Neweth, my first book

Hey guys,

Ara here.

I'm back again with another quick update. Neweth book 1 (Teardrops & Bloodshed) chapter 6 is out!

I'm very excited to be presenting this series, as it is my first. Teardrops and Bloodshed is my first book, and it is more or less complete.

So why haven't I posted it in it's entirety?

It needs some serious editing. Especially the later chapters.

But the story continues after this first book. I also have rough drafts of another 6-7 chapters of the second book in the series, the Faceless.

This series has been an adventure for me. I've played around with a lot of the world state (I may post some of my horrible early sketches one day).

The amount of side stories and characters of interest in this world actually influenced me to homebrew a custom game campaign once set in Neweth (Might tell the story one day in one of my D&D feeds).

I wasn't entirely sure what to talk about on this one. There is a lot I can talk about, as this world has been years in the making.

I could tell you all how this story saved me, over and over. How it got me through, and is still getting me through some of the hardest times of my life.

But I decided on something else, as this series has become so much more than I'd first imagined.

I decided to tell a story of one of my background characters instead (or a summarized version there of). This particular character will appear in the second book.

Being born a farmer on the continent of Kaia was hard. The earth was dry and the heat of the sun shriveled many crops. This effect became worse the further from the Imperial Capital of Rasperia that the farm was situated.

The Ordell family had a farm that was perhaps at the furthest reaches from the capital. Right between the Perishing Desert and the Wasteland at the continents edge. It was a part of the town called Malafax.

Lydia Grace was a mage. She had the ability to adapt the earth to her will. Though she could do nothing for the desert sands, nor the dusty remnants of the Wasteland.

Her husband, Lewis Ordell was a proficient farmer. He expertly tilled the crops she loving grew.

The two kept the few small villages in the area stocked with produce, asking only small favors in return.

The couple had two children, Lyrea Grace and Jeremy Ordell.

It was Lyrea's fifth year, and Jeremy's ninth, when the plague came.

It hit those closest to the Wasteland first. Such an little odd town, that had never welcomed strangers. Many whispered that it served them right. A ripple f shock was felt, despite the lack of real remorse.

The plague continued to move. No one who fell ill survived.

The Capital sent little help. Their investigators pawed over the dead and wouldn't remain for long, lest they be infected too. The only advice was to burn the bodies.

Finally the people of Malafax began to succumb.

It began with cold like symptoms. A cough and fever would turn into a rash. Lethargy and a constant tiredness combined with an overall physical weakness.

The patient died after a couple of days, if they were lucky. If not then they would start the fever dreams, the bleeding both internally and externally often through the nose and ears, and worst of all agonizing pain all over.

Lyrea only lasted a day and a half. Her tiny form was added to the pyre of other victims.

Lydia had little time to morn. She tried every remedy she had on those who still suffered.

Lewis lost all hope, and fell sick soon after. He suffered for a week.

By that time the town was decimated, and still the few scant survivors were still falling ill, one by one.

Lydia was desperate. She poured everything she had into it. Fed everything she had left to her son Jeremy. All the herbs, remedies and magic.

Then Lydia began to cough.

She gave everything, every last drop of her magic she poured into her son. She told him that he was special, and that he would be fine.

Jeremy hid is cough, until his mother passed. He stayed with her body. He had no where else, and little time.

The boy struggled for two weeks.

The pain was not so bad as the dreams. Fire, being burnt alive. His family suffering their skin melting.

Then there was the most vivid of them all. There were men in strange uniforms, at the farm. It was night. There were five men, he thought. Maybe more, they sprayed a strange black liquid on the crops. He tried to stop them, he knew it was bad, but Jeremy was too small to do anything against the adult men.

Eventually the pain ended. The fever broke.

Jeremy stood in disbelief.

Everyone was dead, except him.

His mother was right after all.

This is only an overview. Many of my stories start out this way (or sometimes in dot point form, if they involve a longer time span).

What happened to Jeremy after that?

Well that's a story for another day.

There are plenty of interesting characters in Neweth. If you'd like to read more about this world please follow the link in the site banner.

That's all for now. I will leave you with some of my (old, really old) Neweth Sketches. Remember I can't draw. The first is an early and very rough map of Neweth, next are the symbols of the different temples (even those that are unofficial), examples of the guild membership tattoos, and finally an initial design of the Temple of Knowledge entrance way.

I'll be back in the next couple of days with something else. I'm tossing up between a new chapter of ANGEL, or perhaps something new. We'll see.

Ta-ta.