Centernia: Building a Castle

Music Feature I write Centernia to an incredibly eclectic mix of music.  Sometimes it's the melody that gets me, the lyrics of the song, or simply the voice of the singer. Today's feature from my playlist: Heart: Alone Album: Bad Animals 1987 I think I prefer the Kim Sozzi candlelight version, but it's not presently available on YouTube. However, this video features Heart in is 80s hair-band glory.  The video is great, the costuming, the mysterious setting, and the fact they throw a white horse in there for fun.

I write Centernia while listening to music.  This week we have a song from the early 90s that influenced Return to the Castle.  I'm so in love the live version of this because the cello is so strong. Scorpians: Send me An Angel Album: Crazy World 1990

The bicorn is one of the most iconic creatures in the land of Centernia.  In the southern lands and coasts of Galbrian they are known as the vishalli . In the east, they are called the demon chasers. They are an intelligent and dangerous creature, but when well-trained, a highly prized companion. The species originated in the harsh arctic northern lands on the continent of Madierna. Bicorns have many very unique features, making them desirable mounts.  They are muscular and possess a resilient endurance, high intelligence and a wild fearlessness.  A single bicorn can easily cost four times as much as a well-bred horse. Bicorns are largely omnivorous creatures.  It is believed in times of vegetative scarcity they rooted out grubs and other small dirt-dwelling insects.  Over time, this insect-eating trait grew to encompass larger creatures such as mice and squirrels.  Full-grown adult bicorns have been known to eat prey as large as a rabbit or fish, th...

Links to part 1 and 2 of this series: Centernian Fashion Part 1: Basic Attire Centernian Fashion Part 2: Jewelry and Footwear Daywatch and Nightwatch of Trabalis The uniform of the Watch of Trabalis is a very traditional armor set.  The core of the armor's protection is an undersuit of black dragon hide.  As Misa once mentioned to Jessica, black dragon hide is a misnomer, as it comes from a water beast that is not a dragon nor is it black. Often this hide is a charcoal grey or brown.  The Watch of Trabalis will dye the hide a more vibrant color such as dark blue, deep green or crimson, depending on the district.   Over the black dragon hide suit, the Watch will wear metal armor plates.  Swirls and patterns are commonly added to the design of armor, giving it a distinct elegance.  As the Watch has not engaged in any major military entanglements in over seventy years, the armor focuses more on form than function. Despite the armor's decorative appear...

This weekend we returned from the first con of the year, Genericon.  It was awesome meeting the crowd out at Rensselaer.  Now we have Anime Boston and Tora Con coming up in April. I just finished the art for an article on armor in Centernia.  You can expect to see that article popping up soon.  Book Two is progressing at a good pace, I'm now muddying through that editing process, ripping out chapters, writing new ones. People have been asking questions about the second book. We're not letting Nico die in the Mines of Briken... I can also say that we will be seeing a bit more of Polaris Aacademy and the Holy Circus.  Also, gryphons. Today I'm pulling a song from my playlist, Lost it All by Black Veil Brides.  This song always reminded me of our favorite theatrical trickster, Malachi.  Were his intentions really bad, or his execution simply ill-planned?  What is it about this man that we didn't know?

Many people have been asking me about the progress on Book Two.  It's definitely moving forward at a comfortable pace.  Below is a photo of my elaborate outlining system, each column represents a chapter (or in some lengthy cases, half a chapter).  Each pink mark denotes that the chapter has been written, so definitely more pink than white at this point.  :-) As the story grows, my Centernia playlist grows, topping 271 tracks.  Here's another piece from my my music collection. I hear Nico's perspective in the lyrics, especially at the end of Return to the Castle. When I first heard this song, the phrase on the the shattered ones really resonated  as the castlefolk.  Even the phrase 'his love will conquer' (obviously a religious ref), could refer Teren's influence on the castlefolk. Trading Yesterday: Shattered Album: More than this 2006

Jewelry Inhabitants of Centernia love to wear jewelry. For some, it is a talisman of good luck. For others, it is an ostentatious bit of show. For those in mourning, a simple choker may be a means to feel connected with the dead. In the land of Centernia, almost all types of jewelry are worn by both genders. Earrings are very popular, as are ear cuffs, ring bracelets and simple pendants. It is not unusual to see someone with as many as ten piercings along their earlobe. Tongue and nose piercings are not as common in Centernia, but you will see them among members of the Holy Circus and people of the northern regions. Materials Much of the jewelry common in the area of Trabalis is made from a gold variant, mined in the mountains. It is plentiful and cheap metal with relatively low toxicity. Silver jewelry is also popular. Gemstones are more rare than gold. Most jewelry worn by common folk feature polished stones, glass, painted wood, and innovative combinations of natu...