Burning Skies (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters edit see section history

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• Marcus Amargi: vampire warrior who left to live on Mortal Earth after the death of his sister, Helena, called back to service with the Warriors of the Blood; over 4,000 years old
• Havily Morgan: a Liaison Officer, working directly for Endelle as an administrative coordinator
• Endelle: She heads the main peacekeeping force in their world, and the warriors were hers to command. Supreme High Administrator; a very tall woman with an overbearing personality and outlandish taste in clothes; extremely powerful, short-tempered
• Kerrick: a Warrior of the Blood. Mated to Alison
• Thorne: leader of the Warriors of the Blood.
• Alison Wells: Kerrick's mate, pregnant; administrative assistant to Endelle with some third Earth powers, able to soothe and heal the minds of others; a Guardian of Ascension
• Darian Greaves: Endelle's greatest enemy. He wants to rule Both the Mortal Earth and the Second Earth. Also known as The Commander.
• Antony Medichi: a Warrior of the Blood, over 1,000 years old, of Italian descent; never mounted his wings because of a dark secret
• Sam Finch: owner/bartender of the Blood and Bite.
• Parisa Lovejoy: she is the mortal-with-wings that Greaves is searching for
• Jeannie: she works at Central Command.
• Luken: a Warrior of the Blood; the biggest, one of the strongest; he has had a crush on Havily since he was her Guardian during her ascension
• Helena: she was Marcus's sister and Kerrick's second-wife; she was killed by Greaves.
• Jean-Pierre: a Warrior of the Blood.
• Zacharius: a Warrior of the Blood.
• Santiago: a Warrior of the Blood.
• Horace: a healer
• James: he is a Sixth Earth ascender, who sometimes talks to Alison.
• Eldon Crace: High Administrator of Chicago Two, Greaves underling.
• Rith Do‘onwa: one of Crace's 'assistants'; odd looking with short straight black hair, a wide forehead, broad nose, black, deep-set eyes, about 5'7"
• Luchianne: the only mortal to have wings prior to ascension; the first ascender in history
• Farrell Ennis: Marcus's second-in-command at his corporation on Mortal Earth; also an ascender who chose to live on Mortal Earth and powerful vampire
• Neeja: she was Marcus's wife.
• Leto: former Warrior of the Blood, now working for Greaves
• Duncan Morgan: he'd been Havily's husband while she was still mortal and had died of scarlet fever
• Colonel Seriffe: a Militia Warrior, head of security for the Ambassadors Reception
• Jane: a mortal working for Marcus on Mortal Earth as his executive assistant

Quotes edit see section history

• “Wherever she went, the environment improved. That may not have been a preternatural power, but it was a certain kind of magic at headquarters.”

  Antony Medichi about Havily

• “Everything he‘d just said was a code, or rather several codes. ASAP was code for ― Now or die, motherfucker.”

  Marcus

• “The terrible bond of the breh-hedden, Breaks down walls.”

  Collected Proverbs, Beatrice of Fourth

• “Even the most careful plan/ Succumbs to the power of the unforeseen.”

  Collected Proverbs, Beatrice of Fourth

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Blood and Bite: a bar where the Warriors usually go.
• Mortal Earth: The name for First Earth or the current modern world known simply as earth.
• Second Earth: another dimension, where the ascendants live.
• Trough: A slang term for a dimensional pathway. See Borderlands.
• the Borderlands: Those geographic areas that form dimensional borders at both ends of a dimensional pathway. The dimensional pathway is an access point through which travel can take place from one dimension to the next.
• Central: The office of the current administration that tracks movement of death vampires in both the second dimension and on Mortal Earth for the purpose of alerting the Warriors of the Blood and the Militia Warriors to illegal activities.
• Seattle: where Marcus's Mortal Earth business headquarters were
• Bainbridge Island: where Marcus's Mortal Earth home was
• Vancouver Island: where Havily lived as a mortal with her family on a farm
• White Lake: the location chosen to honor Territorial Ambassadors with beautiful gardens
• Phoenix: on Mortal Earth, a battleground between the Warriors and the death vampires
• Camelback Mountain: mountain range in Arizona, outside of Scottsdale
• White Tanks: mountains near White Lake; on Mortal Earth a Dimensional Borderland; Medichi built his estate at their base

Organizations edit see section history

• Warriors of the Blood: a group of warriors that maintain the peace of the world. Also called Guardians of Ascension.
• Militia Warriors: One of hundreds of thousands of warriors who serve Second Earth society as a policing force for the usual civic crimes and as a battling force, in squads only, to fight against the continual depredations of death vampires on both Mortal Earth and Second Earth. Also known as Thunder God Warriors.
• COPASS: The Committee to Oversee the Process of Ascension to Second Society.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• ascender: A mortal human of earth who has moved permanently to the second dimension.
• answering the call to ascension: The mortal human who experiences the hallmarks of the call to ascension will at some point feel compelled to answer the call to ascension, usually by demonstrating significant preternatural power.
• ascendiate: A mortal human who has answered the call to ascension and thereby commences his or her rite of ascension.
• ascension: The act of moving permanently from one dimension to a higher dimension.
• ascension ceremony: Upon the completion of the rite of ascension, the mortal undergoes a ceremony in which loyalty to the laws of Second Society are professed and the attributes of the vampire mantle along with immortality are bestowed.
• call to ascension: A period of time, usually several weeks, in which the mortal human has experienced some or all of, but not limited to, the following: specific dreams about the next dimension, deep yearnings and longings of a soulful and inexplicable nature, visions of and possibly visits to any of the dimensional Borderlands, etc.
• rite of ascension: A three-day period during which an ascendiate contemplates ascending to the next highest dimension.
• breh-hedden: A mate-bonding ritual that can only be experienced by the most powerful warriors and the most powerful preternaturally gifted women. Effects of the breh-hedden can include but are not limited to: specific scent experience, extreme physical/sexual attraction, loss of rational thought, primal sexual drives, inexplicable need to bond, powerful need to experience deep mind-engagement, etc.
• cadroen: (Term from an ancient language.) The name for the hair clasp that holds back the ritual long hair of a Warrior of the Blood.
• the darkening: An area of nether-space that can be found during meditations and/or with strong preternatural darkening capabilities. Such abilities enable the ascender to move into nether-space and remain there or to use nether-space in order to be in two places at once.
• death vampire: Any vampire, male or female, who partakes of dying blood automatically becomes a death vampire. Death vampires can have, but are not limited to, the following characteristics: remarkably increased physical strength, an increasingly porcelain complexion true of all ethnicities so that death vampires have a long-term reputation of looking very similar, a faint bluing of the porcelain complexion, increasing beauty of face, the ability to enthrall, the blackening of wings over a period of time. Though death vampires are not gender-specific, most are male.
• dimensional worlds: Eleven thousand years ago the first ascender, Luchianne, made the difficult transition from Mortal Earth to what became known as Second Earth. In the early millennia four more dimensions were discovered, Luchianne always leading the way. Each dimension’s ascenders exhibited expanding preternatural power before ascension. Upper dimensions are generally closed off to the dimension below.
• duhuro: (Term from an ancient language.) A word of respect that in the old language combines the spiritual offices of both servant and master. To call someone duhuro is to offer a profound compliment suggesting great worth.
• dying blood: Blood extracted from a mortal or an ascender at the point of death. This blood is highly addictive in nature. There is no known treatment for anyone who partakes of dying blood. The results of ingesting dying blood include but are not limited to: increased physical, mental, or preternatural power, a sense of extreme euphoria, a deep sense of well-being, a sense of omnipotence and fearlessness, the taking in of the preternatural powers of the host body, etc. If dying blood is not taken on a regular basis, extreme abdominal cramps result without ceasing. Note: Currently there is an antidote not for the addiction to dying blood itself but for the various results of ingesting dying blood. This means that a death vampire who drinks dying blood then partakes of the antidote will not show the usual physical side effects of ingesting dying blood; no whitening or faint bluing of the skin, no beautifying of features, no blackening of the wings, etc.
• folding: Slang for dematerialization, since some believe that one does not actually dematerialize self or objects but rather one “folds space” to move self or objects from one place to another. There is much scientific debate on this subject since at present neither theory can be proved.
• grid: The technology used by Central that allows for the tracking of death vampires primarily at the Borderlands on both Mortal Earth and Second Earth. Death vampires by nature carry a strong, trackable signal, unlike normal vampires.
• Guardian of Ascension: A prestigious title and rank at present given only to those Warriors of the Blood who also serve to guard powerful ascendiates during their rite of ascension. In millennia past Guardians of Ascension were also those powerful ascenders who offered themselves in unique and powerful service to Second Society.
• High Administrator: The designation given to a leader of a Second Earth Territory.
• identified sword: A sword made by Second Earth metallurgy that has the preternatural capacity to become identified to a single ascender. The identification process involves holding the sword by the grip for several continuous seconds. The identification of a sword to a single ascender means that only that person can touch or hold the sword. If anyone else tries to take possession of the sword, other than the owner, that person will die.
• Militia Warrior: one of hundreds of thousands of warriors who serve Second Earth society as a policing force for the usual civic crimes and as a battling force, in squads only, to fight against the continual depredations of death vampires on both Mortal Earth and Second Earth.
• mind-engagement: The ability to penetrate another mind and experience the thoughts and memories of the other person. The ability to receive another mind and allow that person to experience one’s thoughts and memories. These abilities must be present in order to complete the breh-hedden.
• mist: A preternatural creation designed to confuse the mind and thereby hide things or people. Most mortals and ascenders are unable to see mist. The powerful ascender, however, is capable of seeing mist, which generally appears like an intricate mesh, or a cloud, or a web-like covering.
• nether-space: The unknowable, unmappable regions of space. The space between dimensions is considered nether-space as well as the space found in the darkening.
• pretty-boy: Slang for death vampire, since most death vampires are male.
• Seer: An ascender gifted with the preternatural ability to ride the future streams and report on future events.
• Seers Fortress: Seers have traditionally been gathered into compounds designed to provide a highly peaceful environment, thereby enhancing the Seer’s ability to ride the future streams. The information gathered at a Seers Fortress benefits the local High Administrator. Some believe that the term fortress emerged as a protest against the prison-like conditions the Seers often have to endure.
• split-resonance n.: split-resonance is a state of vocal expression, including speech, in which the resonance has been split into two or more resonances. Resonance, when split, has a profound impact on the listener. Split-resonance can be used to enthrall, create emphasis in conversation, express a variety of emotions, and arouse during sex. When used with telepathy, split-resonance can cause severe pain within the mind of the listener.
• split-resonance v.: To split resonance is to craft any vocal expression, including speech, into several resonances at once.
• Supreme High Administrator pr. n.: The ruler of Second Earth.
• Twoling: Anyone born on Second Earth is a Twoling.
• vampire: The natural state of the ascended human. Every ascender is a vampire. The qualities of being a vampire include but are not limited to: immortality, the use of fangs to take blood, the use of fangs to release potent chemicals, increased physical power, increased preternatural ability, etc. Luchianne created the word vampire upon her ascension to Second Earth to identify in one word the totality of the changes she experienced upon that ascension. From the first, the taking of blood was viewed as an act of reverence and bonding, not as a means of death. The Mortal Earth myths surrounding the word vampire for the most part personify the Second Earth death vampire.
• wings: All ascenders eventually produce wings from wing-locks. Wing-lock is the term used to describe the apertures on the ascender’s back from which the feathers and attending mesh-like superstructure emerge. Mounting wings involves a hormonal rush that some liken to sexual release. Flight is one of the finest experiences of ascended life. Wings can be held in a variety of positions, including but not limited to: full-mount, close-mount, aggressive-mount, etc. Wings emerge over a period of time from one year to several hundred years. Wings can, but do not always, begin small in the first decade then grow larger in later decades.
• royle n.: (Term from an ancient language.) The literal translation is: a benevolent wind. More loosely translated, royle refers to the specific quality of having the capacity to create a state of benevolence, of goodwill, within an entire people or culture. See royle adj.
• royle adj.: (Term from an ancient language.) This term is generally used to describe a specific coloration of wings: cream with three narrow bands at the outer tips of the wings when in full span. The bands are always burnished gold, amethyst, and black. Because Luchianne, the first ascender and first vampire, had this coloration on her wings, anyone, therefore, whose wings matched Luchianne’s was said to have royle wings. Having royle wings was considered a tremendous gift, holding great promise for the world.
• preternatural voyeurism n.: The ability to “open a window” with the power of the mind in order to see people and events happening elsewhere in real time. Two of the limits of preternatural voyeurism are: the voyeur must usually know the person or place, and if the voyeur is engaged in darkening work, it is very difficult to make use of preternatural voyeurism at the same time.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Ascension, and followed by Wings of Fire.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Caris Roane (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Sexually Explicit Content

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction
• Books › Romance › Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Author's Website

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history