The Original Species - Preface

Questions and Answers

Any basic facts?

Title : The Original Species Series : The Species War, Book 1 of 3 Author : (not yet willing to share my full name) Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult Rating : PG-13 (if books had ratings) Length : 86,754 words, will increase (according to Google Docs, as of 10/3/13) Status : Work-In-Progress

What's it about?

Abridged : Claybrook Sokki, a member of an ancient race of Beasts called the Lazarian, finds himself in the middle of the Species War, and now the two major factions want this powerful being on their side.

Non-Abridged : The story follows Claybrook Sokki, a Lazarian male aged the equivalent of 25 human years. He finds himself lost in a jungle, empty holes filling his memories for the most part. When he is found by the Ammals, a race of furred Beasts, he soon learns that there is a massive conflict called the Species War unfolding, pitting the Ammal Republic and the Pretiel Dominion against each other. The Lazarian were assumed extinct, since they could never be found, and the only record of them were in ancient books. The books told of these Lazarian, the first ever Beast species to inhabit the Earth and develop the first civilization. How and why they disappeared is a mystery, but one thing is for sure: the Lazarian were powerful. They were the first to inhabit Earth. They were mighty, and they were constantly successful. They possessed magic, something modern Beasts call god-given powers. To see an actual living Lazarian wander the world causes great greed in the factions. They want this thing. They want this being to fight for them. They will fold and skew him to their will. They will do whatever it takes to get a member of the Original Species on their side.

Who are the main characters?

• Claybrook Sokki - A Lazarian found in the jungle at the start of the novel, he enjoys helping others, but his ignorance with the new world he's stumbled upon can prove harmful to him and others. A strong fighter by nature, he also possesses the the gift of magic to smite his foes and aid his allies.
• Atheos Ferox - A Guard Captain, he is a Lupus war general who had recently moved from Noctis to Tempus due to relocation and militaristic demand. With his battle prowess and military strategy, he's managed to ford off Pretiel attacks, yet he desires more than defensive tactics.
• Aeon Sco'lac - Believed to be the offspring of a Pretiel mixed with an Aves, the Calcos chieftain strives for protection of his tribe over anything else. He will crush any foe and exploit any dirty tactic if it meant defending his people from foreign threats.

There will be other main characters, but their significance and influence for the entire book is not as deep as the ones I have listed above. Overall, the other major characters will have a role that only fits half or even 1/3 the book. The three listed above can be considered as 'power players': they have important roles throughout the entire plot.

Are there any other characters?

Aside from the main characters, other players in this book include, but are not limited to:

• A thieving rogue that adores giving snide remarks
• A stern father who is an archaeologist...
• And a caring mother who adores her children and husband
• A sub-general who has a strong distaste toward Pretiels
• A kindhearted, tolerant twin...
• And his brother, a strict elder-sibling type
• A young inventor whose best friends are the drones he makes
• A mayor whose quite accepting of change in a conservative society
• A doctor who used to be a hunter
• A royal guard who will destroy all who challenge him
• A soft-spoken assassin who's blind in one eye
• A brutish guardian that is dumber than rocks
• A young fledgeling who's great with a bow
• An elderly chemist who has recently become interested in magic

What are the factions?

The Ammal Republic - The Ammals are any race who have fur on their body and possess mammalian characteristics. They founded this faction when they were dissatisfied with an alliance they had prior. Now they strive to make the world safer by reducing the Pretiel population, all the while expanding to know more about the world. They value industry and progress over anything. Their weakness is internal political struggle (liberals versus conservatives).

The Pretiel Dominion - Not only does this faction include the titular Pretiels, but also includes the feathered Aves and the bi-habitable Amphibios. Valuing tradition over anything, the Pretiels strive to remove these radical beings called Ammals in order to protect their friends and family. They value agriculture and tradition over anything. Their weakness is the fear of radical change, such as observing exceptions to strict rules.

The Outsider Anarchy - This faction encompasses the Mythos, a strange race of Beasts (if you can call them that name) that take the form of mythical creatures rather than contemporary species. If the Ammal Republic and Pretiel Dominion can agree on one thing, it's that the Outsider Anarchy is annoying, and they need to be removed quickly.

The Unloyal Alliance - Though not officially recognized as a faction, the Unloyal Alliance is the name the Oread, a race of robotic organisms, have given themselves. Their population is split: some Oread fight for the Ammals, and some fight for the Pretiels. Due to this disloyal structure, sometimes Oread are not trusted by either faction, and both sometimes equate them to the Outsider Anarchy: nothing but scum that need to be eradicated.

Is the plot good versus evil?

Who is good and who is evil? Which one of the factions are good, and which ones are bad? Which character has good intentions, and which one has malicious purposes? Is Claybrook a hero, or an anti-hero? Or better yet, is he a hero protagonist, or a villain protagonist? What sets right from wrong in a time of war? Are typical war crimes justified for survival, or are they just inhumane? Do crimes against humanity (or Beastianity, in my book) mean anything? What draws the line between survival and conquest? What makes the Beasts different from humans in how they fight? If Man and Beast were on the same plane, who would be the good/bad guy? And most importantly, who's right and who's wrong in their methods?

That's all for you to decide. I know what I want my book to be, but I refuse to outright tell you the answers to these questions. As you read my work, keep these questions in mind. Think of new ones if you can! I'd love to hear what you guys think justifies a good or bad guy. Or any other thoughts, really! I want to hear it all.

Any lore/backstory I need to know?

Although my goal is to weave back story and lore within the novel, I know that's not easy to grasp. But I'll be able to provide some information that will hopefully allow the book to make more sense. If you want to figure out the lore on your own, by all means skip this part , but I don't want you confused while you read my entire thing. The stuff you need to know is:

• Humanity royally screwed up. Through war, plague, and other factors, mankind is long gone. Forget all this 'hope spot' stuff, it's their own fault Homo sapiens is dead.
• Gaia, A.K.A. Mother Earth, pressed the great 'RESET' button on her planet, forming a new world. She didn't want her planet to die so early.
• To replace humanity, she created the Beasts to be the new dominant species of Earth, as well as its patrons. One of the first Beasts created were the Lazarian.
• The Lazarian were simply thrown in the world, free to do whatever they wanted. They had some knowledge, but they didn't know everything. Regardless, they wanted to explore this new world they mysteriously woke up in.
• The Lazarian built a civilization that equates to our Egyptian, Olmec, and even Roman civilizations. They were just that good at building a world.
• A great alliance had been formed called the Primarius, which included all the Beast races Gaia had placed on her planet.
• Then something happened to everything. History hides the truth, but by some strange twist of fate, factions were formed, the Lazarian mysteriously disappeared (assumed extinct), and now Beast society has been fractured, starting the Species War. No one really knows what caused the Species War nor what is being fought over (is it over resources, religion, race?), but it's been going on for thousands of years now.

Why's it rated PG-13?

Content warning: contains blood, very minor gore, language (F---, S---, etc.; only few characters curse), suggestive themes, fantasy violence, among other stuff, all minor. The farthest it'll go as far as an "adult" subject is suggestive themes subtle innuendos, and maybe I'll have one "fade-to-black" scene, but that's about it. This book is intended for young adults aged 13-18+, and I'd rather not be called out for serving inappropriate literature to a specified target audience.

Why did you write this book?

1. Like most authors, I'm only here to tell my story. Not like my life story, but rather a tale that has been growing in the back of my mind and has been longing to get out. I want to share my viewpoints, but at the same time I want to hide them. I'd figure the best way to shape my opinions is through my characters. Even though I have many characters, my viewpoints are hidden between them. Based on the actions of one character, I'll reveal how I feel about torture, or slavery, or even racism. Perhaps one of these characters share a trait or interest with you that you secretly don't want to admit. I can understand that. If I shared what I truly felt about conflicts, then everyone would be pointing a gun at my head.
2. Another reason for me writing this book is so that I can invent characters. I love creating characters. I love giving them shapes, assigning them personalities, giving them exotic names, and evolving them into a completely different person as times goes on (a phenomenon known as character development). I think characters make or break a book. If a characters is not enjoyable, then I will either skip chapters involving him/her, or completely stop reading the book altogether. God forbid if my 'scourge' character is your main character.
3. The third reason I wrote the book is because it's actually a spiritual successor. Back in 2010, I wrote a 140,000+ word novel called "Shadow of a Doubt". It was about these two men (Claybrook and Rorak) who are wandering, homeless adventurers. When a guy promises them enough money to buy a permanent house, they're willing to commit crimes and traverse dangerous territory to do the job. The reason I wrote a spiritual successor is because I was unsatisfied with my work. The characters talked too much, there wasn't an immersive environment, and the plot was all around too stupid. Though I got a proof copy of the novel, I read it in disgust, thinking that I could have done better. So I set out to write this little thing. In essence, I'm starting over. Though some characters and concepts are recycled, it's a completely new story with a completely different direction. If there's enough interest, I might just post my original novel for people to view. Bear in mind, it's amateur work and it will not be edited.

Will it be comedic or dramatic?

Dramatic for the most part, although I'll try to insert humor once in a while, either as comic relief or just for humor's sake. In the vein of Greek theatrical plays, a character will have a flaw that will eventually lead to his/her downfall. What the flaw is or how deep the character digs himself in the ground is up to you to figure out, but just know that someone's not going to have a good day at the end of things.

The type of comedy I want to implant will be majorly situational. For example, I could have a character remark on contradictions another character has said. Or I could have a character acknowledge a misfortune in the most snarky way possible. That's another form of comedy that I seem to enjoy: sarcasm. There will be a couple of characters that will make snide, snark, and outright rude comments to each other. I don't want outright bloated laughter going on as you read the book: rather, I want you to appreciate the wit and nerve of some of the characters.

What makes this book different from other novels?

• No humans or human-like creatures will be present. All of the inhabitants are Beasts and feral creatures called monsters. Although they're not humans, Beasts still possess humanity and will have feelings such as revenge, lust, pride, and greed.
• The book involves three story arcs, two of them exploring both the Ammal Republic and the Pretiel Dominion. The fact that I have two factions in my story adds a deeper level of experience that most typical books don't offer. You never get to see the other side, but hopefully with this book I can set a trend.
• Multiple languages, some based on real languages and some completely made up, will be present in the novel. The Ammals will speak Ammalian, and the Pretiels will speak Pretilian. For the sake of the reader, all spoken dialogue will be written in English, but the characters themselves might not know what the other faction is saying. For example, I'll have a Pretiel speaking among Ammals. Even though the Pretiel's dialogue will be in English for the reader to see, the Ammal characters will have no clue what the Pretiel had just said. Only the reader knows, adding a field of higher understanding that the characters don't know.
  • There is also a third language only spoken by the main character called Crypt, which is a substitution cipher code. Vowels will replace vowels, and consonants will replace consonants, meaning you can legitimately speak the language. This language will not be decoded for the reader. But the fun thing is that if you can decode my substitution cipher, then you can decode any word in Crypt within my novel.
• There will be intermissions littered about my novel that consists of two or more characters talking with each other. Because only dialogue is written, you don't know who is saying what, or even in what tone they're speaking in. Although this might sound confusing, it adds another layer of understanding for the reader. This in turn adds dramatic irony: the reader will know something that the characters don't, and the characters will act and react accordingly. Because the reader already knows more information than the characters, it makes it all sweeter when the topic of the intermission is finally addressed.

How long are the chapters?

I strive for about 3,000 words per. Now I know sometimes that's not possible since there will be one big scene that cannot be split no matter how ways I cut it. But I strive for 3,000 word chapters when I can. Right now, the range of my chapters are: shortest ~2,500 words, longest ~8,700 words. Intermissions don't count, as they almost never grow beyond 1,000 words. I know I write long sections, but it's all for a good reason. Bear with me, guys!

How often will this be updated?

I'm striving for once or twice a month. I already have some chapters prepared, but not perfected. I'm in my senior year of high school, meaning I'm jam-packed with activities such as AP courses, clubs, and especially college. I also recently picked up an Algebra I tutoring job in my school. I might even get a job in the future, but who knows. Due to my busy schedule, my writing time will be a bit sluggish. I also have the habit of paying attention to detail: I'll take longer to write something, but only because I want to present it in the most attractive way possible. I know if I read something online that looks amateurish, I'll stop reading it. I don't plan on making those mistakes in the future. I prefer to take my time.

Did you draw any inspiration?

I draw my inspiration by the books I've read, the video games I've played, or any other media I interact with. Primarily, I am writing in the vein of J.R.R. Tolkien, the gold standard for any fantasy novel. But I'm not wanting to directly copy him: I want to set my own style, but Tolkien's works are a good inspiration and basis. I'll be borrowing elements from Brandon Mull, Christopher Paolini, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin, and others. I'll even throw in a pinch of inspiration from non-fantasy authors, such as Cormac McCarthy and Markus Zusak. I'll even admit the Mass Effect series of games has added to the characteristics of the snarky, sarcastic, and outright stoic characters.

Is this going to be a legit thing, like an actual novel?

That's the plan. I plan to write a trilogy spanning three generations, and I want them to be epic in scale. Once I finish book 1, I'll see how the viewers react. If the views were positive and encouraging, I'll probably set out to make this thing real, depending on a lot of factors. If views were negative, I'll continue to write them no matter what, but they might not go beyond my Google Drive...

Any questions?

I'm open to anything, guys. I'm not afraid of a little criticism. In fact, I welcome constructive criticism. Hey, we can't get better if we're not told what's wrong, am I right? So I want you people to tell me what you think. Even if you're afraid to ask, just throw down a comment and I'll think about it. Don't worry if it seems in bad tastes to you: I might not interpret it the same way.

But bottom line, be constructive. Find my mistakes and offer a solution. Don't go highlighting my flaws and then using them against my character. I don't like it when that happens.

No questions? Then I'll break the ice!

• Favorite band? - Imagine Dragons
• Favorite movie? - 9
• Favorite color? - Hunter green
• Know any other languages? - Fluent in English and Spanish. Studied French and Latin
• Video games? - I enjoy Divinity: Dragon Commander, Borderlands 2, Dishonored, Saints Row 3, Civilization V, Bioshock, Far Cry 3, Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, Fallout: New Vegas, TERA and Guild Wars 2. Right now Dark Souls is eating a lot of my time!
• Favorite subject? - Biology. No doubt.
• What about college? - Texas Christian University is where I wish to attend. Go frogs!
• Writing pet peeve? - Grammar. Come one guys, it's not that hard. Use both beginning and end quotation marks. Capitalize only when needed. Know the difference between homophones. And for the love of God, when a new character speaks, start a new paragraph! Oh, and boring names are annoying. Give us something fun to say! Names like Christopher and Nicholas are dull. Give us something exotic like Orryn or Yorrick!
• Favorite website? - TvTropes.org
• Coolest name? - Vaerak is used for one of my characters, though it was first used for one of my PCs in Legend of Grimrock. It's something about that 'ae' that gets to me.
• Favorite word? - "Scourge". It's such a raspy word, it sounds intense, and the meaning is equally as impacting as well. "The Scourge of the Earth" is my favorite made-up phrase.
• Thoughts on Fan Fiction? - I generally don't like it when people butcher works published professionally, especially of works that I adore. But for those select few who execute it flawlessly and makes it enjoyable, I applaud you.

Anything else?

If not, I thank you for your time. I promise to deliver an enriching story and experience that I hope relates to your feelings and attitudes. Hopefully you'll be willing to keep with me the entire adventure!

Regards, Claybrook