R.A. Baker's Blog, page 4

Kuara: Work All Day, No Time For Play

Kuara is the province closest to the Band. In many ways, the Band's presence has shaped the Kuarans' culture and their code of laws. At first glance, Kuara is a gentle, scenic place—full of sloping hills and rolling meadows.
However, before you grab your hammock and sunscreen to plan your next vacation there, realize that all forms of idleness are considered a crime punishable by death.  So, resting comfortably in the shade while watching the clouds float by would probably be a bad idea in Kuara.
Kuarans view their land as an opportunity to work hard and bear the fruits of that labor. The mighty plains of Kuara are the breadbasket of Taren, and that makes the West Taren province an agricultural power, if not a military one.

Kuara

Kuara is the province closest to the Band. In many ways, the Band's presence has shaped the Kuarans' culture and their code of laws. At first glance, Kuara is a gentle, scenic place—full of sloping hills and rolling meadows.
However, before you grab your hammock and sunscreen to plan your next vacation there, realize that all forms of idleness are considered a crime punishable by death.  So, resting comfortably in the shade while watching the clouds float by would probably be a bad idea in Kuara.
Kuarans view their land as an opportunity to work hard and bear the fruits of that labor. The mighty plains of Kuara are the breadbasket of Taren, and that makes the West Taren province an agricultural power, if not a military one.

The Next Chapters

I took a small break from the blog in preparation for the new installment in the "Rayna of Nightwind" series. It is the highly anticipated sequel to "The Beast at the Gate".

I want to take the time to say to my fans that I am both touched and thrilled that you are as exited about this new novel as I am. It's been a while in the making, but the next draft of "Beyond the Band of Death"(tentative title, pending my publishers final approval) is done and now I'm ready to move on  to the next phase. With a lot of sweat and a bit of luck, I hope to have the finished book ready in time for Christmas! Again, thanks for everything. I would not have gotten this far without you. So, let's move together into the exciting next chapters of the Nightwind saga.

Next time: Back to our regularly scheduled  blog entries.

The Lay of the Land

Now that I covered most of the characters in The Beast at the Gate, my next posts will discuss the world of Taren from a geographical and cultural perceptive. But first, what is Taren?

Taren is the wondrous world in which the story takes place. It is a land of extremes--and extreme danger. The Taren River divides Taren nearly in half, with one side known as West Taren and the other East Taren. The citizens of West Taren are a proud people who eschew psi-magic and instead favor the sword. East Tareners embrace their psi-magic roots, and until recently, practiced their craft freely.  All of Taren--both East and West--is surrounded by a red, barren wasteland known as the Band. It is said that all who enter the Band die.

The Band has a rather mysterious origin and no one in Taren truly knows much about it.White rods of energy fall down from the Band like unbent lightning and destroy anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path. This is where our heroine Rayna gets her first taste of Taren. Needless to say, it's not a good impression.

The "Minor" Characters

Sometimes the supporting actors are just as important as the leading ones. I would like to think that that is the case in "The Beast at the Gate". Four supporting characters come to mind: Emawin, Quan, Katana, and Levit.
First, Emawin. She is the caring and compassionate botanist and apothecary  in the story, and is the glue to her adopted family. The normally reclusive Keris sees Emawin as family and the feeling is mutual. Even Rayna finds it difficult to keep up her defensive walls against Emawin—everyone can’t help but love Emawin! 
Quan is the curious and often mischievous boy who has a talent for playing the flute and... *ahem* pick pocketing. His character is young but important, and goes to illustrate that in the world of Taren, no one is truly what they first seem.  
Katana was fun to write and she proves to be a formidable challenge to Aric. As captain and owner of her mercenary guard, Katana is a strong, confident person with ambitious goals; Aric too seeks power, but in her own clandestine way.  It was only a matter of time before these two powerful women clash…and what a clash it will be.
Levit is the monk who trains Rayna.  He is a stern traditionalist—a crotchety no-nonsense kind of man. I mention him because we will be seeing more of this character in the next book.

Keris--who is this mysterious woman?

Keris is the last of the main characters I'm discussing from "The Beast at the Gate", but certainly not the least.  Trying my best not to include spoilers, I'll just say that she plays a pivotal role in the story--enough to justify her being co-protagonist to Rayna. In many ways she is like Rayna: strong, intelligent, and fiercely independent. However, as a Taren native, Keris is much more attuned to the land than Rayna, and recent events have given her a bit of a hardened edge. I think it's safe to say without revealing too much that Keris is on the run with a bounty on her head. Her situation has pushed her to taking more risks to stay one step ahead of Nephredom and his minions. And it's during a risky quest to recruit a mage that Keris meets Rayna...and the rest is Taren history.

Cirdedor

Ah...Ciredor is the great war hero in the story, but recently plagued with indecision. Should he help the woman he loves fight a seemingly unwinnable battle, or safeguard the lives of the remaining soldiers under his protection? Should he risk civil war for the sake of a true and lasting peace--or should he let the uneasy truce they already have stay in place unchallenged? Ciredor is a man with  a lot of concerns on his broad shoulders, yet he still manages to have a fairly cheerful outlook on life.  In "The Beast at the Gate", Ciredor finally does make his decision--for better or for worse. In that way, he not much different from any of us, who carry on with our lives in the face of adversity, drawing within us strength we never knew we had until we needed it.

Aric the mastermind

Aric is certainly one of the most complex characters in The Beast at the Gate. Indeed, I could write a book solely on her and never grow bored. Although she is complex, she is by no means ambivalent. Make no mistake--Aric is evil, period. Where Nephredom may have had some noble underpinnings, Aric is rotten to her flamboyant core. She is an unredeemable and manipulative creature who delights in the ill-fortune of others and schemes for her gain, and her gain alone. The fact that she is both beautiful and intelligent, only serves to camouflage her deadly ways. 

Nephredom: ruler, madman

In The Beast at the Gate, Nephredom is a rather complex character whose life is filled with both triumph and tragedy. He is an ambitious man, but he is motivated more by revenge than power. He is also slowly going insane. But without giving too much away, I would say that his madness has certain external causes, and his own arrogance has caused him to ignore the obvious signs. Nephredom is arguably the lead villain in the story, but is by no means the only one.

He is, in my opinion, the most redeemable villain--if such a thing is possible. There is a certain rough nobility in Nephredom that drives him, and in that sense, gives him a degree of honor. Of course, the heroes in the story would vehemently disagree with that assessment.

Nevertheless, what if blind vengeance and hate had not been allowed to take root in his heart? Would he had used his powers for good? Maybe...maybe not. Who knows what kind of life Nephredom would have led if the circumstances had turned out a little differently. Well, technically I would know, but that's a tale for a different time.

Who is Rayna?

Of course, Rayna Powell is the protagonist in the story The Beast at the Gate, but who is she, really? I would describe Rayna as a smart, highly motivated woman but a bit awkward when expressing herself to others.

Like Arstinax, I didn't want to create a stereotypical cardboard cutout of a character. I wanted Rayna to be flawed and nuanced. I wanted her to react to certain situations--not as the "calm, reasonable person" that always does the right thing--but how a real person (albeit a stubborn one) would react under extraordinary circumstances. And those reactions may not always look cool or even smart, but it's human.

I wanted to show juxtaposition, not simply with a modern day heroine being thrust into a pre-industrial world, but show the contrast of a how a logical, scientific-minded person like Rayna could find herself acting very illogical and non-scientific in the right situation. In short, I wanted to explore how wonderfully complex the human mind and emotion can be.