The Slayer (Completed Book!)

Side Notes

First off, hi. Thanks for being interested in my story.

Second: DONATIONS ARE ACCEPTED =)

Okay, with the shameless switch and bait done... This section has some things about the background/character/lands and tidbits of information you might run into while reading this WIP book.

Right now I'm in the process of updating this as I take my passes on the book. Since I've already drafted all the chapters, my goal is to go over the book and edit each chapters 3 times (3 passes). You will notice a significant change in my style toward the middle of the book and thus there will be more changes in the beginning compared to the end.


Characters (Order by appearance):

Sergeant John Wyden of the Vangaurd, 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion (Ce'l, "John Why-Den")
Under-Sergeant Randy Owens of the Vangaurd, 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion (Ce'l, "Randy Owe-ins")
Under-Lieutenant Mason Gre'gar of the Vanguard, 1st Brigade (Ce'l, "Mason Grey-gar")
Lieutenant Juco Cor'bin of the Vanguard, 1st Brigade (Ce'l, "Jew-co Core-bin")
File Leader Giles Shoen of the Vanguard, 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion (Ce'l, "Giles Shoe-N")
Ronin
General Briar Ta'lee of the Vanguard (Ce'l "Bry-ar Tah-lee")
Captain Bragger Ja'nes of the Vanguard, 1st Brigade (Ce'l, "Bragger Jah-nes")
Slayer Celia Tecard (Ghourd, John's mentor, "Celia Tah-card")

File Leader Tesa Willims of the Vanguard, 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion (Ce'l, "Tess-ah Willims")
File Leader Borne Dyles of the Vanguard, 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion (Ce'l, "Born Die-al-z")
Horse Master Bonte (Ce'l, 1st Brigade's Horse Master, "Bon-T")
Horse Master Charles (Ghourd, The Tekal Horse Master)

Mia (Capri, John's slave "My-ah")
Under-Sergeant Waylon Gre'gar of the Red Guard, 2nd Brigade, 1st Battalion (Ce'l, "Way-lon Grey-gar")
Nina (Ghourd, "Nee-Nah")
Cedrick (Ghourd, "Sed-Rick")
Lord Wes Cota (Capri, "Wes Coat-ah")
Baine (Capri, "Bay-N")
Dylon (Ghourd, "Die-Lon")

Slayer Tallen Dreyc'n (Ghourd, Dylon's mentor, "Tallen Dre-cah-Nin")
The Head Mistress
Slayer Glyn (Kalian, Waylon's mentor, "Glen")
Slayer Priscilla Dayton (Capri, Cedrick's mentor, "Pris-cil-ah Day-ton")

Mistress Slayer Tera Spinnal (Kalian, "Ta-air-a Spin-al")
Master Slayer Nicolas (Ghourd")

Mistress Guinavev of the Minstrel Guild (Kalian, "Ga-win-a-veev")
Slayer Reed (Kalian, Wes's mentor)

Brutus (Kalian)

Slayer Fal (Kalian, Baine's mentor, "Fah-l")
Slayer Vinn (Capri, Nina's mentor)
Lady Tyrn Ce'l (Heir to the Ce'lian Throne, "Tye-rin")

George (Ghourd, the Guardian of the Portals)
King Tugor (Ghourd, A past King of Ghourd, before the Nine Lords of Ghourd, "Two-Gore")

Yuri (Ghourd, Nina's Slave, "Your-ee")

High Lord Vaunder (One of the Nine Lords of Ghourd, "Von-der")


Rank:

Private
First-Private
Squad Leader (manages a Squad, 10-25 PRVs)
File Leader (manages a Company, 4-8 SLs)
Under-Sergeant (helps Sergeant)
Sergeant (manages a Battalion, 3-8 FLs)
Under-Lieutenant (helps LT)
Lieutenant (manages Brigade, 3-8 SRGTs)
Lieutenant-Captain (helps Cap)
*Captain (manages Division 3-8 LTs)
Major (many, helps General)
General (manages a Guard 4-8 CPTs)
Captain-General (manages all, 4 GNRs typically)



The Four Lands/Cities/descriptions of people:

Ce'l Empire: Brown Hair | Brown Eyes
      --Deshar (Capital)
      --Seq'l (Port city)
Ghourd: Black Hair | Blue Eyes
      --Ghidean (Place of the Summit, small town.)
      --Boria
      --Vaunder's Estates
Capri: Red or Red/Brownish Hair | Green Eyes
      --Togasun (Trading Post)
Kalian: Brown/Blonde Hair | Brown/Blue Eyes

**Tekal
      --Bower City (Port city)
        --Boco Bay



Terminology:

-Name Day = Birthday
-Nugget = Military term for a new recruit.
-Moon = Month(ex: "I'm 4 moons away from my name day.")
-Summit = A meeting between all 13 leaders of all the lands that occurs once a year- treaties/laws are passed and alliances strengthen. Ce'l Empire is only part of it because it is customary that all rulers of the land partake in it- if they didn't show up, then they wouldn't be considered their own nation is the mentality.
-Awakening = The time period when a Slayer's body begins to mature. All five senses, speed, strength, reflexes, and their healing abilities are all developed during this stage. Normally this time period spans over many months- in some cases up to a year.
-Elements = Earth, Fire, Water, Energy
-Spirit = Another name for a person's Energy. Think of it as their will to manipulate Energy. The basic rules of Mages, is that there is a balance to everything- a reaction to every action. If you manipulate something, there has to be a price. A User's spirit is that reaction.



Calendar:

3 Moons to 1 Season "Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall"
4 Seasons to 1 Year
Current dating format, although not used in the first book, is 137 Fall of the 3rd (The land's Ruler's name). 1 references to the month, 3 represents the third week, and the 7 is the day. So the first month, third week, seventh day of Fall. The year is by ruler's era, i.e. the fourth year of King Tugor would be around the time of the War of the Thrones--for a Ghourdian.

In the second book, the historians change the date format to Sunday 13 of Fall, 1501B. Which would be the same as the last example. First month of Fall, third week, that Sunday (7th day). 1501B is in reference to "before the birth of the Tekal Council", the gold standard across all the lands. Any date after the birth of the Tekal Council you drop the B. For example, the prologue of The Hunter is Wednesday 12 of Spring, 6. First month, second week, that Wednesday (or 3rd day) of Spring, year 6... 6 years after the end of The Hunter or, more acurately, the birth of Tekal Council.



Currency:

1 Gold "Crown" = 10 Silver "Marks" = 100 Copper "Pennies"
Think 1 crown as 1,000 USD, 1 mark as 100 USD, 1 penny as 1 USD.

Distance:
3 Paces to 1 Span.
2000 Spans to 1 League (think 3 miles)

Time Line:
War of Ghidean 1541 Years ago
Demon War 1523 Years ago
War of the Thrones 1500 Years ago
Battle of Deshar 1216 Years ago
Bleak Days 452 Years ago
The Movement 203 Years ago

Other Side Notes:
The title Master/Mistress in front of Slayer means they are teachers. The title Master alone is given loosely in the northern lands. Mostly meaning one that is on their own or grown up- not under someone's tutelage. If one refers to another as "my master," this refers to their teacher or someone they have pledged their name to.

Some merchants create a House for themselves- not a real House as in royalty but a name nonetheless. The difference is, one cannot claim this made up House as their last name- otherwise it would be considered against the law (this refers to in Chapter 7, Nina talking about how Dylon’s House must be wealthy.)

Politics:

***The Ce'lian Empire***

The 13 Houses
Ce'l
Cor'bin
Ta'lee
Gre'gar
Ja'nes
Mah'el
Yur'i
Kor'tana
Vew'r
Renn'ar
Se'kal
Vi'nus
Bront'e

Anyone that is of royalty will have a last name that fits this list in the Empire. House of Ce'l has held the Throne since the start of the Empire. If you ever forget whose last name is royal, there will always be a ' in it =). As for the other lands, if they have a last name, then they are royal.

Each House has many families but only one High Family. The title High Lord/Lady is given to the family with the highest family on the Family Tree. The Family Tree, as you can imagine, is an official record of all the families within a given House. Originally, there had been thirteen families who had aided the making of the Empire during the War of the Thrones. The war resulted in all the lands divided up as they are now.

The government of the Empire is divided up as such:
Law making: The Council of Thirteen (13 seats)
Law approval: The High Council (3 seats)
Finalization of a law: The Empress
High Priest/Priestess (Currently the title has been given to a male)
A dispute between peasants: The Common's Court (Judge and 13 juries, all commoners)
A dispute between royalties: The High Court (Judge and 13 juries, all royal)
Mayor (Judge of Commoner’s Court)
Governor (Judge of High Court)

When a dispute is solved and a clear winner is made, the loser must pay for the taxes involved- preventing the system from being abused.

To get on the Council of Thirteen you must be voted in by your House. They serve three year terms and can serve as many terms as they can.
To get on the High Council, you first must have been in the Council of Thirteen prior to the election for High Council. Each voting period begins after the Council of Thirteen’s term and only two seats are available. The third seat is given by the Empress herself, usually using that seat for political gain.

Unless if the dispute about rape, murder, or stealing- between a royal and a peasant- it is ignored unless it is the peasant’s fault (then it is held in the High Court). If it happens to fall in one of those three categories (normally stealing) then it is held in front of the High Court. Most royals who are found in that situation are shamed- not because of the act but that a commoner is taking them to the High Court.

Mayors are elected by the common people, while Governor’s are elected by the royal people. They serve three year terms as well.

High Priest/Priestess is more of a figure head. In the past they use to have more power, especially after the Movement, but recently their power has dwindled from the lawmaking process. Now they only have power through proxies.

The Blood
The three hundred most elite men in the Empire who have sworn their lives to protecting the Royal Family.

*** End Ce'l Empire ***

*** Tekal ***

The Head Mistress:
Elected by the Slayers, the Head Mistress rules all the Slayers. At the start of the Slayers, the Laws of Tekal were established by the mages. One of which was that the Head Mistress ruled Tekal until she died or became unfit to rule. To unseat one, there must be a two-thirds majority vote of every registered mage. While the mages aren't noticeable in Tekal, they are the hidden supper power. The only person who the Head Mistress reports to, however, is the Archmage. Since the Slayers are the creation of the mages, they are beneath them.


The Board:
As said in chapter 15, the Board is a group of nine Slayers who make out the rules, curriculum, contracts, etc. Your basic governing body. Only the Head Mistress can elect or demote you from the Board.

*** End Tekal ***

Games:

Toss
Similar to our darts. Each player gets 4 throwing knives. The board is made of cork and is just thin enough to hold a knife.

As Guinavev put it,
"Five rings, the one in the center is worth fifty points. From there it goes as such: twenty-five, ten, five, and one. If you hit anything on the outside, it is minus ten. Each player takes turns tossing the knives. If you happen to knock the other opponent’s knife then the opponent looses that point."

Normally a coin toss decides who goes first. Similar to baseball, the person who goes second has the advangate since they go last. Object is to get more points than the other person. There are some strategies to it, as John points out in chapter 8.

Stones
Seen in chapter 13, Stones is similar to chess but every peice can go backwards and there are different rules for going backwards. Pretty much everything else is the same. Each stone has a symbol at its top. Don't really feel like making up all the rules and such, just know its really hard to do and as you've heard, very easy for the tables to turn.

Guilds:
A type of tax that the Leaders of each land can place upon their subjects. If you are to be a professional (insert trade) then you must be part of that Guild. Testing and working toward your Fee to obtain the title of the guild takes time. Your Fee is the tax the leaders obtain. Once you are certified under a Guild, there is a yearly tax, or Fee. You may hear someone lost their Guild because they couldn't afford their Fee. Each Guild keeps large books on who is in and who is out. Guilds have their own organizational structure and rules. It's against the law to claim being part of a Guild when you aren't in one.

Religion:
Based on the 7 Sins (Lust[M], Gluttony[M], Avarice/Greed[M], Sloth/Apathy[M], Wrath[F], Envy[F] and Pride[F]) and the 7 Virtues (Chastity[F], Moderation[M], Generosity[M], Zeal[M], Meekness[F], Charity[F], Humility[F]) making a total of 14 God[M]/Goddess[F]. The "Seven Hells" is a reference to each Sin's (God/Goddess's) domain. Their names have been long forgotten but previous civilizations have created statues of them. Each of the Gods have a symbol that represents them.

Lust: Phallus
Gluttony: Pig
Greed: Seven Golden Crowns (emphasize on the number 7)
Sloth: Scale
Wrath: Skull
Envy: A Thief's Hand
Pride: Mirror

Chastity: Snow Flake
Moderation: Hooded Priest
Generosity: Three Golden Crowns (emphasize on the number 3)
Zeal: Black Smith's Hammer
Meekness: Willow Tree
Charity: Tear
Humility: White Robe

Some of these symbols you will see throughout this book (Vanguard sign: sword cutting into a skull, white robed slaves, three triangles of Tekal).

Book of Virtues and the rumored Book of Sins:
Before, there use to be one book called the Book of the Gods. Similar to our Bible, it had stories of both of the Virtuous Gods and the Sinful Gods. During a religious revolution called The Movement, the newly appointed High Priests of each of the lands decided to remove every mention of the Sins from the Book of the Gods... Because of this, the Book of Virtues was born. There also use to be fourteen temples, one for every God and Goddess. The Seven Sins' Temples were torn down during the revolution and now only the Temple of Virtues stand.

There was rumored to be a Book of Sins that comprised of all the stories that aren't in the Book of Virtues that were in the Book of the Gods. A few years after The Movement, the High Priests heard this rumor and had a world wide search for this so called Book of Sins. They never found it.


-------
*Captains normally manage a Division but since the Vanguard is smaller than the other branches of the Guard, they help micro manage the Brigades. Anyone who *helps* another is in training to become the person he or she helps, except for Majors. There are many Majors, consider them as the strategic thinkers of the Guard.

**Tekal is considered a city but isn't affiliated with any ruler.

Chapter titles:
"Chapter 1 - Homecoming (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 2 - On the Road Again (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 3 - The Fishy Entrance (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 4 - A Gold Crown (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 5 - Celebration (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 6 - The Fan (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 7 - Free Day (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 8 - Fireworks (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 9 - Adapt (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 10 - An Old Friend (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 11 - The Lady of Ce'l (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 11 - The Lady of Ce'l (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 13 - The Testing Chamber (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 14 - My First Assignment (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 15 - Allies (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 16 - The Replacement (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 17 - Togasun (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 18 - Puzzle Pieces (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 19 - The Keystone (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 20 - Trust (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 21 - Betrayal (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 23 - Casenda (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 25 - Thirteen (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 26 - Finding the Needle (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 27 - The Reckoning (1st Pass)" 
"Chapter 28 - After Math (1st Pass)" 
"Epilogue - Veils (1st Pass)"