Holy Warriors and their titles.

[Malloriel]

For one of the tales set within Eleasia, I had need of a holy warrior of sorts, based initially off the idea of a paladin, but transformed to be unique unto Eleasia. This is just the preliminary stuff, with no nitty-gritty details as of yet.

Now, for the reality of Eleasia, when the gods themselves were still forming, the first to emerge were Darkness, Water, and Death, who at the time were known as the Primal Forces: Primal Balance, Primal Nature, and Primal Change. They took aspects of themselves and made them separate so that once true creation began, they alone would not be responsible for all that became, but could safely delegate things to those aspects of themselves which better fit the ideas. Primal Balance became Darkness when she removed from herself that which became Light. Primal Change made Life and outside influence, thus becoming Death in the process, and Primal Nature created the second trinity of Fire, Earth, and Air. Together these four would create most of the physical world that is so familiar. Further separation occurred, as each of the second tier gods (the first born of the First Trinity), removed further aspects to refine their dominion.

There is, however, a group, a large secular group spanning several races and lands, which believe that the First Trinity was in fact comprised of Light, Life, and Fire. This is referred to as the Brightness Theory, which earned the name of Shaetheryn (shay-ther-in), and was adopted as the name of the religious movement itself. Those who practice are widely known as the Ci'diashael (see-dee-ah-shay-el), though within Shaetheryn it is only a select group of high ranking priests located in one holy area that are truly the Ci'diashael, a combination of the maiyenin words for Life, Fire, and Light. These men and women make the decisions that govern the lives and actions and even the very beliefs of Shaetheryn.

Many followers of Shaetheryn become holy warriors, based in part on the belief that the god of Fire, Rhammyn (rah-min), was the First Warrior, and travel the land to help those in need. Their mission is to bring aid, hope, and Light into the lives of those who have the greatest need. Training as warriors allows them to better aid, preventing them from being helpless themselves, to protect the innocent, and to battle valiantly to strike down evil wherever it may lay. These proud men and women are the Sunyamin (soon-yah-min), dedicated to both their mission and their gods unwaveringly.

As with many religions within Eleasia, they do hold the number three in high regard, seeing it as sacred, and the very RARE birth of triplets as a pure and holy event, and a sign that the mother is Airyn Sunyin (ay-rin soon-yin), God Touched, and the children destined for greatness. Many times they attempt to take custody of both mother and children, if they feel their situation is less than conductive for potential greatness, believing that they above all others would know best.



So, what do you think?

[pyan]

You may want to think about Airyn Sunyin, Malloriel...first thing that popped into my mind was Farscape...

Farscape - Character profiles - Aeryn Sun

[Malloriel]

Interesting. Never did get around to watching Farscape, so I thank you for pointing that out. God Touched is out, then, if I'm using maiyenin. What about Cire'istal Airynae (sear-ay-iss-tall ay-rin-ay)? Chosen of the Gods. The only reason I didn't do that to begin with is because a group of elite "unofficial" bodyguards is called the Cire'istal and protect the Dorosai, who presides over the human kingdoms as sort of a leader of them all.

[Peter Graham]

It's up to you, of course, but the more unpronouncable a name is, the harder it is for a reader to engage. I'm not one for reading glossaries or reams of explanatory dialogue, so if I encounter names with too many apostrophes, consonants or letters, I either skim read them, or render them into my own patois - "Crystal Hairy Knee" is how I would read Cire'istal Airynae. I think you'd agree that loses something, but perhaps other readers embrace the fantasy language.

Why not render it into something more recognisable to the common or garden English speaker?

Regards,

Peter

[SJAB]

Originally Posted by Malloriel

Dorosai.

Very close to Dorsai. Also why use ' in the names, seems to be a staple in SF and F at present, maybe a different approach.

[Malloriel]

I use the apostrophes as they're generally used in English; to combine two words, such as Can Not into can't, and to separate vowel sounds, as in Hawai'i. The fact that they're thrown into words of fantasy origin does make them look questionable, I'll admit, but I don't randomly toss them in for affect. I'm never overly fond of their use, but there are some word cases in Eleasia that require them. So, it's not a quirk of maiyenin, but the application of pre-existing grammatic rules, and as the words are written in the lettering used by English, usually the same way English was put together, with pieces of other languages thrown in, in part or in whole, adopted into the structure that was already in effect.

And at the risk of sounding lost, what is Dorsai?

And if I use things common to fantasy, it is with consideration behind them, rather than "well, fantasy has this, so my fantasy will too. Then it HAS to fit in!" I spend a LOT of time putting things together and mulling them over and adapting, readapting, shifting, rewording, and generally figuring out how each piece fits together with the whole, and the reason it exists at all.

[SJAB]

Dorsai, are the classic warrior race in this SF series...

http://www.sfsite.com/09b/do136.htm

[Malloriel]

Very good to know. ^_^ And while many SF readers and fans cross over into F, and vice versa, I think the definition of Dorosai as the female head of the human race will distinguish itself from a world in SF called Dorsai. Again, though, it's good to know these things as I'd hate to end up too close to something that's actually similar.