The Fantasy World of SHAMROCK

First of all, I'm sorry that I haven't made the changes to the introductory story according to the excellent feedback many people have given me. I suppose I just don't have the discipline to be a serious writer but, as I will soon prove, I have the meddle to ramble seriously! (Heh heh). Someone who saw my website and liked it recently asked me "What is shamrock?"

To which I replied:

SHAMROCK (properly spelled in all-capitals, just like the ancient Romans used to do) is a billions-year-old demon-fighting organization, where the chosen Old Race representatives of the One (a benevolent supreme being widely worshipped by the Old Races) stand together in unity. In each of the Old Race languages, there's a word very similiar to "shamrock" (except the Dragon language) and they all mean something like "stand together in fate/bound together by fate."

My fantasy world is built on the premise that the Earth as we know it is not four billion years old but, in actuality, six billion years old (I came up with that after I had an arguement with my Biology teacher about it in 10th grade, lol). Later on, I decided Earth was actually four billion years old but it was originally the home of demons, creatures created by the father god Lord Diadem (pronounced DIE-id-EE-um).

This Earth (our Earth) collided with another planet (or maybe a planetoid, I dunno) about four billion years ago, creating the moon and the Earth as we know it. (this fact is supported in science, as all the moon rocks collected from the moon are 4-point-something billion years old).

This cataclysmic disaster is known to the Old Races as "The Great Disaster." There are 11 Old Races, and they themselves had no need to call themselves that until sometime after Humans came to be -- before the Humans, they were simply the Races. Dragons, Kaiylah, Wolfbaine, Nemah, Oceal'a (I don't remember the exact spelling), Phrophet, Elfkin, Faeries, Res-naken, Golems, and Ion.

The 11 Races lived in relative harmony on the planet/planetoid. The oceans were expansive, cradling the life that lived in a vast, hot desert, forests, grasslands, meadows, and frozen tundra... Fresh water was golden, tinged with all that remained of an ancient race of sentient, giant trees.

Many races used to own the Nemah as slaves, and Res-naken were the slave masters. However, in time, the sentience of the Nemah people was acknowledged and the Races abolished slavery -- that is, except for the snakepeople Res-naken, who continued to use the Nemah as slaves and food in their vast desert lands. Scholars theorized that the Nemah were the fabled 11th Race and, therefore, the Great Disaster "phrophecy" (basically the same thing as a prophecy) would soon come to pass...

Golems are rock people who lived in barren wastelands -- so they had no use for slaves. In the end-days of Pangaia (the world), Golem numbers began to dwindle. Golems enjoy combat as sports and games, and have a ritual game held every 13 S.C. (Standard Cycles, a unit of time where 1 S.C. = 100 A.C. = 100 years). Don't quote me on that, though, I may not be remembering The Games correctly.

Faeries are just what you would expect, except that they are an all-female race constantly plagued by large insects in a forest. Luckily, Elfkin (an elf-like race) are insect-eaters, skilled in mica (magic) and hunting insects. The two races have very close relations dating back all the way back to when they lived in harmony in the giant trees. Not too far from Elfkin lands are the lands of the Ion, a race of light beings strongly dedicated to the religion of the One.

The Phrophet are giants, descended partially from plants! They absorb sunlight through the red chlorophyll in their long hair, which can vary from deep red to orange. The Phrophet have very limited combat capabilites, as they are scholars, historians, and writers who are guided by their visions. They also have a ritual for everything, from waking up in the morning to breakfast to inviting guests to bowing, etc!

Ocean'la are a mysterious race of fish-like scaley people who prefer not to interact with the land-based races. They are widely known as Meroids, named after the deep sea exploration robots created by the Nemah, the only Race to embrace technology. Nemah also look strongly like human beings, except that they all have blond hair and blue eyes and Caucasian skin -- that is, except for the mutants whose proper name I can't remember right now but who are derogatorily referred to as "Muds" by the so-called "True Nemah" (the blond-haired, blue-eyed, Caucasians).

Res-naken translates to "ruthless warriors" and they certainly are. They have built a vast Enpire (Empire) whose proper name I can't remember right now. Suffice it to say that there are Black Resnaken, Green Resnaken, and, most rarely Blue Resnaken, who are skilled in natural fire mica (they can create fire, which they use in creating weapons, art, and in the dancing arts).

Dragons are just as you'd imagine, coming in many sizes and shapes, and are able to become things such as rocks and streams to avoid detection. No one really knows it, but I'll let you in on this secret: Dragons aren't actually an Old Race, as they come from another planet! Back on the Dragon planet, Dragons and Demons lived in a cycle of kill-or-be-killed, predator and prey. But that planet was destroyed and the dragons with wings travelled through space until they found Pangaia, settling there long, long ago -- so long, in fact, that no one except the Phrophet know that they aren't really from Pangaia.

Two of the most exciting races to me, and my two personal favorites, are the Kaiylah and the Wolfbaine. Wolfbaine are easier to explain -- have you seen the werewolf in the Darkstalkers games? Wolfbaine are like that, noble-looking werewolves.

Kaiylah are winged creatures; females have feathery wings whereas males have scaley (bat-like) wings. Kaiylah have pointed ears that are long and point outwards (as opposed to the short, pointing-upwards ears of the Elfkin -- think Spock from Star Trek or the elves in Tolkien). Kaiylah (the original spelling was Kayla but after I found out that was a girl's name I changed it) also have a monkey-like tail with a large, retractable claw at the end of it (like a cat's claw) and long fingers and toes with retractable claws on them. Kaiylah knees are bent backward, like birds' are, for better running (think: ostrich and emu). So Kaiylah are like bird-cats and Wolfbaine are like wolves -- the two races have been at war for as long as either one can remember, but they always fight in pre-arranged battlefields and there are no surprise massacres -- that would be considered dishonorable and dishonest.

Wolfbaine worship the moon goddess Maulia and have a female-dominated society (their chieftain is always female and is called First Liam which translates to First Star). Kaiylah society is male-dominated and Kaiylah worship the sun god Baiha.

Rarely, Wolfbaine are born silver, with some mastery of the Mical Art of Maulia (moon magic, basically). Rarely, Kaiylah are born golden, with some mastery of the Mical Art of Baiha (sun magic, basically, and useful against Demons who are allergic to sunlighit). The female of each race is more likely to be able to summon and control the magic.

I love the Kaiylah and Wolfbaine the most because my entire saga of SHAMROCK started seven years ago with the love story of Katerine (original name was Katherine, though) and Michael. Theirs is a story of forbidden love.

Of course, very early on I defined the concept of the tortured hero in Connor, the twin brother of Lucius, royal princes of the Kingdom of Eden. In my mind, I tortured him by having a demon capture him and infuse his soul with the demon... making Connor truly evil. Connor's struggle against the demon, who names himself Ronnoc, over the billions of years -- and his fading faith in goodness -- has entertained me many a day and night.

The creation legend of the religion of the One goes something like this: We were all created from the One, we are all children of the One. Faeries and Ion, the biologists and scientists of the Old Races, have in more modern days determined that there's a strong genetic link between the Races.

I guess I'll stop talking your ear off now. Lemme know if you have any questions. ;)

{img src="http://imgs5.writing.com/main/images.php?action=display&item_id=829430"}

Introduction to the World of SHAMROCK  (13+) Kat knew she was different, but a God-incarnate of ancient non-humans? That's new. #533713 by Starleafgirl