary and three fairly strong secondaries in water, air and abyss. Rufen is later revealed to have a second name, Everion. (Rufen's mother was of Chinese descent, hence he uses his Chinese name.) Eyes are a strange shade of sea-gray with a hint of blue, and at the time of writing, he's bleached his hair to some indescript shade of blond. Actual shade is probably dark brown.


Both Rufen and Kedron are born after the alien invasion.

At the time Kedron is brought in, Trian has brought back / received reports of the aliens gathering forces and preparing for a return assault. With elemental backup. With Trian having failed the test twice, the pressure is on Rufen or Kedron to pass and swell the ranks of the Circle and provide them with a Zanthion. Scinthions are so rare that no one counts on it, especially after Trian's failure.

Rufen, favorite of the Carithwan and the Circle due to his long association with them and his strong potential, fails the Ioniel selection test at about the time Kedron is brought in. All hopes are pinned on Kedron.

Rufen, of course, is distraught, wangsty and jealous, but Trian kicks his ass out of wangst land and tells him to train up and try again. In the meantime, he's still a Carithwan officer, and war breaks out over their heads before Kedron can reach the standard required to take the Ioniel test.

Cyrus dispatches the Regent -- Jaye -- along with Trian and the most promising Carithwan officers (Rufen and Kedron included) on a secret mission into alien territory in an effort to strike undercover at their home territory, demoralize them, and pressure them to fall back.)

This is where Kedron's story starts.

Naturally, Kedron and Rufen are Rivals. Ioniel selection tests are held at the bidding of the Spirits, and both of them will probably stand for selection at the same time. Rufen's Teria (Water user) classification means he's a defensive user, and with the Ionium at war, what everyone is really hoping for is a strong attackor. In addition, in order for a new Terion to be appointed, the old one will have to die first, which does no one any good at all.

Kedron, on the other hand, is young, headstrong, and unimpressed with the Ionium in general. Cyrus worries that he'll get himself killed, and trying to undo all the things he learnt on his own (which are frequently self damaging and affect his control) is time consuming and painstaking. It is worried that by the time of the test, he will lack the necessary control to communicate with a Spirit or that his personality will result in him getting rejected anyway.

No, they do not end up in bed. It did not occur to me while plotting how slashable these two would be.