Phew. After two hours (which included some minor procrastination and a break to throw some laundry in) I’ve finished marking up the first chapter of Iania’s storyline.

I haven’t posted updates for Bloodlines in a long time. Basically, I’m completely changing Iania’s storyline, but I needed a writing sample (with revisions) for a class, so I decided that would be a good way to get the ball rolling on changes for Iania’s storyline.

Iania sat atop the mountain, her feet dangling over the edge of the cliff. Behind her, the snow-capped peaks reached for the clouds. She didn’t feel the biting cold or the thinness of the atmosphere here, but she felt the burn of the mortal plane in her lungs, the weight of it on her shoulders, the gentle push and pull of the breeze in her hair. The sun looked pale from here. Where had Eros’s luster gone? Was it sapped away, hidden beneath the heat of the sun in his imprisonment? Iania could only guess that Eros was trapped in the sun as she had been trapped in her moon. Had he been freed, too?

Below her, the earth stretched out before her with green forests and blue rivers and a blue ocean to her left. The world was waking up now, and so was Iania. She itched to get moving, but she wanted to cherish this sight. If she had been freed by mistake, she wanted to remember this for her next eternity spent in that dark cell, her only company in Mussa or whatever her name was. She wasn’t real talkative, that one.

Iania’s fingers burrowed in the loose, tattered fabric of her pants. The least they could’ve done was given her fresh clothes every once in a while, but she’d worn these clothes for only her family knew how long. They smelled, to be honest, though their smell had long become undetectable by Iania. Shivers rolled through her body in anticipation of being able to take a dip in one of those rivers down there, to wash away the odor and the grime from her imprisonment.

I was tagged by @cohldhands!! Thanks!!

The last line I wrote was for Iania’s first chapter :D

She felt as if the statue’s eyes were following her, and all the busts’ eyes too, so she faced forward again and didn’t look back.

So, I realized I haven’t really made a post talking about my current WIP, Bloodlines, and I’ve been working on various versions of a WIP page for it. In the meantime while I decide which page to go with, here is this post (which got to be a little longer than I anticipated, oops)!

Genre: Fantasy (with elements of steampunk; think the Avatar: The Last Airbender world, but during The Legend of Korra)

Series?: Yes! The series as a whole will be called Bloodlines, but the first draft of the first book is known only as Bloodlines right now. I’m waiting until I’ve written the first draft before I even attempt to title this! So for now, the first book will always be referred to as Bloodlines and you will see posts associated with it tagged #wip bloodlines.

Main Characters (AKA the Leading Ladies):

Iania, the Akreine god of the moon, recently freed from her imprisonment within her own domain after spending thousands of years there for giving birth to the children of Eros.

Caella Merax, a dragonrider from the Celaryan Empire who becomes betrothed to Prince Rhosso Nhovo amidst the impending downfall of the Nhovo Dynasty orchestrated by her father, Saeus Merax.

Aedraia Rowwen, the princess of Aether and a prophet who frequently sees the end of the world in her dreams.

Garya Koshlath, a young prophet being used by her mother to track down the elusive gods and their demigod children.

Noegaia, the demigod daughter of the god of the earth who has been “asleep” for over two thousand years. Her mission in life is to protect the demigod Vaesis, who once saved her life and the lives of her father and brother.

Supporting Characters:

Andor Jornos, hailed as the greatest swordsman of the Celaryan Empire and one of its military generals. He becomes the “guardian” over Iania, who he does not truly believe to be a god at first.

Rhosso Nhovo, the Prince of Celarya who sought the throne until Saeus Merax’s coup. He, along with Caella and his followers, seek safety with his uncle Sokanon in the country Lespon, where Celaryan rule is largely unpopular.

Morrigan Nhovo, the Princess of Celarya and Rhosso’s rival for the throne.

Nyx Merax, Caella’s older sister.

Ava Merax, Caella’s younger sister and also a dragonrider.

Saeus Merax, Caella’s father.

Sokanon Nhovo, Rhosso’s uncle who harbors resentment towards his brother, Rhosso’s father Argoan, who was chosen for the Celaryan throne over Sokanon.

Maeon Nhovo, Sokanon’s eldest son.

Basha, Iania’s mother and the Akreine god of the seas.

Menaris, the Akreine god of death and Iania’s “godmother”

Eros, the god of the sun and the father of Iania’s twin children.

Rael Nhovo, Rhosso and Morrigan’s younger brother and a member of the Order of Brothers.

Iania Nhovo, Rhosso and Morrigan’s elusive younger sister who is across the world studying at a university.

Xuchish, aka Xu. Garya’s mother and behind-the-scenes leader of the Koshlaths, a group masquerading as a family that seeks to destroy the gods.

Danszyr, Garya’s father.

Odimyr, Garya’s half-brother.

Alimun, Garya’s half-brother.

Vaesis, the demigod son of Menaris who once faced the Akursos alongside the legendary Seven.

I saw @incandescent-creativity do this and thought it looked fun! :)

Rules: Your main character’s memory is about to be wiped. They have only a few seconds to write and hide a note. What do they write? (Go with gut feeling on this, not logic. It says a lot about the character.) 

Iania writes: Find your children. She hides it in her pants’ pocket.

Caella writes: Soteris knows you. She hides it in the middle drawer of her dresser, where her silk clothes have laid untouched for years.

Noegaia writes: Follow Vaesis. She hides it beneath her bracer.

Garya writes: Mother knows best. She hides it beneath her pillow, but knowing her siblings it probably won’t stay hidden there.