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Posted by Meg

There’s just a few hours left to enter the Create Your Own Coreling Contest. Get your demons in to us by 11:59pm tonight!

Another day, another entry! I love the pictures that come with this one. So much detail!

Hello Peter!

My name is Gano Hasanbegovic. Your books are my favorite! I cannot wait to read The Daylight War! I have a ton of demon ideas and it was a hard to only choose three but these are among my favorites.

Humanoid form of eclipse demon

1. Ka Pal’AlaGai, Brother of Alagai Ka, (The Eclipse Demon)

Today is the day. Deep in the core, the eclipse demon wakes from his sleep. This time he will rise, for the deliverer has returned, and he must be silenced.

As the moon finally begins to cover the sun, a dark figure seeps out of the ground and into the shadows. It rises up and takes a black humanoid form, scarred with the ancient wards of Sun and Moon and with a dark mirror masking its face. The wards are also carved into the mirror. Two horns protrude from its head and up into the sky. The poor messenger who happened to be there is shocked.

Eclipse demon rising from the shadows

“A demon during the day? The eclipse is usually the only day demons do not rise.”

The eclipse demon can read the man’s thoughts and is amused, for his drones only do not rise because they fear him. Today is his day to hunt.

The man makes the mistake of looking at the face of the demon. The demon deeply penetrates the man’s mind and finds the image of his most horrific nightmares. The eclipse demon shifts its form to match the image. The messenger is paralyzed with fear as the demon pounces on him; its belly opening up as a huge mouth and swallowing him whole.

Eclipse demon facing the messenger

The eclipse demon then shifts form again to that of something resembling a wind demon and takes off, using the shadow of the Moon to hide itself from the world and reads the minds of the people it passes. This “Warded Man” and “Shar Dama Ka ” are close, and its hunger is great. The Eclipse demon is the brother to the infamous Alagai Ka. As Alagai Ka will only rise during a lunar eclipse, when there is no light whatsoever, his brother may only rise when the shadow of the shadow of the moon and the light of the solar eclipse is upon this world. Other corelings do not rise when he does. Food is reserved for him and him alone on the occasion of his arrival. Both Mimic and Mind demons are his very spawns. The mimic has the eclipse demon’s power of shapeshifting, to an extent, and the mind demon princes have his power of penetrating the thoughts of others, although the mind demons also get other powers from his Brother and his mother, Nie.

Looking into the mirror on the eclipse’s face will torture a man’s mind with illusions of his nightmares, and the demon likes to change shape into whatever his prey fears the most. His original form is dark and human like, 6 feet tall and almost like an anti-deliverer with demonic wards scared into his body. His chest has a second set of eyes, and a vertical slit that can open up as a second mouth to devour bigger prey. The demons carapace is as thick as any rock demons, but combat wards can damage him, though not to the same extent of other demons. The eclipse is also stronger, faster, and smarter than regular corelings. Hidden deep in Anoch Sun is the ward that can kill this demon, similar to the wards on his face, a weapon with the eclipse ward that pierces this demons mirrored mask will kill it. This ward on a man’s forehead will protect him from the nightmare illusions and will give you the power to resist the invasion of your mind.

On a brighter note, the eclipse gives all defensive wards great power, so any ward net will effectively keep the eclipse demon out. Wards on the deliverer’s body will not take in the power of the eclipse for some reason, so while his bodily wards will repel the eclipse demon to an extent, he can still be harmed.

There are many legends for how Nie created the Alagai Ka’s brother, but the truth lies entwined with the hidden secret of the deliverer Kaji’s family … Kaji had a twin brother. He was always jealous of his brother, and after a dispute a few years after Kaji revealed himself as the deliverer, His Twin left Krasia as an outcast. All information on Kaji’s brother was taken out of Krasian texts. Kaji and his brother both had wards on their body, for these wards were not tattoos or scars, they were birthmarks. His Twin spent many years alone killing alagai, and taking demon magic into his body. Coupled with his hate and jealousy, the dark magic infected his mind. He renounced God and created a religion of Nie worship. This religion only spread to a select few and can be found rarely today. He began eating the corelings he killed, and drinking their ichor.

On the day of the solar eclipse, he figured out how to dissipate, and he was pulled deep into the Core. His turning against God gave Nie the chance to take the Twin of Kaji and kill him. Then she reanimated him and transformed him into her second son. The blood of Kaji replaced by her very own. Thus, the eclipse demon was born.

This is my favorite demon idea. Even if I do not win this contest, it would be awesome to see the Arlen and Jardir set aside differences to take on this threat.

Eclipse ward

2 Glass Demon

Glass demon with Ash demon cloud in the back round (and glass ward)

Way south of the Desert Spear is a place called the mountain of glass. It is at the equator, and the sand is littered with glass, created from the intense heat of the sun and from fire demons. There is a mountain of rock , glass, and sand that is really a volcano. This is where the glass demon resides.

Its bones, claws, horns, teeth, and protrusions are all made of glass that is impossible to break, much like warded glass, sharp as the sharpest blade, and almost invisible to the naked eye due to being so clear and transparent. Its body is easy to penetrate, but its film, like skin, reflects is surrounding so that in the sand, you can hardly see this demon. Its size can range any where from small and large fire, clay, and sand demons. It stays low on four legs to hide its black belly that isn’t reflective. all of its limbs can move in 360 degrees, so its movements are hard to predict. It likes to crawl and slither in the sand or climb the sheer surface of the mountain.

3 Ash Demon

Ash demon about to take flight (and ash ward)

Lava demon taking form (lave ward)

This demon spawns inside volcanoes along with lava demons (another of my creations that I’m not submitting due to the limit, but I will include a picture just for fun) and looks a lot like wind demons. It has two legs with sharp claws that can dig into the mountain sides that it takes off from, and large clawed wings that it uses to fly with. It has dark, hard, but light pumice-like armor that covers its whole body except the belly and membranous wings. It breaths out and spews black clouds of smoke, ash, and poisons. Many believe that it can breathe fire, but these myths have not been confirmed.

I hope you like my demons!

Awesome pictures! I love the idea of a human being transformed into a demon. Very intriguing, especially since Alren is worried about his lack of humanity. Great job, Gano!

There are still contest entries to post, so check back soon for more updates!

Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:00 pm by megelizabeth
Filed under Contests, Cosplay, Create a Coreling, Daylight War, Desert Spear, Fan Art, Fans, Meg, Warded Art, Warded Man
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Posted by Meg

The Create Your Own Coreling Contest ends today! Make sure to get your entries in by 11:59pm tonight. We can’t wait to see them!

This entry comes from Tristan, who has found a lost text depicting a myriad of long-forgotten demons …

The Apocrypha of Gaijah

Being a treatise of exotic and rare alagai within and beyond the greenlands of Thesa: their habits, protections, weapons, and much more

Rehuiel asu Khenshin am’Joksha am’Usiki,

Dama of Usiki

Preface

In these long nights of Sharak Ka, I, Rehuiel, lowly Dama, have been charged by Kaji; the Shar’Dama Ka, champion and beloved of Everam, blessings be upon him; to define the rarer yet infinitely more dangerous alagai found through the Thesan greenlands.

Fog Alagai

During darker nights with choking fog, some Sharum are known to mysteriously turn against their brothers-in-arms and slaughter whole squadrons before finally collapsing and coughing their lungs out as if they were exposed to greenlander gas weapons.

Is this the work of weak will snapping under stress? No, rather it is the handiwork of what the Thesans call ‘Fog Demons’. They only appear under two circumstances: heavy fog or darker nights where the moon chooses not to appear. They appear almost amorphous, as if a regular alagai somehow couldn’t fully materialize and is trapped in the misty form it uses to travel up from the core. Outside of a fog, one can identify it as being a smaller, fire demon-sized alagai, albeit one that is not fully formed, but within a fog one cannot easily show where the mist ends and the demon begins.

“If this demon is little more than mist, how is it of any danger?” one would ask. Beyond the fact that they are immaterial and thus able to manipulate their forms to try to avoid weaponized wards, they also have a very disturbing way of combating us humans. They use their misty forms to fill the lungs of those they are fighting and suffocate the unfortunate victim. Gruesome as that is, the horror continues as the alagai diffuses its form throughout the now dead human, then controls it like some macabre puppet. One can easily imagine the mindset of an already weary dal’Sharum seeing the comrade he just saw choke to death now seemingly returning from the dead to murder him.

Yet Everam is infinitely merciful, and these monsters have an obvious fatal weakness, otherwise all of Ala would be conquered by these demons alone: bright light, including moonlight, kills them as if it were the sun itself. This is why they only appear in the dark nights, when the moon is too weak to burn them, or in fog, where the mists dilute the light enough for this demon to thrive even during a full moon. Knowing this, one doesn’t even need a warded weapon, just a brightly burning torch.

Rain (or Waif) Alagai

Alagai’ting Ka is cunning. She knows mankind’s weaknesses just as much as her children’s. She know how to manipulate these weaknesses and turn them against us. Nowhere is this more evident than with the rain alagai, or as the Thesans call them, waif demons.

During nights with heavy rains, one might hear the sobbing of a young child. If they follow this haunting sound eventually they will come to a secluded area where a small girl with wet, dark hair, long enough to cover herself like a cloak, sits with her head buried in her arms, weeping. As humans, our response to this is to go to the shivering child to comfort her. We want to put our arms around her, tell her that it’s ok now. But as you hold her close, the crying begins to sound like laughing; not the cheerful sort one hears from children, but a sinister, almost maniacal, cackle. Then, when she turns to face her ‘rescuer’, does the victim realize, far too late, that this isn’t a child at all. It is then that her mouth, unnaturally distended with razor-sharp teeth, beneath a shriveled pug nose and squinting red eyes, tears the throat out from its prey.

In addition to this, the demon has long, wicked nails that can rend through skin and sinew. Also, if discovered to be an alagai before luring in its victim, the demon will let out a blood-curdling scream that disorients the would-be prey long enough for the waif to attack or escape. It should also be noted, disturbingly, that this scream is no different from one a child can make.

In spite of the alagai’s frail appearance, it often proves to be one of the more resilient breeds, as its smooth, scaled skin is even tougher as the knobby bark of a wood demon, it seems. And while this demon isn’t at all that strong, needing to rely on luring prey in, by Everam, is it ever fast! Some cunning Sharum might try and grab the abomination by its long hair to counter its speed, but a tuft snatched will be pulled out like fur from a shedding dog, with no pain to the alagai at all, apparently.

Still, despite all the danger surrounding such a creature, any crafty dal’Sharum will have no trouble killing a rain demon if he keeps his wits about him. Firstly, a warrior should always carry a torch or another illuminating object during rainy nights. That will allow him to identify the demon, as without sufficient light one cannot see the blue-green of the demon’s hide. Secondly, if this alagai is recognized, then the warrior should go along with the demon’s charade, at first, lest it be startled and escape to kill more victims. No, the warrior should approach the monster as if it were the child it pretends to be, with a warded dagger concealed in hand. When the alagai is in his arms, the Sharum must stab it in one if its eyes for a safe and clean kill, as its skin may still turn the warded dagger, and the mouth is full of knife-like teeth.

Volcanic Alagai

This is not only the last breed discussed in this volume, but also the most frightening, as the implications of its existence are … disturbing. During the Sharak Sun, when the Shar’Dama Ka, blessings be upon him, sent scouts over the mountains to the kingdom bordering Thesa, many returned heavily wounded, their squadrons decimated. With them came news, not of the kingdom over, but instead, of mountains with fiery pits and the colossal alagai that guarded them.

Thesan wise folk name these mountains ‘volcanoes’ and their hulking denizens ‘volcanic demons’. Many of the dal’Sharum and Dama call them ‘hellfire alagai’, which, while being as good a name as any, will not be used in this treatise. Rather, I will use the name the greenlanders give them so that all of Everam’s children may receive the knowledge in this manuscript. This is one of the few alagai that I have not seen in person, so all descriptions of it come from the ill-fated scout teams. The volcanics heavily resemble rock demons, with a few major differences. Firstly, the skin of a volcanic alagai is cracked and the crevasses across its hide glow like burning coal. Secondly, they have but one enormous, cyclopean eye that glows red.

Their strength is comparable to two rock demons, and if the reports are to be believed, they spit fireballs like the fire alagai. One report even goes as far to say that they can breathe out torrents of flame if angered.

The volcanic is practically invincible from what dal’Sharum scouts can tell. Warded weapons only pierce the demon’s slag-like armor plates with a direct stab. All slashing wards bounce off, which tells me that they are immune to certain wards … a frightening idea, indeed. Even then, some scouts tried to stab the alagai in the glowing chasms between its armor plates. On the one hand, it was the only report that stated that the demon bellowed in pain, but on the other that blade that slide between the shell-plates melted like it was left in a forge for too long.

The Sharum squadrons were able to discern that the alagai didn’t go beyond a certain point from the volcano … almost as if they were guarding something there. The team decided to wait until morning to investigate what the volcanic was trying to safeguard. What they reported next I would have never believed had other teams not confirmed it: when the team got closer to the volcano, the same demon attacked them again IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! This single fact makes the demon far more dangerous than any other breed encountered, even more so than the changelings or demon princes.

The fact that we are not all slain at the hands of these nigh invincible beings occurs because how they seem to be bound to protect the volcanoes. They never tread too far from the pits, and they only ever leave the volcanoes at all when chasing down those who come too close. Many wise folk from Thesa claim that these pits lead all the way down to the core. I am one to agree with them, for why else would demons protect the volcanoes? However, this only raised further questions. Why would the most powerful alagai (discovered thus far) be protecting volcanoes? And if a volcano really is a direct pathway to the core, what are the implications? Do the alagai hierarchs fear that we would use the volcanoes to assault the core directly? Or will the volcanoes be use for other, apocalyptic means? Perhaps then, that the volcanic demons are protecting their charges until the purpose of the pits come into play. But I feel we will find out the answers to these questions soon over the course of this war.

Thank you to Tristan for sending in this ancient text. Found an old scroll of your own? Discovered new breeds of demons in the ruins of Anoch Sun? Send in your findings today by 11:59pm. Check out the contest guidelines for details and prizes.

Posted on May 18, 2012 at 8:00 am by megelizabeth
Filed under Contests, Cosplay, Create a Coreling, Daylight War, Desert Spear, Fan Art, Fans, Meg, Warded Man
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Posted by Meg

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention Balticon 46 is Memorial Day Weekend (May 25-28) in beautiful Baltimore, Maryland. In the area? Thinking about making an appearence? Here is an extra reason to make the trek!

Though Peat isn’t on the official Balticon 2012 line-up, he will be there recording a live episode of Mur Lafferty’s I Should Be Writing and some other podcasts. (You can check out Part 1 of his interview with Mur now). He will be there for the whole weekend and invites you to find him at the bar or at the panels for Myke Cole, John Anealio, Joshua Bilmes, & Mur Lafferty.

Also, don’t forget that tomorrow is the last day you can submit to the Create Your Own Coreling Contest. Make sure your demons are in by 11:59pm EST tomorrow night!

Posted on May 17, 2012 at 3:00 pm by megelizabeth
Filed under Appearances, Daylight War, Desert Spear, Fans, Interviews, Meg, Warded Man
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Posted by Meg

Here we have three entries from Snellopy who wowed us last year with his first place entry to the Audio Contest, reading from Chapter 27 in The Painted Man. Let’s see what he has in store for us this time.

*G’day Peat (and Meg),

I’m glad to hear that you’ve managed to knock the draft of the next book on the head – I’m eagerly awaiting being able to read it.

I also appreciate how interactive you are with your readers … I just love all the contests you’ve run so far, allowing us to have a dabble at fan-fiction in Thesa.

Here are my three entries for the coreling competition. Unfortunately, I have no artistic skills, so you’re stuck with just words. I did try knocking something up quickly, but a stick figure demon doesn’t really inspire fear.

* Demon of Doubt

Demons of doubt have a toothed maw at the centre of a mass of writhing tentacular arms, covered in suckers and terminating in hooked claws. Small as a grain of sand and fond of remaining insubstantial until they strike, the existence of these demons is unknown in the current age, though their predations continue unchecked. Unfortunately, this means there is no specific ward that guards against them.

Drifting through the smallest chinks in ward nets, they phase through the skull and feast upon tiny portions of the unwitting brains of their host. This affects the linkages between neurons and unduly influences the hosts’ behaviour, causing them to be more likely to give in to their baser emotions – such as doubt, fear, envy, greed, recklessness, or hidebound thinking. It is probably for the best that humanity is unaware of this demon, lest they revel in shallow acts, and blame their actions upon these beasts.

* Turned Coreling

Far from the lands of Thesa that have been described in the Demon Cycle so far, in one of the last outposts when man was master of machines and science still served him, a small bastion of humanity managed to create an apparatus of surprising power – it was able to convert a small number of demons each night. Though the batteries of this device have long since run down, and the circuitry fallen into disrepair, their numbers still slowly increase, as they are able to overpower and infect those demons that plague the world.

They can be easily identified by their enveloping aura of honey-coloured light, and their eyes are limned with a pleasant viridian tinge that also manifests upon their extremities when they move.

Turned demons can follow simple commands given in their new masters’ tongue. Even if the Krasnian army fought their way to them, it would do no good as the language has been lost to the ravages of time and demons – none of that enclave are left alive.

When the sun rises, the enslaved demons do not return all the way to the core, but merely part way down the paths (much like Arlen did) and dwell there. The coreling princes know of their existence, but are unconcerned by them, and see no great need to snuff them out as yet, as that part of the world is devoid of human life.

* Bone Alagai

May Everam’s light always shine upon thee. The Dama will say that the tale within this manuscript is heresy, yet still must it be told, for it is true – those of the white have defiled the Will of Everam by dismissing it out of hand.

In 142 AR our people entered a resurgence of matters spiritual. New interpretations of previously obscure scripture flowed down to even the lowliest of the khaffit. Eager to further expand our knowledge and understanding, the Andrah formed, in utmost secrecy, a cadre of Dama’ting well-versed in prophesy, and Dama that excelled as distinguished scholars of the Evejah with instructions to prepare by any means necessary prognostications of the future – whether they be dire or jubilant.

All of their auguries so far have been accurate, though you will find no other mention of them, they have been eradicated from our peoples’ histories, as have their names. That is due to their final act of soothsaying, which I am sure will be no less accurate, painful though it is.

Turning their thoughts and powers upon that most honourable edifice, the Jewel of Krasia, last resting place of the noble and brave, paean to Everam’s glory and might – I speak of none other than Sharik Hora. Those luminaries from long ago ascertained that in the closing stages of alagai’sharak, Fort Krasia would be overrun. Runes undone, the Andrah’s palace torn asunder and Nie’s children free to despoil the fairest city of all. The taint and scourge of the darklings rendered our defenses useless. Just as the unending desert sands calls to sand demons, and the restless wind summons the winged foe, so too did the concentration of osseous relics summon a type of coreling never before seen – the Bone Alagai.

A blasphemous melding of the skeletons of those who have gone on to Everam’s paradise, with thigh bones sprouting from eye sockets, ribs fusing into fingers and other monstrosities too foul to speak of, the creatures made a mockery of those dal’Sharum who gave their life in alagai’sharak.

Rather than hiding the news of this hideous desecration, these visionaries brought their proof before the Andrah, hoping against hope that given warning, we would be able to avert such a course. At first, the Andrah would not accept such an unpalatable message and threw them out in fury. They did not cease their petitions, and in time, his anger appeared to give way to their entreaties. The Andrah sent word that he would hear them out again, so long as they brought all their evidence and spoke of it to no other.

That most wise of Damaji, Rashid Asu Goram am’Harzuk, had in secret left an encoded copy of all documents with his most favoured jiwa, to be passed on to his son when he had completed hannu pash and emerged as a Dama. It is from these that I have gleaned the truth, passed down through the generations, for the Andrah had not recanted in his anger, and still waxed wrothful. When all his seers were assembled, and the documents accounted for, he accused them of plotting sedition and that their predictions were no more than couzi fueled lies – slander and an abomination of the Everjah, and put their scrolls to the torch.

He then had their tongues ripped out, later to be thrown thrown to fire demons. A rabble of the most miserable and pitiful khaffit was gathered, given lumps of wood and instructed to bludgeon the worthy prophets to death, so that they would suffer an ignominious demise. Then they were bound to stakes on the ramparts of Fort Krasia with their own entrails, so that when the wind demons carried them off that night their souls would be dismembered, screaming wordlessly for eternity beyond Everam’s sight in Nie’s darkness.

You will claim that you have never heard of the great Rashid Asu Goram am’Harzuk. This is so, as the Andrah had the names of each oracle and sibyl struck from the record, never to be spoken again, on pain of sharing their fate. The knowledge of them and their “crime” faded from memory, yet their words be true – ‘ware the Bone Alagai.

* Once again, thanks again for writing such compelling books!

Thank you to Snellopy for those beautifully written and imaginative accounts. I love the idea of turned corelings.

Don’t forget to submit to the Create Your Own Coreling Contest by 11:59pm on May 18, 2012. Your descriptions, stories, paintings, drawings and sculptures depicting new coreling breeds will be rewarded by fantastic prizes.

Posted on May 17, 2012 at 8:00 am by megelizabeth
Filed under Contests, Create a Coreling, Daylight War, Desert Spear, Fan Art, Fans, Meg, Warded Man
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Posted by Meg

I am pleased to announce that Graphic Audio just released the first installment of The Desert Spear.

For those of you who don’t already know, Graphic Audio has done a fantastic job converting The Warded Man into a full-fledged radio show complete with music, sound effects and voice actors for different characters. Now they are doing the same for The Desert Spear! It’s going to be even longer than The Warded Man and will be released in 3 parts over the next few weeks.

Starting now!

Part 1 of The Desert Spear is available to preview and purchase here:

The Desert Spear Part 1 (of 3)

Additionally, the Grand Prize for the Create Your Own Coreling Contest is none other than Part 1 and Part 2 of Graphic Audio’s The Warded Man. Not only that, but the Grand Prize with also include a Graphic Audio T-shirt and a signed poster both featuring Lauren K. Cannon’s fantastic rendition of Renna fighting a wood demon.

The deadline for the contest is just two days away, so hurry up and check out the contest guidelines for details.

Posted on May 16, 2012 at 8:00 am by megelizabeth
Filed under Contests, Create a Coreling, Desert Spear, Fans, Meg, Warded Man
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