Fallen Empires Archives - Page 21 of 21

Ritual: Pietas affirms his prowess #ChaosIsComing #scifi #quote

Kayelle Allen 04/07/2016 Character Insights

In this scene from Bringer of Chaos, Pietas performs a vital ceremony.

30 Days of Chaos: Day 7

To celebrate the launch of Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas I’m sharing 30 Days of Chaos. Each day during April, I’ll post one excerpt from the book, along with a poster of a quote by Pietas. On the final day, members of my Romance Lives Forever Reader Group will receive a full color book containing all the quotes and posters. Unlike my website, the book posters will have only a quote and a beautiful image. Look for a giveaway at the end of this post.
—

Ritual

Early on the first morning of the peace talks, Pietas entered his round bathing room. Starlight filtered through the portal overhead. Sleek silver walls reflected the cool light.

He remained at the door, content to savor its calming glow. Its beauty did not dispel the worry niggling at his mind. Not given to trusting premonitions and omens, he grounded himself with meditation. Once he centered himself and calmed his spirit, Pietas took a deep, purifying breath, and with slow deliberation, exhaled.

“Time to begin. Lights.”

The room brightened.

He shed his silk robe and let it fall at his feet. Nude, his platinum hair streaming down his back and chest, he lifted his hands, palms up as if praying.

On the planet Kaffir, warriors used this ritual to summon spirits. He used it to affirm his own superior strength and prowess.

Before a copper fire pit, he plucked one blond hair, and fed it to the fire. It singed and melted.

“As fire has victory over life, so I have victory over my enemies.”

He passed a hand through the flame, and hissed at the searing heat, relishing the pain. He cupped his hand over the flame’s source, and held it until the fire went out. The burns on his palm cooled, and as he watched, the skin healed. Of all the elements, fire alone had power to linger on an Ultra’s skin. He welcomed it as a symbol of victory.

“I am powerful, as fire is powerful.”

Pietas thrust both hands forward, clutched his fists, and yanked them back.

“I own the wind. I prevail over the breath of my enemies.”

In the bathing area, he took six steps down into a waist-deep pool.

“Water submits to my presence the way enemies submit to my will.”

He cupped water in his hands, lifted it, and let it pour down his arms.

“The blood of my enemies trickles into the pool of time, is absorbed, and forgotten.”

He pushed wet fingers through his hair, and released it.

“My mind is clear. I do not waver.”

He submersed, and rose, head thrown back, face lifted to the sparkle of stars above.

“My body submits to my will. No pain defeats me. No fear touches me.”

He swept his hands down his chest to his loins, and the tops of his thighs.

“My will is absolute.”

A scratching sound alerted him to the presence of his silver-skinned android servant. The creature entered, and Pietas fixed him with a hard glare. “Why did you interrupt me?”

“Your guest is here, my lord, in the living area.” He offered Pietas a towel.

“Leave it.” He waved the android away.

After exiting the pool, Pietas brushed off the water and wrung out his hair. He pulled out a tray holding half a dozen clasps. He chose a silver dragon studded with six turquoise stones, twisted his wet hair, and fastened it up, out of the way.

He dried his face, gathered a brush, and picked up a pot of black face paint. Leaning in close to a freestanding mirror, he outlined a bandit’s mask from beneath his eyes to over his dark eyebrows, and filled it with black.

He’d worn the mask in battle ever since defeating the First Division, a human special-ops group formed to fight Ultras. It came about because Pietas had slain an enemy, and blood splashed across his eyes. Thinking the blood belonged to Pietas, the Ultra troops had rallied to him and slaughtered the humans. The blood dried almost black.

Stories of how their “bandit king” had conquered the First Division filled the night. The name stuck. To his troops, he was First Conqueror, War Leader of the Ultras.

Pietas turned his head side to side, surveying the effect.

His body would reject foreign matter on his skin. The Ultra metabolism protected from every perceived attack, even harmless face paint. He closed his eyes and sprayed sealant over the mask to delay its disappearance by a few hours.

Satisfied with his looks, Pietas pulled on a pair of loose white lounging pants. With a deep, cleansing breath, he opened the door. Damp, shirtless, barefoot, he padded into the adjacent room.
—
Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas
Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
Preorder on Amazon http://amzn.to/1R8DAbb (Out May 1, 2016)
Read now in print on CreateSpace http://bit.ly/boc-origin-csp
Image credit: Pietas drawing by Jamin Allen, Nimajination Studios

Giveaway – Free Download

Download and print three PDF Bookmarks. The first features Six, the human warrior. The second is Pietas, the immortal warrior. The third is the two, back to back.
Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-six.pdf
Pietas https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas.pdf
Pietas and Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas6.pdf
Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It’s fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas-coloring-book.pdf

Read more →

Never Negotiate with Humans #ChaosIsComing #scifi #immortals

Kayelle Allen 04/06/2016 Character Insights

In this scene from Bringer of Chaos, Pietas is returning from a meeting where he refused to accept the ten hostages offered by a group of humans. He insisted on thirty instead. His parents, both former leaders and still on the council, trail after him.

30 Days of Chaos: Day 6

To celebrate the launch of Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas I’m sharing 30 Days of Chaos. Each day during April, I’ll post one excerpt from the book, along with a poster of a quote by Pietas. On the final day, members of my Romance Lives Forever Reader Group will receive a full color book containing all the quotes and posters. Unlike my website, the book posters will have only a quote and a beautiful image. Look for a giveaway at the end of this post.
—

Never Negotiate

His parents trailed him back toward private quarters. “Pietas,” his mother called. “Wait!”

For her, he stopped, and turned around.

Small compared to most Ultras, and delicate of face, Helia ap Lorectic was as tough as any soldier. Like him and his father, she possessed an eidetic memory, and a fine scientific mind. If anyone was the hope of their people, it was she.

“Pietas, you know this is wrong. We agreed to those terms before we arrived.”

“It is not wrong, Mother, and the terms were made by the previous council head, not by me.” He opened the door to his quarters, and turned back to Helia. “They’ll agree to my terms or they’ll die.”

Mahikos stepped in front of his wife. “You will destroy these talks, you inflexible, intractable narcissist!”

“Why, Father. I’m impressed you know words that big. Thank you.”

The man lurched toward him.

“Stop it!” Helia positioned herself between the two. “Pietas, please. It took–”

“No, Mother. I never negotiate with humans from a position of fear.”

Mahikos jabbed a finger toward him. “You never negotiate at all.”

“Your precious humans have five minutes.” He shut the door in the man’s face.

His father’s shout of anger followed, and then his mother’s calmer tones, soothing. The thud of a fist rattled the door before Mahikos gave way to whatever it was Helia was saying to him.

“Just like old times.” The message board lit up. Furious texts and outraged faces filled the screen. “It seems I made every council member angry at the same time. How efficient of me.”

The device on his wrist let Pietas portal anywhere on the ship, or to the side of whichever member he wanted. He could use it to communicate. He kept his on private mode, always. No one entered his presence or spoke to him unless he wished it.

His empathic senses, however, he left open. Politicians lied as a matter of policy. Emotions did not.

“Better the enemy you know, than the enemy you do not.”

He stroked a fingertip over the bracelet’s smooth black surface, and then gave it one tap. “Security! Keep the guns hot.”
—
Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas
Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
Preorder on Amazon http://amzn.to/1R8DAbb (Out May 1, 2016)
Read now in print on CreateSpace http://bit.ly/boc-origin-csp

Giveaway – Free Download

download free printable bookmarks — free bookmarks

Download and print three PDF Bookmarks. The first features Six, the human warrior. The second is Pietas, the immortal warrior. The third is the two, back to back.
Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-six.pdf
Pietas https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas.pdf
Pietas and Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas6.pdf
Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It’s fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas-coloring-book.pdf

Read more →

The Council Will Not Believe #ChaosIsComing #scifi

Kayelle Allen 04/05/2016 Character Insights

The Council is mighty, but its days are numbered unless they learn to believe.

30 Days of Chaos: Day 5

To celebrate the launch of Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas I’m sharing 30 Days of Chaos. Each day during April, I’ll post one excerpt from the book, along with a poster of a quote by Pietas. On the final day, members of my Romance Lives Forever Reader Group will receive a full color book containing all the quotes and posters. Unlike my website, the book posters will have only a quote and a beautiful image. Look for a giveaway at the end of this post.

The Council Refuses to Believe

At the appointed time, Pietas entered the elevator with the council, ignoring the warning looks from his father. His mother tugged his father to the rear of the elevator, and cast a hopeful smile at her son. Seeing the two of them together, with his father newly reborn and his mother aged, reflected their differences. He had always been hot-tempered; she, wise.

Pietas turned away, wishing he did not have to disappoint her, but he could not in good conscience carry out the council’s command. Lock his people into a treaty with these oath breakers? Never.

The entire council would be furious with him. As usual.

Dessy arrived as the doors were closing, and slid into place on his right as second-in-command.

On her bosom sat an oval-shaped gold and black brooch, the glass front of which revealed a plait of his hair interwoven in a complex pattern. His sister said nothing, but he felt her empathic outpouring of assent. Yet despite her emotional support, she had voted against him.

Would he never understand this woman? Shoulder to shoulder they faced front.

The closed car meant the sting of emotions in the small space bombarded him from all angles. His skin twitched, and he rubbed his arms as if cold.

A cadre of humans waited in the assigned receiving chamber. Ten humans would be given in exchange for ten members of the Ultra Council, as Mahikos and the council had requested. While the Ultras were on board Enderium Six, the humans would act as hostages. If anything happened to the Ultras, the humans would die lingering deaths.

A crawling-ant sensation on his skin escalated to a sting. These creatures hid some secret he did not yet fathom. Pietas bit the inside of his cheek, fighting the urge to lash out, to rip away the life of these mortals.

As agreed, the council members had come unarmed. Ultras had no need to carry weapons. They were weapons.

“You!” He gestured toward the human who approached. “I want more.”

“I beg your pardon?” The man stopped, and looked up at him. Average height for a human, he was over a foot shorter than Pietas, and clothed in nondescript gray from head to toe. The dark-skinned man gave him a quizzical look. “More what?”

“More hostages. Ten for ten implies you are our equals. You are not. I want thirty. That will not come close to matching the worth of one of our warriors. Since I doubt you have more than thirty brave enough to face our wrath if you fail, that will suffice.”

Grimacing, the man looked over his shoulder. A woman in the group gave an almost imperceptible nod. He turned back. “Very well. We’ll need more time.”

“You have ten minutes.”

“It will take longer than–”

Pietas lifted a hand. “Power up the guns.”

Mahikos came up beside him, and flickers of heat traced over Pietas’s skin. His father’s emotions announced his displeasure, but a council member who interfered with negotiations risked being banned from service.

A hum in the background escalated, and lights on the wall panels switched over to red. “Activated,” replied a robotic voice.

“You can’t do this!” The human emissary stretched out both hands. “There are half a million souls on board. You said you’d come in peace. We can’t–”

“Nine minutes.”

“Please!” The man raised the hands in a placating gesture. “Please. Give us thirty minutes. “We need thirty minutes to find–”

“Your repetition bores me. Do you need thirty minutes because you include children among your hostages?”

A cold smile tightened the man’s bland features. “We sent all the civilians and their families off station five days ago, knowing you were coming.”

This underscored what Pietas had said all along. Why would the council not believe this was a trap? They had believed none of his warnings. He would have to get them out of this on his own.

“So you feared me, did you? First intelligent thing you’ve said today. If laying waste to this station will kill human soldiers, so much the better.”

—
Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas
Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
Preorder on Amazon http://amzn.to/1R8DAbb (Out May 1, 2016)
Read now in print on CreateSpace http://bit.ly/boc-origin-csp

Video

Giveaway – Free Download

Download free printable #scifi bookmarks www.kayelleallen.com/chaos-origin #ChaosIsComing @kayelleallen — free bookmarks

Download and print three PDF Bookmarks. The first features Six, the human warrior. The second is Pietas, the immortal warrior. The third is the two, back to back.
Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-six.pdf
Pietas https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas.pdf
Pietas and Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas6.pdf
Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It’s fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas-coloring-book.pdf

Read more →

Oh, gracious, that must be Pietas #ChaosIsComing #scifi

Kayelle Allen 04/04/2016 Character Insights

Pietas is the current Chancellor of the Council. His father, Mahikos, has stepped down from that position. They agree on little, and argue about plenty. But the chief source of contention is humanity.

30 Days of Chaos: Day 4

To celebrate the launch of Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas I’m sharing 30 Days of Chaos. Each day during April, I’ll post one excerpt from the book, along with a poster of a quote by Pietas. On the final day, members of my Romance Lives Forever Reader Group will receive a full color book containing all the quotes and posters. Unlike my website, the book posters will have only a quote and a beautiful image. Look for a giveaway at the end of this post.
—

That Must Be Pietas

“Son, humans are the reason we exist.”

“Perhaps that was true in your reality. Humans have abused, misused, and betrayed their creations throughout their history. This peace everyone clamors for comes from concern about humans. I care less than nothing about them. As for their good graces? I have no faith they exist.”

“You know, Pietas, one day you’ll rely on the mercy of humans.”

“You think humans show mercy? How amusing.”

Head down, Mahikos rubbed a spot between his eyes. “I hope I’m there to see it. When you realize even humans have value, that will be a good day for all of us.”

“How well you preach love.” If only he gave it half as well.

“Son, when the conference starts tomorrow, all your mother and I ask is that you try to be gracious.”

“I’m certain I already am. Just this morning when I knocked on your chamber door, I heard Mother say, ‘Oh gracious. That must be Pietas.'”

“Why can you not be serious about this?”

“I consider these talks of utmost importance. It is you I do not take seriously.”

Mahikos glowered, but for once, did not argue.

“Such a lovely chat, Father. Do give me an evening alone before I subject myself to the presence of humans.”

His father made a bow, far from genuine in respect, and stalked away. At the door, he paused and turned back. He shook his head as if coming to a decision, opened the door, and left. Quite unlike the man to leave without getting in the last word.

Later, Pietas stood before the wall-sized viewscreen, taking in the change of station lights as the ship began docking.

His father was right about one thing. The almighty council ruled as it wished, and one either obeyed, or it removed you from power. His entire family might be members, but they served at the council’s command. Pietas, as elected leader, made the final vote, but his office could overrule no one.

The powerless authority chafed.

The council voted in favor of the treaty. Pietas had cast the sole dissenting vote. Equality and balance of power was the cornerstone of Ultra rule. It had worked for centuries, but now they wanted to apply those principles to humans.

“Humans. On the council. Equal to Ultras. Not in my immortal lifetime.”

After he destroyed these peace talks, he’d suspend the council. He’d already united the soldier class as First Conqueror, War Leader of the Ultras. They’d accept his rule when he took command as king. Then, and only then would he be free to accomplish his most vital goal, keeping humanity in chains–where it belonged.
—
Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas
Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
Preorder on Amazon http://amzn.to/1R8DAbb (Out May 1, 2016)
Read now in print on CreateSpace http://bit.ly/boc-origin-csp

Giveaway – Free Download

Download and print three PDF Bookmarks. The first features Six, the human warrior. The second is Pietas, the immortal warrior. The third is the two, back to back.
Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-six.pdf
Pietas https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas.pdf
Pietas and Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas6.pdf
Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It’s fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas-coloring-book.pdf

Read more →

Humans! They All Die #ChaosIsComing #scifi #quote

Kayelle Allen 04/03/2016 Character Insights

In this scene between the immortal Pietas and his father, the two are arguing a familiar topic: humans. It opens with Pietas speaking.

30 Days of Chaos: Day 3

To celebrate the launch of Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas I’m sharing 30 Days of Chaos. Each day during April, I’ll post one excerpt from the book, along with a poster of a quote by Pietas. On the final day, members of my Romance Lives Forever Reader Group will receive a full color book containing all the quotes and posters. Unlike my website, the book posters will have only a quote and a beautiful image. Look for a giveaway at the end of this post.

They All Die

“You want us to treat humans as equals. They never treated us as such. Even now, we’re hated and reviled. Putting them on the council will make them haughtier. I want nothing to do with humans.”

“Then you want nothing to do with me, Son. Humans are all I care about.”

And wasn’t that the naked truth of his father’s betrayal? He had turned his back on their people. He had turned his back on his son.

“You’re right, Father. I want nothing to do with you. I care nothing for mortals.” He flipped his silver circlet into the air and caught it. “They all die.”
—

Bringer of Chaos: Two enemy warriors: one human, one immortal. Different in belief, alike in spirit, marooned together on an alien world.

Imprisoned and in isolation over a year without food or water, the immortal Pietas survives. Though broken in body, his intellect and will are intact, thanks to Six, the special ops warrior who captured him, but kept him sane. The warrior had no hand in his deprivation and, like Pietas, was betrayed by his own kind. When Pietas is abandoned on an alien world with nothing but his honor–and Six–he must find and rejoin other immortal exiles. After centuries of war, Pietas detests humans and kills them on sight, but he is too damaged to continue on his own. Though he despises needing help, he allows Six to nurture and restore him to full strength, and then accompany him. As they cross the planet together on foot, the immortal begins to wonder if he has found his first human friend, or if Six is loyal only because Pietas could keep the others from tearing him to shreds. This human will either be his closest living friend, or the one whose betrayal will trigger all-out vengeance by the most powerful immortal ever born.

Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
—
Read the first chapter https://kayelleallen.com/chaos-origin/
Preorder on Amazon http://amzn.to/1R8DAbb
Read now in print on CreateSpace http://bit.ly/boc-origin-csp

Giveaway – Free Download

Download and print three PDF Bookmarks. The first features Six, the human warrior. The second is Pietas, the immortal warrior. The third is the two, back to back.
Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-six.pdf
Pietas https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas.pdf
Pietas and Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas6.pdf
Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It’s fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas-coloring-book.pdf

Read more →

The name is Pietas. Get it right #ChaosIsComing #scifi

Kayelle Allen 04/02/2016 Character Insights

What does the name Pietas mean? Those who know him will never believe it.

30 Days of Chaos: Day 2

To celebrate the launch of Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas I’m sharing 30 Days of Chaos. Each day during April, I’ll post one excerpt from the book, along with a poster of a quote by Pietas. On the final day, members of my Romance Lives Forever Reader Group will receive a full color book containing all the quotes and posters. Unlike my website, the book posters will have only a quote and a beautiful image. Look for a giveaway at the end of this post.

What’s in a name?

The name Pietas comes from Latin and has a two-part meaning. The first is conscientious, duty, dutiful conduct, and scrupulous. The second is kind, gentle, and compassionate. Those who know lord Pietas ap Lorectic believe the first definition without hesitation. But the second? Well…

Pietas is king of the Sempervians, a race of immortal beings once called Ultras. He rules with absolute authority and power. Feared everywhere, the name Pietas inspires terror among humans, and even his own people exiled him. Twice. When called an inflexible, intractable narcissist, he says “Why, thank you,” yet Pietas insists on a simple title (lord – written lower case). His uniform is immaculate, but his face is often hidden behind stray locks of platinum hair, which he cuts with a dagger. However, one thing he will not tolerate. You had better get his name right.
—

From chapter one, Bringer of Chaos:

Aboard the Uurahkal, a holovid screen in the council chamber replayed news from the Siege of San Xavier. In one report, a half dozen Ultra warriors crept over concrete battlements. In a voiceover, a human reporter called the subsequent slaughter of a hundred human soldiers an atrocity.

“Atrocity?” Chancellor Pietas ap Lorectic smacked his hand on the podium. Beneath the blow, the wood compressed. “Why do none of these channels show the truth?” He rubbed at the ache forming behind his eyes. “Humans killed over two hundred unarmed Ultras first. We defended ourselves. But we come back from the dead, so our suffering doesn’t matter!”

The announcer mentioned the upcoming peace talks on Enderium Six. “We hope Chancellor Pietas can be reasoned with at the talks this week.”

At her mispronunciation of his name, he gritted his teeth.

“Human families,” she continued, “have been evacuated from the station to protect them from possible violence.”

“I’ll show you violence.” Pietas cut off the video. “And my name is pronounced Pee-ah-toss, thank you. Not Pie-ah-toss. Pee-ah-toss. It’s six letters. How hard is that to get right?” He stormed away from the podium.

He cast off the heavy silk brocade of his robe of state. Silver threads flashed among teal and white as the supple garment billowed to the floor. He tore off the unadorned silver circlet denoting his rank, and tossed it onto a table. It clattered across the wood and knocked over a small ceramic statue of a six-headed dragon.

Pietas righted it. “These peace talks will end in disaster. Why can’t anyone else see it?” He massaged his temples. “This headache is proof. An Ultra doesn’t suffer pain, unless it’s due to humans.”
—
Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
Preorder on Amazon http://amzn.to/1R8DAbb (Out May 1, 2016)
Read now in print on CreateSpace http://bit.ly/boc-origin-csp

Video

Giveaway – Free Download

Download and print three PDF Bookmarks. The first features Six, the human warrior. The second is Pietas, the immortal warrior. The third is the two, back to back.
Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-six.pdf
Pietas https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas.pdf
Pietas and Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-pietas6.pdf
Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It’s fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas-coloring-book.pdf

Read more →

Creating a Legend: Pietas #scifi #amwriting

Kayelle Allen 01/01/2016 Character Insights

The Legend of Pietas

Legend, Bringer of Chaos — Bringer of Chaos

The book, Bringer of Chaos, begins with the words: According to legend… No matter how horrific or grisly their wounds, the warriors called Ultras survived. Starvation did not stop them. Disease did not touch them. Only one thing slowed them down.

Death.

But even death didn’t hold them long.

The hyper-metabolism of Ultras made reproduction impossible, with one set of twins the sole exception. Enhanced by their warrior/scientist parents to protect them, the twins mastered every skill of science, art, and war.

The physical superiority of Ultras led to a revolt, and by the Terran year 4436 AD, they ruled the galaxy. Mankind served. Humans repented ever creating them, but there was no going back.

A million Ultras roamed the Terran Crescent and the Colonies of Man, and they ruled the starways, trade, and commerce. By the end of the First Cycle of Wars, the lowest of the subservient races was human.

However, pockets of rebellion persisted. A century of brutal resistance ended when the last beleaguered human rebels offered a treaty.

—
Pietas is one of the twins. He has been the villain in many of my books, has always fascinated me. I knew there was more to him than I could see, but like a shark swimming in the deepest waters, he was always moving, and always out of sight. As I began writing his book, he started coming into focus. The water grew less murky, and he came closer to the surface. Instead of the cold eyes I expected to see staring back at me, I found a person with heat, and passion, and an unstoppable hunger for not just revenge, but also for the truth.

He is bigger than life. Larger than a legend. One of the most complex characters I’ve ever written, Pietas is the key to every story in my universe. All of them hinge on his influence or presence. As I continue to write his story, I’ll share some of my insights here.

Join my Romance Lives Forever Reader Group and you’ll get inside info about the story as it unfolds, including access to areas of my website not available to anyone else. You’ll get a free book for joining, and another book the next day. As the book asks, “Will you dare to follow Pietas?”

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A dragon who calls up storms #scifi #dragons #fanart

Kayelle Allen 12/03/2015 Character Insights

My character Pietas has always been the villain, but I had it in my head to write his origin story. I knew he was well aquainted with storms, personal, psychic, physical, and spiritual. So when I wanted to create a dragon for him to have as a spirit animal, I knew the dragon would have something to do with storms as well. You’ll be seeing more about Bringer of Chaos as I continue to work on the book.

storms Stormsinger with Pietas — Stormsinger with Pietas

It turns out, his dragon can summon storms by singing to the wind and sky, and although his color is a very cold blue and turquoise, Stormsinger is a firedrake. Pietas’s sister, Dessy, has a dragon spirit animal as well. Hers is a red ice dragon called Fireshade. Does it do me any good to complain to these characters that their creatures are completely opposite of what’s expected? Talk to the floor and see how far you get.

Pietas and the dragon met on the planet Stachien in the Colonies of Man. I haven’t written that part of the story yet, so I don’t have details, but it’s coming. I thought you’d like to see a preview of a drawing of Pietas with his dragon. Clicking the picture below will open the image full size, which is 1920×1200, full wallpaper size for a desktop computer. Art is by Jamin Allen, my son, although I have done extensive work on both the dragon and Pietas.

Stormsinger with Pietas storms — Stormsinger with Pietas

Watch Jamin create the Pietas image in this speed-drawing video. You’ll also get a peek at the real life model he used as the inspiration for the drawing.

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How to Create an Immortal Hero: The Writing Process Tour #amwriting

Kayelle Allen 03/24/2014 Fallen Empires 1 Comment

pietas-beta-courtroom — Pietas Before the Tribunal (Beta)

This blog tour is different from most. A writer is tagged for the position, and she or he then tags three others to take part as well. Each shares some aspect of the writing process. . I don’t often write about writing on this blog. I reserve it for story-oriented posts. But this was a chance to show a “behind the scenes” look at what I do, and I couldn’t resist it. My post will be on creating an immortal hero.

My sponsor for this leg of the tour was Denys? Bridger. You can find her at this spot. http://fantasy-pages.blogspot.com

We’re supposed to answer these four questions about our writing processes.

1) What am I working on?

I’m creating a science fiction book about the king of my immortals, the Sempervians. The full title is Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. The character is known as the “bad boy king” and he is an anti-hero. While he is the protagonist of this story, he is not a good guy at all. I wanted the book to give background into his character, because in an upcoming book, Surrender Trust, I want readers to understand his motives. He will definitely be the villain in that story, but he is not all bad. I have a soft spot for him, much as I hate to admit it. No one is all bad, including Pietas.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

It will be illustrated. This is not a comic book or manga, but a book with an image for each chapter. I’ve included a sample for you. The art is by my son, Jamin Allen. You can find his work at Nimajination Studios. What you see here is a beta version – a rough draft for me to approve placement of characters and design. It has a great deal more work to be done, but I am excited to share this much.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I’ve loved science fiction since I was a little girl. My parents always had these types of books and I would pick them up and read them. I remember the cover of one in particular. It showed people looking up at the sky, which had been peeled back to reveal the world was nothing more than a cage. The concept fascinated me. My books all have a hint that the world as we know it is not what we assume it to be. The Sempervians have molded human society to fit their needs. Because they never die, they manage to sway political power in the direction they want to go by using influence over long periods of time. They have made alliances with humans (the Chosen) who assist them, in return for protection, power, and wealth. In my Tales of the Chosen series, one Chosen — Wulf — discovers what it is that he is being protected from. The discovery shocks him — and he will have to decide in future books whether he wants to continue assisting the Sempervians, or whether he will take a stand against them. How do you stand against immortals who secretly run the government? That’s what Wulf will have to find out.

4) How does your writing process work?

I can get an idea for a scene or a book from anything. My imagination has never been lacking. I carry a notepad and pen with me everywhere. My computer has an ideas file that’s chock full of things. Once I have an idea, I work on jotting down notes and making it coherent. It must have a beginning, middle, and end. I don’t start writing until I have a synopsis. Otherwise, for me, it’s just writing, not producing. I prefer to write when I know where I’m going. I will jot down enough to understand what I wanted to say when I look at it later, but I learned long ago not to start writing as if it were a real book. Ideas are ideas. They are not books. It saved me a lot of time once I realized the difference. I keep extensive notes for my scifi series, so an idea for that goes in my system. Currently, I use a mixture of MS Word and Excel. However, I pin images to boards on Pinterest too.

Whatever I write, I try to keep my readers in mind. I want them to understand the aspects of the story, and to enjoy the characters.

For another take on this tour, check out Mona Karel.

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Character Insights: Meet Pietas | the immortal bad guy you love to hate #scifi

Kayelle Allen 03/20/2014 Character Insights

For Women Only

For Women Only is Erotic Science Fiction Romance, and Multicultural. Khyff is a master of pleasure with a tortured soul. Mehfawni falls for Khyff, and wants to redeem the man her people destroyed. The problem is, his fragile trust could be a response of love and a healing heart — or a ruse for revenge.

The antagonist of the book is Empress Rheyn Destoiya, who manipulates Khyff to gain power. Destoiya’s brother, Pietas, plays a small but crucial part in the story. These two are immortal, and manipulating humans is part of a role playing game they created called Peril. Let’s take a look.

Warning: this book contains smokin’ hot sex, humor, and angst. This combination has been proven addictive. Author assumes no responsibility for the reader’s battery consumption in adult toys while reading this book.

Palace District, Conqueror’s Palace

When her brother bowed and insisted she go first, Empress Destoiya smiled. Good. Pietas should be worried. She entered the empty foyer and took the door leading to the elevator for her private rooms. Inside it, she leaned her back against the corner, feet out, arms folded, blocking him from coming anywhere near her.

Pietas draped the black velvet cape around his shoulders and raised the hood. “I suppose you’ll be glad to see me go.”

“You still have a flare for understatement, I see.”

He faced the doors. “You have no more than fifteen years left on your current role in Peril. Most of the players outside the empire are through their games already and want reassignment. If you like, I could summon them here. It would help you, and keep them out from under my feet.”

Pietas had used the role-playing game Peril to end the boredom of immortality. They’d played tor thousands of years, each game forty years in length, scattered all across the galaxy. Unlike a human role-playing game, the Sempervians lived their roles in real time, always in character except around each other. Luck had awarded her two turns as a Ruler, and she’d ended her forty-year reign as Destoiya the Great by faking her death, and then in a coup, reclaimed it as Destoiya the Conqueror, the unacknowledged daughter of the Great. No one had suspected the twenty year old upstart of being the eighty year old deceased monarch.

Destoiya touched his shoulder. “There haven’t been more than twenty of us together anywhere in a thousand years. Why now?”

He turned toward her, but the darkness of the hood hid his face. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t use the support.”

“Oh, I could.” She brushed at lint on her black uniform. “It would nearly guarantee a win.”

“Then you want them?”

The doors opened, and Destoiya brushed past him. “Follow me.” They went through several doors, all opening with the touch of her palm on a panel. The next door scanned her retina. A long hallway led to a red door.

They reached the chamber. Destoiya turned back to Pietas. “Will accepting extra players change any of my rules, goals, or assignments?”

He made a simple, negating gesture. “No.”

“Will penalities be added?”

“No.” He pushed back his hood.

“How will their powers be decided? Will they have to roll for them, or can they use their natural abilities?”

Pietas unhooked a bag of dice and jingled it before her. “Pick one and roll it.”

She ignored the bag and withdrew a coin from her pocket. “I prefer a yes or no answer.”

He rolled his eyes, and with a sigh, returned the bag to his belt. “Call it.”

“Heads they use natural. Tails they roll.” She flipped the coin into the air.

Pietas caught it. “I feel generous. Tell me what you want and you may have it.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I told you, Sister. I feel generous.”

Destoiya folded her arms. “The last time you said that, we lost a war. What are you up to?”

“Do you want them to roll for abilities?”

“No. Natural.”

Pietas extended his hand, and she held out hers. He placed the coin on her palm. “They’re yours.”

—
For Women Only goes out of print in June 2014, so grab it now. It won’t be re-released until the fall, in a new format. Bringer of Chaos will be released later this year.

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