7 Tips to Using Cults in Fantasy

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Originally, I was going to talk about cults and religions in fantasy, but I realized that it could paint the wrong picture.  Does Leo Kandrel lead a cult in War of Nytefall: Eradication?  Yes.  Is the cult connected to Durag the Sun God?  Yes.  Am I doing this question thing too often?  Probably.  Anyway, a cult doesn’t always have to be religious, but it tends to be that way in fantasy.  Here are some ways to work them into a story and possibly even drift away from the religious side of it.

  1. It doesn’t have to be magic that makes everyone join the cult.  Sure, that can give the followers an easy out if they’re freed and they can go about their lives.  Yet, many times, people join a cult because it promises to answer questions and give them comfort in their lives.  They’re made to believe that the cult is their home and the only place where they are accepted.
  2. One would assume that because there needs to be full faith in a cult that questions would be handled with drastic measures.  Violence or dragging the person away to be ‘fixed’ are common responses to drive home the ‘bad people’ factor.  It creates an army of mindless drones, which is how we tend to see cults.  Yet, you can get better results by having the leader answer questions in a way that brings the curious member even further into the fold.  These leaders are supposed to be smart and charming, so why not have them act that way in the face of doubt?
  3. If you go the religious route for your fictional cult, you need to decide on if it’s an offshoot or the whole temple system.  You may feel that religions are already evil cults, so you don’t make any difference between the two.  That makes things easier, but you will have to show if religion has any influence on the lives of the heroes.  Makes no sense for the War God temples to be crazy cults, but one of the adventurers is a level-headed follower who is fairly casual about the whole thing.  This is why having there be the core following and groups of zealots that the core doesn’t even like can give you more flexibility.
  4. While it isn’t a requirement that they have a central location, it would make things easier if they’re a major player in the story.  Of course, they can be a wandering band of cultists that descend on towns to gather new followers.  That’s a big reason for a local ruler to want them gone or a way for adventurers to stumble into them.  Yet, if they are going to have a large amount of reach and influence at any given moment then they may need a headquarters to operate out of.  This also reduces the chance of outsiders altering the perceptions of their followers, which is why you tend to hear of cults having compounds.
  5. There should be a personal stake when it comes to the cult and your heroes.  It could be a relative is in there or they were once a member.  Another possibility is that the heroes stand for something that the cult is against.  For example, you could have a group composed of multiple races and the cult is against such things.  This is also a non-religious cult since they simply believe the fantasy races shouldn’t even be friends much less more.  Yeah, I’m saying you can go the racism route here.  Don’t act like it hadn’t already crossed your mind.
  6. Most of the members should probably be weak and simple because they are the ones being controlled.  If you have a cult where every member is a powerful caster or a demonic warrior then there better be a massive spell keeping them in check.  The stronger the character, the less likely they are going to blindly follow someone else unless they have a personal code that explains it.  So, the leader and trusted group of agents should be the main threat from the group while the rest are fodder who may not even fight.
  7. You may find yourself making a strict dogma for this cult and then running into a wall where their actions don’t fit your creation.  Well, there’s an easy way to fix that.  It’s called hypocrisy by their leadership.  Say it’s a cult of pacifism, but they end up killing people that break their laws.  This doesn’t make any sense to those of us outside of the cult, but you can have it make sense within.  The leader could do it themselves and say that they are taking the sin for the entire organization.  Maybe they’ve designated someone for that job.  It could be construed as saving them, so it isn’t really murder.  A final option is that the act is done without the followers knowing or in a way that they don’t realize the target is being killed.  Your logic doesn’t have to work as long as cult logic fits the pieces together.

You know, this post is a little scary in some ways.  I can see how these tips can be used to make a real cult.  Maybe?  I could be giving myself too much credit.

Posted in Thoughts, War of Nytefall | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Lords of Hyperscape: Still Viable as an Idea?

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

I was trying to think of something to write about and I had a run of bad luck.  Every time I had an idea, I was pulled away and forgot it.  So, I finally sat down and began to wonder about my future stories.  Were there any giving me trouble?  Maybe I could toss one out and see if blogging about it clears things up.  That doesn’t typically go too well since I don’t share everything and that makes it hard to respond.  Yet, this one could be more of an overall idea.  Doesn’t hurt to try.

At some point, I came up with the series ‘Lords of Hyperscape’.  Can’t remember when, but it was probably around the end of college.  I had tons of ideas that weren’t connected to Windemere, Vampire Earth, or Super Earth.  Actually, this might have been long after that since I believe it was inspired by Zoids and IGPX.  These involved team tournaments where a newbie or ragtag players join up to climb the ranks.  ‘Lords of Hyperscape’ had a similar premise and world:

People connected to an international game world that had a hub where you hung out and meet.  There were various worlds such as RPG, Shooter, Sports, Racing, Platformer, etc.  For each world, a player would have a different avatar.  Competitions began to form, so a league was established with massive sponsors.  These would become the new celebrity athletes of the world.  (I designed this before ‘Ready Player One’ and multiplayer gaming getting big became a thing.  Figures that I’d miss this boat.)

The story itself involved a new team being run by an eccentric millionaire who simply wants in.  He recruited various people including a former soldier, a gaming fanatic, personal announcer (every team has one), a statistic worker, and a woman who turns out to be the league owner’s daughter.  Things aren’t going well until a young man sneaks in to the practice zone and wins the match.  They recruit him and then realize something is weird, which includes a smell.  The gaming fanatic followers him to learn he’s homeless and living in an old arcade that he’s maintained and redirected power to.  Not that he’s a natural, but he’s spent a lifetime playing games.  They go on to have several adventures against the other teams and some other big things happened like rogue A.I. making death real (Sword Art Online before it came out) and a cheating team that is crippling others somehow.

That was the original and then I ran into trouble when I did the merging of everything into Windemere.  There are no video games here.  An old arcade wouldn’t make sense, so what in the world could I do?  My answer ended up being illusions.  The sport became one where characters would be placed into illusions and compete in various fashions such as manhunts, dungeon adventures, reenacting battles from opposing sides, and whatever else I could figure out.  The league would continue and so would the heroes, but I think the young man would be a tough one.  Would the audience really connect with him being in a place with older technology that they’ve never seen before?  Totally different vibe if he’s using an out-of-date illusion tech than an Atari 2600.

Another challenge is the story type.  I’m leaning more towards a collection of short stories that entail a single season instead of multiple volumes.  This would mean I streamline things and can handle dropping various stories that required high tech.  Not everything can switch to magic with ease.  The rogue A.I. could be an issue, but the cheating team may be combined with that idea.

It’s just so hard to figure out how this works.  I’d have to design the sport and tech with a hope that it makes sense.  I considered having it all be psychic with the players and audience transported to the same astral arena by a group of telepaths.  Those people could be the masters/nobles, so each team would have one.  This gets in the way of the ‘Phi Beta Files’ idea, which might be next Sunday’s problem child.  I also considered not doing the illusions and go with Clutch Ball, which is a sport that involves teams using a variety of riding beasts.  Honestly, the illusions felt more fun and gave more flexibility.  I could have them be one thing for a race and another thing for a manhunt.  Could even have characters put on the guise of the Windemere champions vs the Dawn Fangs.  So, you can see that I’m stumbling around here.

Maybe a big part is that this isn’t a ‘core’ book, so I’m not sure what to do.  I’ve been wondering if these ideas are worth it even though they still interest me.  That dwindling time issue causes me to stress.  A collection of short stories based around this could still work out:

  1. Team Made
  2. First game
  3. Getting attention
  4. First loss
  5. Friction in team
  6. Cheating team
  7. Romance story
  8. Tourname—-

I really can’t list ideas right now until I think more about this.  Sorry.

Posted in Character & Book Themes | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

I Can’t Even Think of a Title Here

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m just stunned and confused now.  Leave out the stuff with taxes and the ex-wife as well as the application to graduate school.  All of those have been kind of dwarfed by the big thing going on.  Been trying to decide on if I should talk about it or not since I’m seeing many online demand that others stop whining.  Yet, I have many loved ones who are high risk in regards to this crisis.  This post might be what I need to get some thoughts out into the open.  I’m not being coy either.  We all know what’s coming:

Coronavirus

First, after a week of uncertainty, my school was closed for two weeks.  I’m sure someone will say the silver lining is that I can write my books.  You’re right, but that’s a hard pill to swallow.  My son’s school is still open, so I’m worried about him.  I want it to close for his safety, which means I’ll be his teacher for the day.  That takes away the writing unless he agrees for us to have writing/learning mornings.  Another issue here is that my Spring Break got moved to March while his, as long as his school stays open, is remaining in April.  I can’t take time off, so all of those plans are junked.  Happy 40th birthday to me at that time too.  It’s all such a flood of chaos and changing situations, so I’m having trouble wrapping my head around things.

One of the things making it worse is seeing people tell others to chill out or that this thing isn’t that bad.  Seen many claim it’s just a bad cold.  Well, a ‘bad cold’ can still turn into pneumonia and kill you.  Better to be cautious and a little scared than ignore the dangers that can get other people killed as well.  I think a big part of this mentality is the ‘not a problem for me’ and ‘Internet safety’ stuff.  You can spout this nonsense pretty easily when you don’t have to look others in the eye.  Easy to do it when you don’t know anyone who is high risk either.  There’s that lack of empathy, which I fear will continue and make the situation worse.  Imagine those who don’t think it’s bad go out, catch the virus by accident, and then interact with someone who is high risk.  Ignorance and arrogance can be really dangerous in these times.

Now, I know this is where some people will say I’m overreacting.  Many have told me this because they live in areas that aren’t as affected.  A few even told me that it isn’t so bad because barely anyone had the diseases around them.  Wuh?  Keep in mind where I live for a minute.  LONG ISLAND!  You have NYC, which is a major international hub for cruise ships and airplanes.  People travel in and out of that city from Westchester and Long Island for work and play every day.  A lot of transmission points and chances.  We’re tightly packed down here too.  I can get to the next town over in 5-10 minutes by car.  It would be 2-3 if I didn’t have other cars and red lights in the way.  So, diseases can flow across this area faster than the more open and widespread upstate region.  It’s a terrible place to be for a global pandemic because I feel our chances of being infected are higher than those with more space.  You laugh at people stockpiling toilet paper and I’ve done it too.  Yet, I can see a reasoning for it here.  We are terrified and have no idea if Long Island is going to be locked down completely.  Block those bridges, stop that ferry, and we’re trapped to let the disease runs its course through the population . . . Okay, being a fiction author in this situation leads to horrific thoughts.

I have my son this weekend and I’m waiting to see if he goes in on Monday.  We have only one appointment, which is for a quick haircut.  At this point, such an outing isn’t too bad and we’ll see if anything else happens.  We’ll go over his Google Classroom stuff to get an idea of what we’re doing if he’s home.  My mind isn’t letting me wander beyond all of this too.  Maybe I’ll write tonight after he goes to bed.  Got 7 sections left on War of Nytefall: Ravenous.  Once I’m done, I might just do the outline for the next volume and dive right into War of Nytefall: Savagery.  The last 3 books are going in a different direction because of things I did in this volume, so I need time to focus.  2 weeks means I can finish one book, outline another, and get maybe 3-4 chapters into the next one.

So, goals of the week . . . I don’t know.  I do a list here, but my mind is so frazzled.  There’s this weird part that is screaming to run into Windemere.  Not physically, but to grab my outline and start typing while I forget this world for a bit.  I’m at the start of the final fight chapter and Clyde’s Lord’s Rage is roaring.  I can use that escape, but I have people here who need attention.  My son is top priority.  Keep him entertained and maybe try to do a little of the classwork in case Monday is a wash.  Oh yeah, Jurassic World Live Tour was cancelled. He took it better than me.  At least we got the holographic tickets and a full refund?  I was so looking forward to that all week.

Starting to tear up for no reason because of the stress.  Going to call it a night since I’m writing this on Friday evening.  I’ve reached a wall and need sleep.  The sad song playing on Pandora isn’t helping.  Traitorous bastard of a program.  Hope everyone is safe and healthy out there.  Remember that some people in ‘mild’ areas and others are in high risk spots, so don’t think your situation is the same for someone who is freaking out or shrugging it off.  Talk and tell your story.  Maybe enough of those on the Internet will turn this pandemic from something we hear about on the news every day into something both human and tangible.

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#New Book – Come This Time To Float by Stephen Geez

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Salutations! Consider me giddy that you’ve come for Day 13 of my extended blog tour! Please join me in praise for my most excellent host for sharing …

#New Book – Come This Time To Float by Stephen Geez
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Homebody Characters: There Are Wolves Out There

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Actions and adventures help to mold characters when it comes to fantasy.  Even if they aren’t on the road, they get involved in home issues like politics or social problems.  It causes conflict that they grow from.  Unfortunately, not everyone is big into going out of the house even if they have an important role in the plot.  Withing the pages of War of Nytefall, you have quiet a few homebodies like Gregorio Roman and the nobles.  They don’t leave their lairs very often, so what are ways to include them in the overall story and help them grow?

  1. Bring the action to them in some fashion.  I don’t necessarily mean a fight, but have the other characters go to these homebodies for help.  Just because they don’t go out doesn’t mean they are useless.  You made them for a reason, which is probably more for intelligence and advice-giving.  For example, it could be a mystery that their knowledge can bring clarity to.
  2. Give them a method of communication to the outside world.  This can be a magic item in fantasy or a communicator in science fiction.  Heck, a cellphone works for modern day tales.  This allows them to interact with scenes that they are not physically present for.  It might not lead to growth because they aren’t able to touch things and might only be a voice, but they will know what is going on.  This also eliminates any future ‘report’ scenes to get them up to speed.
  3. Have them venture out at times.  They might prefer to be home, but there can be specific events that they’ll leave for.  Saving their friends or a once in a lifetime experience are examples.  Homebodies aren’t necessarily agoraphobic.  They simply don’t have an interest in going outside for various reasons.  For example, Gregorio Roman doesn’t leave his lair that often because he’s been alive for centuries and feels that he’s seen it all.  Yet, he will leave if he has to confront someone for the sake of vampire society or he thinks he’ll experience something new.
  4. Fear isn’t a bad reason to have them stay at home, but this becomes a crutch that needs to be overcome.  For heroes, they’ll need to be faced with a decision to leave their home or let others down.  The decision is a turning point, which either open them to the outside world or lock them in forever.  Failing to do so once pretty much seals their fate with the audience.  For villains, the fear is shown more to be caution and is covered by the use of minions.  You can shrug it off as them feeling that the heroes aren’t worth getting personally involved, so they are able to get away with being homebodies more than heroes.

Any tips that you can think of to keep these characters growing and/or in the action to some extent?

Posted in War of Nytefall | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Immortal Wars: The Summoning Part 10 #fiction #throwback

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

(Previously on Immortal Wars.)

Disclaimer: Immortal Wars was the book I came up with and wrote in high school.  I hadn’t even hit college by the time I wrote the first two books.  That means I hadn’t developed my style yet, wasn’t good at self-editing, and the story was fairly basic. So, you’ve been warned that this is the ultimate author throwback segment for my blog and will show my author origins.  FYI-  I put the first book (The Summoning) through a Print-on-Demand publisher and the second one (Light, Blood, & Tears) never saw the light of day.  Enjoy!

The star room is the common name for the large warship’s navigation room.  There are thousands upon thousands of detailed images of planets and stars from other galaxies floating around the room.  In the center of this hologram filled room is a big computer console, which allows anyone to zoom in on a specific section of the holographic star map.  The cylinder-shaped computer console is also used to order the ship where to go and the preferred course it should take to get there.  Not many beings know how to use the star room and even fewer beings are alive to talk about it since the race that built the warship is no more.

As Draveon, Kilanus, and Psylon walk through the automatic door, another of their allies gives them a cold and silent greeting.  Working in the far corner of the room is the robotic assassin known simply as Cybro.  This robot used to be a very handsome immortal until his original body was destroyed.  Fortunately, his brain, heart, and soul were put into a powerful cyborg body in order to save Cybro’s life.  The heartless immortal’s original powers are gone and long forgotten.  His left arm ends in a spinning trilaser and he is armed with a jetpack, poisonous snare nets, a titanium claw in his stomach, and other vicious weapons.  Along with these offensive attachments are his communication array, all-purpose sensors, and a chemistry lab in his gel-compartment stomach.

Cybro’s right arm ends in a fleshy, human hand, which has a strange ring on it.  The ring is made out of Orion silver and is adorned with five red designs etched into it.  The crimson designs resemble those of an eye, a hand, a nose, a mouth, and an ear.  This ring holds a black gem that appears to have a flowing liquid trapped inside it.  This is the planet guardians’ primal ring, which enhances ones senses.  Cybro has this specific weapon because he has not had any of his original senses after the accident.

“What are you three doing here?  It is not time for me to leave this station.  In fact, I never leave this station unless there is an emergency somewhere else in the ship that needs my attention,” mentions the gear-grinding voice of the robot.

“Don’t get your out-dated transistors tangled, Cybro.  Kilanus only wanted to see the planet we were born on,” replies Psylon.

“I must protest to this action.  I do not think this is such a good idea.  She is not allowed to be in this area of the warship anyway.  What if Adriana was to find out about this?  She would shoot my skull into deep space like she did when I dropped the new bulkhead on her legs.  Now that I think about it, that look of sudden pain and pure shock on her green-eyed face was worth the headless embarrassment.  Still, this is not a good idea.”

“Are you done with the mental trip?  Now do as we ask, robot,” growls Draveon.

“Threaten me all you want.  Nothing can break my resolve.”

“Please, Uncle Cybro.  I just want to see your old planet.  I promise that I won’t touch anything.  Please, Uncle Cybro,” pleads Kilanus while giving the robot a pair of innocent puppy dog eyes.  He stares right at her and his head suddenly spins like a top.

“Nothing can break my resolve except for annoying begging that is.  All right.  But for the last time, I am not, and never will be, your uncle.  And never do that thing with your eyes again.  It is unsettling.”

Cursing under his non-existent breath, Cybro walks over to the central console.  He pushes the blinking buttons with nimble, finger-like wires that grow out of his green-cell stomach.  The wires type in the coordinates faster than any normal human or any other immortal could possibly type.  In four seconds, a very large hologram of Earth appears a few feet over their heads.

“There is our home planet.  Still a beautiful globe filled with mortal pestilence.  Now leave me alone!” shouts Cybro.

“What is that planet called?  What is it like?” asks Kilanus ignoring Cybro’s constant shouting.  He storms off into the corner he was in before and slams a wall panel shut.

“That is the planet known as Earth.  It has trees, water, and all kinds of pretty things that the other nine planets lost a long time ago.  You would really like it down there, Kilanus.  We’ll have to bring you there one of these days,” states Draveon.

“Oh, gag and kill me.  Even though Draveon is the ultimate killer, he’s such an oversized pansy,” thinks Psylon as she starts to leave.

“Uncle Draveon.  Which part of Earth was my mom born on?”

“I think she was born somewhere on the continent called Europe.  Give me some time to remember exactly where she came from.”

“Can I see it on the display?”

“I see no problem with that.  Zoom in on Europe, Cybro.”

“Why should I take orders from an oversized freak of unnatural science like you?  I have much better and important things to do than to entertain you and the runt.  Unlike you, I want to prepare for any problems that could occur.  Maybe you would too if you were not such an idiot, test tube boy,” retorts Cybro with his back turned to Draveon and Kilanus.

Much quicker than Cybro can react to, Draveon grabs the robot by his skinny, metal legs and hurls him across the room.  Cybro uses his jetpack to avoid the wall and starts shooting emerald lasers at Draveon.  Some of the lasers cut through the large man’s torso before he decides to take out his sword and block the laser blasts.  While it is blocking the laser attack, the unique sword slowly starts to turn bright white until the light envelops the entire blade.  Suddenly, the sword releases the built up energy in the form of a light beam.  The intense light beam smashes into Cybro’s left arm, which destroys the trilaser and causes Cybro to curse in anger more than pain.  Draveon swiftly walks over and picks up his beaten ally by the cyborg’s yellow-eyed head.  The threatening effect is quickly lost when the shock-faced head detaches from the rest of Cybro’s body.

“Listen up, you bucket of microchips.  I can order you around for one simple reason.  The reason is that I can easily destroy your worthless, metallic hide!  Do you understand what I’m getting at, Cybro?  Or do I have to keep making my point?  I am your superior.”  While he is speaking, the holes in his body are quickly knitting themselves together.

“I understand, but you will never be my superior as long as Adriana is in charge.  You would do well to remember that little fact, Draveon.  But I will zoom in on Europe as you have requested.  Is there any specific area?” whispers Cybro as his repair systems start fixing his wounded arm.  Draveon slams the cyborg’s head back onto the robot’s shoulders, but it has to be spun around because he smashed it on backwards.

“Yes.  Go to the city called Athens.  In case you have forgotten, Cybro, it is near the bottom of Greece.  I think.”

With his pride and ego badly wounded, Cybro silently pushes the necessary buttons and punches in the coordinates.  A small welding gun comes out of his left shoulder and attempts to weld his head onto the rest of his body.  Unfortunately, Cybro only succeeds in burning a hole in his metal skin.  With a slight cringe of annoyance, the welding gun goes back into the shoulder compartment.  Soon after that the image of Earth disappears and is replaced by an enlarged image of present day Athens.

“She came from that little city?  I couldn’t even see it in the last picture,” says Kilanus as she stares up at the rotating image.

“How stupid are you, girl?  Of course you could not see it in the last picture.  From outer space it is impossible to see exact places with the exception of the continents and bodies of water. And the Great Wall of China, but that’s a unique exception.  Even then it might be hard to do because of the cloud cover.”  Draveon scowls at the robot and takes a step forward in order to shove Cybro through the nearest bulkhead.  The robot pulls out a glass globe filled with white liquid and gets ready to throw it.  Kilanus is not even aware that another fight is about to break out because the hologram has all of her attention.

Suddenly a muffled voice is somewhat heard over the warship’s intercom system repeating, “Adriana would like to speak with all of the immortals presently on the warship.  And I know that all of you are on the warship.  Everyone must meet in the central hall.  That is not really a request, but an order.  And I do mean everybody.  I will not repeat any of this announcement so if you didn’t hear it, I suggest you put in for some time to heal after I finish with you.  Thank you and have a peachy day.”

Draveon gives a small growl while Cybro puts the globe back into a stomach compartment and does his best to show a coy smile.  The three immortals silently leave the star room and head toward the central hall.  Both men make sure to keep Kilanus in between them, so as not to try and take shots at the other.

Everyone knew that it was rare that their leader had to talk to all of them at once.  This probably meant that something very important, and dangerous, has been discovered in their old galaxy.

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Thursday – A Little Personal – Danny the Dog Book Launch

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

“Hey, Lucy. What are all those people looking at?” “They are here because we have a special guest. Come down here cause we have a job to do.” “Does …

Thursday – A Little Personal – Danny the Dog Book Launch
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Role of Vampire Hunters in War of Nytefall

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Still can’t believe this was a thing

Leading up to War of Nytefall: Eradication, I had really stayed within the vampire world for enemies.  You did have Duragians being a major first in Loyalty and they return in this volume.  Yet, there was a third faction that appeared from time to time without a pattern.  This would be the vampire hunters, who I could never really get a strong handle on.  Even now, I make notes to add them into the action with big plans for them and it never happens.  Why is that?  Well . . .

  1. There’s no central organization to the vampire hunters of Windemere.  I made such a thing for mercenaries, monster hunters, and am working on one for ruin divers.  One could say that vampire hunters are a niche of the middle group, but that organization hasn’t turned up during this time period.  By the time they do, Dawn Fangs are accepted and vampire hunting isn’t much of a thing.  So, I don’t have any scenes of them planning or preparing.
  2. Because of their lack of organization, they get used as hired guns and this means they really only show up for combat.  There’s a hunter who shows up in Eradication and will be a bigger force later, but he’s an outlier.  Every other time, I have them be the pawns of vampires or hired to go after a specific target.  This means the ‘group’ doesn’t get much meat for evolution since it’s rare that any of them survive.  They’ve become the fodder of the series.

Is this a bad thing?  I really don’t know.  The truth is that nearly all of the stories I have planned are very specific to the vampire world and turmoil within.  Hunters are outside forces that have no interest in the politics that are ensuing.  They show up to kill and eliminate the monsters, which goes against the narrative that the Dawn Fangs are fairly mortal in how they emotionally function.  In this respect, hunters turn out to be the bad guys.  More so, they are hateful villains that don’t see what the audience is looking at when they face off with the ‘heroes’.  Sure, Clyde has monstrous tendencies, but it’s starting to be revealed that part of it might be because his emotions run so high and his power is immense.  Having a group set out to destroy these beings doesn’t put them in a very good light.

While I do more with hunters in this book, I do wonder why I threw them into the mix at all.  The biggest reason could be because of previous vampire stories.  We’re led to believe that there is a group of mortals trained to fight vampires.  Van Helsing, Blade, Buffy, Abraham Lincoln, the Belmonts, etc. all stand against the threat of blood-sucking death for the species.  9 out of 10 times, the stories focus on these characters and the vampires are the bad guys.  You see vampires get mowed down by the skill and power of the hunters who have be blessed or trained to handle these monsters.  Yet, flipping the roles for a story brings in a different picture because hunters don’t work in large groups, aren’t usually as organized as their prey, and make weaker fodder for combat scenes.  This means, they become more annoyance than major threat.

Do I wish I did something different with them?  I’m not really sure if I could have because of the overarching plot.  As I said, the power and humanity of the Dawn Fangs turn the hunters into an archaic group.  There’s really no need to hunt them down, which means their attacks are unwarranted.  Since Dawn Fangs are nearly impossible to sniff out by standard means, the hunters need to be hired for a specific target.  This goes against the idea of them being a noble force for good and makes them come off more as money-loving mercenaries.  I might alter War of Nytefall: Savagery to show this and put a nail in the vampire hunters’ coffin.  It has a little more to do with them than previous volumes and the one after could do it too.  Although, I really have to wonder if this is necessary since they weren’t as big a factor as I expected.

A final note that I just realized: Duragians pretty much stole the main driving force behind vampire hunters.  With them in the picture, I didn’t need this separate group.  Oh well.  Seems I really did just add them because they’re a staple of the genre.

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Teaser Tuesday: The Mystery Hunter #fantasy #vampires

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

War of Nytefall (CLICK ON IMAGE FOR AMAZON SITE)

Here’s part of another fight scene from War of Nytefall: Eradication.  I wanted to introduce people to a minor character who will play a big role down the road.  This is kind of his debut book where he starts interfering in the Dawn Fang’s lives.  Who is he?  Well, that’s a secret for another volume.

Continue reading →

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How Do Dawn Fangs Hide Among Mortals?

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Deacon Frost

As I was getting ready to publish War of Nytefall: Eradication, I began looking through comments on old posts.  My target was anything dealing with the Dawn Fangs that people didn’t seem to understand.  Now, I have explained everything in the books, but only 20-30 people would know that.  This means I get a lot of comments on the blog where people jump to conclusions about vampires that don’t hold true with Dawn Fangs.  I’ve had to repeat myself in responses, so I’m happy to make posts that clarify things.  Feel free to ask anything else though.

For now, I’m going to tackle a question that will answer others:

How do Dawn Fangs ‘hide’ among mortals?

Hide might not be the best word because they aren’t lurking in the shadows.  Dawn Fangs are living out in the open with jobs, friends, and social interactions.  They can be a mortal’s neighbor, teacher, butcher, tavern owner, or anything.  At this point in their history, they can keep the illusion going even though they don’t age.  It all comes down to Clyde’s dream, which is to prove that Dawn Fangs can live among mortals without being a danger and already being there for decades is an important step.  Not every one of his followers is a warrior.  In fact, most aren’t because he has pushed them to go for any career or path that they want.  A Dawn Fang is more likely to be a florist than a fighter.

This wouldn’t be possible if they acted like the monsters that people assume they are because they’re vampires.  The fact that they are even trying shows that they are more human than people realize.   If you come to understand this then the series makes a lot more sense because you’re no longer looking at it purely as ‘monsters vs monsters’.  The action scenes and grand adventures are fun, but the Dawn Fangs future really lies in those who have integrated into mortal society.  Now, how are they able to do this without revealing themselves?

  1. Dawn Fangs are able to eat mortal food and gain nutrition from it.  This means they can join in feasts, host parties, and go grocery shopping.  They aren’t sitting in a corner and avoiding the appetizers because they’ll get sick.  Food plays an essential part in so many social constructs and events that this is a big necessity.  It also means they don’t have to drink a lot of blood or fall to a blood thirst if they go without for very long.
  2. Dawn Fangs have heartbeats and warm skin.  One difficulty with vampires is that they are easy to figure out once you touch them.  Without a beating heart, their skin is typically cold unless they have just eaten blood.  It’s a dead giveaway that something is wrong.  With a Dawn Fang, you can’t tell the difference between holding their hand or that of a mortal.  The exception is if they are sick or badly injured because their bodies can cool quickly if blood is directed more for healing.  Either way, this means they can see a doctor for a basic examine and pass the test.
  3. Dawn Fangs can feed from a mortal without killing them.  This means that they can reveal themselves to one or two people who are willing to be fed on every now and again.  Even without that option, it means they can get blood from livestock without leaving bodies, which is a big sign.  Because they can survive off food, this isn’t as big a need, but they do require some blood ingestion every week.
  4. Many Dawn Fangs were old-world vampires first and have had years to perfect various trades.  Others were turned specifically because they had knowledge and skills that would help with integration, but not the position to ply them.  This helps them enter a city and build a business fairly quickly.  Due to have eternity, they are even willing to start at the bottom and work their way up.  This might not be a big thing, but it’s an important mortal trait that many old-world vampires have forgotten.
  5. With the revelation that Dawn Fangs can have children, they are now able to have families.  Another minor quirk to the illusion, but it shows that they are not that different from mortals.  It does get a little complicated since the babies will be less likely to hide their nature than adults.  Still, many have figured out ways around this problem.  For example, a husband might say the new mother and child are with a distant family member because it was a difficult pregnancy.  In reality, the mother and child would be with Gregorio or on Nytefall to get everything set for their return.
  6. Dawn Fangs do not have the blood lust or battle lust that other vampire types are known for.  Yes, Clyde has that second problem, but he’s a unique case due to his creation.  Being trapped in a dark cavern for 50 years probably didn’t do him any wonders either.  All the other Dawn Fangs are able to act rationally and not be a danger in most situations.  Extreme damage and danger may cause them to flip out, but nearly every organism has the fight or flight reflex.

I hope this clears up a few things.  Some may be kind of stretches, but I wanted to cover all bases.

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