The Fantasy World of SHAMROCK

I'll give you a very brief summary of the main characters. Note, it was very difficult for me to summarize their lives in one paragraph each and the reader should be aware that there is MUCH more in these people’s lives than is stated below:

Connor: They say he's the last of his kind (a Nemah), a prince, and an immortal to boot. Typically quiet, Connor has always been a man of few words and many actions; though that’s not to say he isn’t capable of giving orders to others when he deems it necessary. Formerly the leader of SHAMROCK (from now on I'll just be saying 'Shamrock'), the command has since been passed to Katerine. Since before the dinosaurs roamed Earth, however, Connor became painfully aware that once you get a demon put inside of you, it’s not so very easy to exorcise it. For billions of years, Connor has been afflicted with a disease that weakens his mind, body, and spirit; it also causes delusions, irrational rage, fever, and paranoia. The pain comes and goes, with erratic lengths of incubation in between. At times, the demon so powerful as to be named Lord Diadahm’s right-hand man is able to take control of Connor’s body when he’s been weakened by the disease. This has had devastating results in the past. After being mentally and physically tortured for centuries in a pitch-black dungeon by vengeful Crows, his body was recently found by archeologists who thought he was a mummified corpse. Shamrock has since recovered him and slowly nursed him back to good physical health, though his mental health is still in questionable condition. Nevertheless, it is believed he is healthy enough to be allowed to roam the castle Shamrock currently inhabits.

Katerine: This Kaiylah ‘princess’ received an apparently permanent promotion from second-in-command to Commander of Shamrock after returning to life. Nowadays, she sometimes goes into trances due to the trauma of being dead for about 2000 years. Katerine’s new post is not without its challenges, however. Besides fighting a war against Lord Diadahm’s prodigal son and his cult, Katerine has to deal with Circe challenging her command, usually at the worst possible moment. Every time she does so, Katerine must either defeat her in battle--something of a pastime for the two of them since before humans walked the earth, though the game is much more deadly now--or hand over command to Circe. Traditionally, Katerine was Connor’s right-hand and Michael’s love, though there have been rumors since her death that Connor has always cared much more for Katerine than he let on.

Michael: He's like a werewolf, yet he's not: it’s called a Wolfbaine, a species that were progenitors to werewolves. Silver-furred and Katerine's second in command, he cares for her deeply yet more than one member of Shamrock might think he would do better not living in her shadow. Michael has led his own people on at least one occasion, though it always ended disastrously; since then, his confidence has been more or less shred apart. He keeps this to himself, however, so very few members of Shamrock know just how wounded this wolf is. Later, he and Connor had a major fight when Katerine died and haven’t seen eye to eye since. In fact, they’re liable to tear each other apart if left alone together. Despite the fact that she publicly ridiculed him in the most demeaning terms and refused to be a part of Shamrock with him as leader after Katerine’s death, Michael holds no ill will towards Circe. Michael blames Connor for Katerine’s death and Connor has yet to voice his side of the story.

Angelo: Katerine's previously abusive older brother, though the two of them are only related by marriage. Angelo has always been a bit too impulsive due to the fact that his bloodthirsty past has always haunted him. His personality has, since joining Shamrock, swung wildly between confident and taunting to quiet and sulking. It’s only in the heat of battle he can feel peace, because it’s there that he feels he’s doing the most good in the war against demons and protecting those that he previously bullied. Traditionally, in battle he tends to be near either Katerine or Sarra, his love, but otherwise he watches them from afar or spends his time alone or, from time to time, a few quiet moments’ shared whispering with Sarra or in her embrace. Sometimes he’d even be seen approaching Katerine, hanging around her for a few moments like he wants to say something, but then becoming frustrated and wandering off again. When he’s in his confident phase, he might share a joke with the other male members of Shamrock--excluding Michael--or make rude comments to the others--he’s done this only once to Circe and with an almost fatal outcome--while being particularly belligerent and belittling to Michael and Katerine. Since the death of Katerine, however, he’s turned to watching Sarra’s every move and spending every possible waking moment with her, staying more and more in his quiet phase.

Sarra: Much like most harbingers of doom, Sarra, a Phrophet (no, not a prophet) made a ‘sacred journey’ (her people have a term for it, but it can’t be reproduced here so I just provided a translation) around the world to warn the peoples of Pangaia of the cataclysmic event that has always been called the Great Disaster and to gather the Chosen of the Shamrock Prophecy. One of the leaders she spoke with was Angelo, fearsome tyrant of the Kaiylahs. She turned Angelo's life around the first time their eyes met, though it wasn’t until they spoke privately that Angelo realized the err of his ways. He professed his love for her and begged that she tell him how he might redeem himself. She replied that he must seek out Katerine and publicly declare her the new Chieftain of the Kaiylahs and join Sarra when the ‘end-time’ drew near. With the ability to see into the past, present, and future, she is the seer of the group. Her powers over dreams and time have also come in handy in the past, though it’s her role in keeping the explosive and bloodthirsty Angelo from becoming too dangerous that is often seen as her most important job. Strangely, Angelo also tends to have long periods of depression in which he hardly says a word to anyone, even Sarra. With the coming of the World Wars, Sarra’s faith in humanity has been lost. Unable, or unwilling, to deal with a world gone mad, Sarra fled her age-old responsibilities in favor of having fun. Not surprisingly, Angelo followed suit. Sarra comes and goes as she pleases, but it appears her heart isn’t really in it anymore.

Circe: Circe, a Resna-ken, and Katerine have always had a sort of special rivalry. Circe disagreed with Connor’s choice of his second in command and silently questioned his motives, but she more or less formally allowed it and informally challenged it. Having achieved the highest possible rank at such a young age, that of Emperor (which she renamed to Empress), and having been the first woman to do it, Circe figured that she would be the best choice for second-in-command; even if she did think that a dumb little Nemah leading them wasn’t the brightest of ideas in the first place. Originally she thought she should at least be in charge of this group of fools (note that what she actually calls them more literally translates to ‘sh*t-sacks’ but I don’t know if I can say that!) but by then Connor and his demonic sword were well-known to her and, due to the way her own people operated, she thought Connor might kill her if she tried to lead after he’d been more or less elected. Gradually, she has grown to admire and respect both Connor and Katerine, though the latter to a lesser degree. Still, from time to time it frustrates her that Michael, who isn’t worth the salt between his toes, and Katerine, Connor’s little favorite do-nothing, were picked for command over herself, an Empress. And so she openly challenges Katerine, no longer able to contain her indignation.

Raikector: Circe’s secretive love and a Dragon. Sure, she’s had many: human, demon, or otherwise, but it’s only Raikector that’s been able to bring out Circe’s wounded gentler side and nurse it back to health. It’s only Raikector that Circe feels she can drop all pretenses around and just make love to freely. Although it’s undeniable that Circe could charm any man--any male creature--even remotely attracted to women and does so on a regular basis, it’s unclear as to whether Raikector minds Circe’s promiscuous ways. In fact, Raikector’s position on many things, including Circe’s previous rule over a band of Resna-ken criminals in Chinatown, remain a mystery to this day, because billions of years ago the members of Shamrock decided to stop prodding him for information he obviously wasn’t willing to give. And so they all wait for the mystery to reveal its ancient secrets. In the meanwhile, they have his smile, his nod, and his powerful, lightning-breathing Dragon form.

Erik: Borrowing the spelling ancient Norsemen kings used, Erik (a bulky man made out of rocks in his natural form as a Golem) nowadays sings and plays guitar in a rock band with Xavior. Wooing women and saving the world, he once said, it doesn’t get any better than this. A sex-fiend by all outward appearances, Erik possesses a noble and romantic heart. He claims to love Nefertini deeply, but his human friends, as well as most of his companions in Shamrock, don’t understand how he can sleep around with so many women and then claim he has a heart for just one. Nevertheless, he shares many of the values of the Vikings he so fondly spent time with: love of women, a good brew, and conquest. A notorious practical-jokester and flake, he’s been forced to somewhat tone down his attitude and become more serious nowadays as two of the most responsible people on the team, Sarra and Angelo, are being bigger flakes than he ever was. Anyone who’s ever seen Erik in battle knows that he can become very serious, very quickly when the need arises. Erik is both your knight in shining armor and the goofy class clown all wrapped into one handsome, charismatic package. Unlike Circe, who likes to seduce men because she craves power and force them into bed with her, Erik showers his women with sweet whispers, attending to their every need and desire.

Nefertini: Whereas Erik is the strong-arm of the group, Nefertini, being a Faerie, is the resident healer. She believes Erik when he expresses his love for her, and loves him in return with all her heart. A truly gentle soul, it saddens her to think that her own people have turned their backs on her. Faeries are supposed to heal everyone and not take sides, but, in choosing to fight the demons, Nefertini has chosen a side and therefore lost the ‘innocence’ they so strongly believe in. The members of Shamrock, if they knew of this secret which Nefertini keeps, would strongly disagree with the Faeries. Nefertini unintentionally doubles as that friend you can tell anything to or, in more modern terms, Shamrock’s psychiatrist. The Faeries know, after all, that it’s not only the body that needs healing from time to time, but the soul as well. Keeping the confidentiality of all the members of Shamrock is an easy task for her, as she tends to be quiet because of her unassuming Faerie ways. It is perhaps because Faeries don’t participate in romantic love and instead have a cyclic egg laying for reproduction that Nefertini does not mind Erik’s tendency to sleep with anything female. Erik’s people also does not believe in anything more than brotherly love because, like the Faeries being a completely female race, his is a completely male race; this makes the fact that he and Nefertini love each other so much all the more surprising.

Xavior: Originally a carefree prankster alongside Erik who shook his head and laughed whenever his best friend mentioned some attractive young lady wishing to meet him, recent events have turned him into a jittery, scatter-brained screw-up barely capable, or willing, to carry out his many duties in Shamrock. The adventures of Erik and Xavior were legendary among the members of Shamrock, with Xavior’s fidelity to Phybee holding up every time Erik’s crumbled. A fan of classical music, trying new foods, and computer-hacking, Xavior loved experimenting with magical compounds and has created many important inventions for Shamrock. Xavior is an Elfkin child prodigy, famed master of the magical arts, and technological wiz-kid. Since Xavior’s mental breakdown, Katerine has required all members of Shamrock to receive basic computer tutoring sessions; Emily was happy to oblige, even after she and Circe were almost killed when Circe attacked the computer in anger. But since it is wartime for Shamrock and Xavior claims that he’s fine now, though privately he’s a mess and publicly he’s more irritable than usual, and his place as the mage of the group can’t be taken up by anyone else, he remains an active member of the team. Xavior had always been forgetful to the point of sometimes making big mistakes, but since being tortured in an alternate dimension, he is incompetent to the point where Katerine is forced to restrict his responsibilities.

Phybee: Like all of her people, she’s polite when she’s around her own kind (beings made out of light called the Ion) but arrogant when around foreigners. She, being the group’s psychic, is also both the religious leader and scientist of the group, a strange pill for humans to swallow but business as usual to Phybee. As Sarra is a historian, and Nefertini a doctor, Phybee is a scientist through and through. Her love of scientific knowledge is rivaled only by her pious devotion to the One. And why not? She was born the daughter of her people’s leader, and her people’s society was centered on worship in the temple. Her arrogant nature has somewhat been toned down with time, and she finds herself conflicted and confused whenever Xavior turns her away in these modern times. She knows that he must have undergone something very traumatic when he was sucked through that strange portal mid-battle, but can’t understand why he won’t let her be there for him now. Sometimes she finds herself crying, alone to herself. Increasingly, after accidentally bumping into Erik while crying, she finds herself in an unusual position: being comforted by not Nefertini, who is often engaged in private conversation with Katerine, but by Erik. Her grief has put a strange spell over her, and for Erik’s part it tears him up to see a woman in pain. With Erik’s innate charm, is trouble about to bloom?

Maeve & Maverick: Identical twins of an aquatic people that appear, in their human form, to be about eight years old. They’ve picked up whatever form of playing they came across throughout the ages, but to battle they bring their mastery of ice and water. Currently, Maeve is a fan of pop music, bubble gum, hula-hoops, chess, RPG video games, cartoons like “My Little Pony,” dolls, dresses, and make-up. Maverick likes video games of every type--except the “girly” ones, pop music, bubble gum (despite almost choking on it once…don’t ask me how he managed to almost choke on bubble gum…), hula-hoops, sports, checkers, cartoons like “GI Joe,” Legos™, and his train set. They haven’t changed much since Shamrock was formed almost 4 billion years ago, and it’s not likely that they ever will change; their childish innocence and incredibly good luck seem to be able to withstand even the worst of tragedies. If left to their own devices, a predictable sequence of events is sure to occur: A) Maverick will get himself in trouble, either by ticking off the wrong person or putting one or more part of himself in a place it shouldn’t go B) Maeve will save Maverick from impending doom C) Maverick will stand around laughing nervously, scratching the back of his head, and give a big, sheepish smile D) Maeve will make peace with the offended parties E) Maverick will get an earful about it from Maeve F) See step A.