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Books of the Arcana novel

Brief Definition of Terms

The Arcana

In some unknown pocket dimension the Arcana float restfully through the void of space and time. They are sentient beings made of pure energy, and the sole citizen-ship of this universe. In order to act upon other universes the Arcana endow a select few beings with their essence, avatars. In constructs known as 'Books', the Arcana fill the crux of their life's experiences.

The Books

The 'Books' of the Arcana are scattered throughout the universe, traveling at such high speeds they seemingly appear in two places at once. Catching them is almost impossible.
Avatars who dedicate their lives to the study of the 'Books' are called Ancients and almost always, are the most powerful of all avatars. Ancients must be very de-sciplined because using the 'Books' comes with a price. Using the 'Books' sometimes causes insanity or cancer,, an allergic re-action to the vast energies inside them
Training with the 'Books' endows ava-tars with preternatural abilities. As such, avatars are labeled as either alphas or betas. Only those who actively train are labeled, those who don't train yet still can access the 'Books' are called Actives.
Betas have moderate to impressive use of their abilities, or have abilities they can not control. The most powerful betas be-come the students of high ranking alphas.
Eventually becoming alpha minors, these betas can be apprenticed for Knighthood.
Alphas have use of most or all of their abilities, and can easily destroy whole ci-ties of any moderate size. Alphas all share the ability to evolve, entering into the Knighthood. Knights have abilities that can topple whole civilizations.

Knights of the Astral Siege

Knights of the Astral Siege was formed when Sylus, Knight of the Shadow killed his brother in arms Ty, Knight of Sagit-tarius. A great war was fought. At it's end, Sylus was captured, and the other Knights of the various realms formed an order. The order of Astral Siege.
Astral Siege was dedicated to honor, to brotherhood and to discipline of mind. Its members were the Siege, 6 brotherhood of Knights of the various realms.
Prothian Bates, Knight of Brighton Hills. Known for it's mountain fields and temperate forests, Brighton Hills lay on the various archipelago several miles east of the Driftwood metropolis. Bates killed a dragon for King Harold. In Brighton Hills, dragons were plentiful and needful of mo-derate culling.
Cylia spent the first 12years of her life far away from home, kidnapped by pirates on the ship Cardinal Tip. When she was finally rescued and brought home she would daydream about the ocean. She missed the motion of the ship most, the openness of the sky.
It hadn't taken her long to become a skilled warrior, she could kill anything with a bow. Windstorm was the biggest island in her father's kingdom, it wasn't surprising she chose it to train. The old shamans introduced her to the 'Books', gypsies on their way to Cater Falls.
She became a Knight on the night of a full moon, blessed by a child shaman on one of those gypsy pilgrimages to the Falls. He showed her something that no one but her could see or hear. Whatever it was, afterward, she could do things that even for her were seemingly impossible. She was Windwraith, deadly with a bow, with knives she was a savage. Tribes called her the black sleep.
Cylia joined her father's militia squad at the request of her aunt, Victoria. The squad was responsible for keeping order in each of her father's colonies. She took down an entire coup single handed.
Troy married Sonya, he loved her the moment he looked at her, she was smiling at something someone said, at a Ball. Her blue eyes matched her dress, lace and leather fit around the curve of her waist then draped down to tops of her thighs. She was beautiful.
They set their home on the coasts of Angium The mountains curved down just over the horizon, they watched ships sail the tidal waters at night from the bed-room window. Sonya gave birth to each of his 3 children, one girl, 2 boys.
Troy was the Knight of Storms. He was a disciplined man who lived with his heart as much as his mind. The others knew him to be a fair moderator, mindful of principles and character. His word was his bond, Troy wasn't afraid to step into the front lines with his friends for a just and good cause.

Brad Rosin wasn't born a monster, the Center made him into one. Behemoth was born to be a living weapon. The idea had been to mutate him with genes from various animals in order to give him super human traits. The Center ran their experi-ments, weeks and weeks of being poked and prodded, as if he himself were an ani-mal.
Initial tests were promising, there were definite enhancements in Rosin's strength and durability. He loathed the pool tests and always put up a fuss when he had to take them. No one could say what it was that happened but it was obvious he was drowning, then he wasn't. His body had grown gills, he could breathe underwater.
No one could say what happened that very night in Rosin's room but everyone at the base heard his screams. When the guards got to him he was writhing in pain on the floor. Witnesses say he was being ripped apart, his bones snapping out of place adding mass and muscle. For what seemed forever, his screams and moans became growls.
His features where decisively bestial, he was at least 16 feet from horn to tail. He was much stronger than any of them had anticipated, he was absurdly quick and agile for his enormous size and girth. It took most of the Center's vast arsenal to control him, and in the end Behemoth was locked away in a labyrinth of underground vaults.
He remembered when Troy tore open the door to his cage, a funny little man with a cape, the night the order came to his rescue. Behemoth was taken back to Angium with Troy, where he spends most of his time in the waters. The titan trust in Troy is absolute, and without hesitation he will defend Troy with his life.
Behemoth is the Knight of Dragons, taught to use the arcana through his con-nection to life force. Of all the Knights he is capable of utilizing the raw energies of the 'Books' naturally without any purpose-ful training. The more of these energies though that he absorbs the more feral he becomes. Everything unfortunate around him becomes prey, foe and friend alike. It took Troy's intervention to calm him down enough to be reasoned with on more than one occasion.

Bastion, the youngest of any Knight was born a poor blacksmiths son. His father made weapons, and raised Bastion to fol-low in his footsteps. Bastion was still a boy when an ogre killed his father, and would've killed his entire family had he not killed it. He left home soon after that.
He became a mercenary when he first started studying the 'Books'. The prisons were filled with law breakers he'd brought to justice, After a long period he saved up enough funds to afford a retreat where he went to study the 'Books' in solitude.
Bastion came to the order's attention in the wars, his skills noticeably advanced. Prothian Bates made the decision to be the boy's teacher, and Bastion entered into training. It didn't take long until he became an alpha minor, and eventually the Knight of Valor. He was content in the field, eager to earn Prothian's praise and approval.
Formidable with a sword and shield, he became the Emerald Knight, and played a major part in Sylus' defeat. Bastion craf-ted Excalibur in the fiery cores of Brighton Hill, and in some mysterious ceremony it became a conduit for his connection to the 'Books'.

There were other titans, scattered in the black void of time/space, on other count-less worlds in the eddies of the universe. In the coalition of all these knights in all these places, the Astral Siege was chosen to represent their general endeavors and interests.

Xiandria

Xiandria was a hub of 'Books' activity, a large planet on the edge of the free trade system of Andromedus. It's where the an-cients chose to set their central libraries and where those new to the 'Books' could train unimpeded by terrestrial politics. In all the realms and all the worlds Xiandria was neutral territory where everyone and anyone was welcomed.