Good evening or morning to all of you in the world; it’s me, Leon R.M. Auguste, here with another post!
In today’s blog post, I’ll discuss more progress on my editing process for my debut novel, which has been in development (on-and-off) for the last eleven years.
First, I have set a time frame of 1 to 2 years for when I want it published (traditionally – but if that doesn’t work, I’ll gladly self-publish).
Anyways, I believe it’s the right time to start talking about some of the characters in the book itself.
The first character I want to explain is Narien Altri’hu.
Narien Altri’hu is a 25-year-old Urksinian woman who hails from the floating continental nation of Inur-Urksa. She is a devout martial artist and likes to help those in the most need. Her ability to discern between what’s real and what’s fake makes her unique in her own right (considering her circumstances…but I won’t spoil any of that). She’s incredibly talented physically, and even so, she still finds faults in her own natural-born abilities.
At times, she can be quite hard on herself. Ironically, she gives excellent sage advice to others; but in truth, she may need to provide herself with those same pieces of advice from time to time. But then again, it’s hard growing up in the aftermath of the 20 year-long war known as The Revolting War in the world of my book.
The idea of Narien Altri’hu came to me in the form of a dream. I still remember it vividly, and it hasn’t left my mind’s eye since then.
It was a battling scene, with her in a pub after resting from her long travels to reach Harolin Town. She’s meeting up with someone important to her, an old acquaintance of hers. I won’t go into further detail, but just know that this “old acquaintance” of hers is important. And…it could actually be two different people.
That riddle may never be uncovered, but at least I know it may one day be a fund scavenger hunt for any potential fan of the book whenever I decide to have it published (or self-published).
At any rate, just as she settles in, a hand grabs her by her left arm. She turns around and finds an assassin-type man staring her right in the face. He’s ready to kill her, prepared to make his move.
Then, after some heated words between both Narien and the assassin, Narien twists his arm with her free hand and manages to free her grasp from him.
This is when the story gets going.
I won’t spoil anything, even though I really want to share it all with you.
Initially, when I had awakened from this strange but kick-ass dream, I had written Narien Altri’hu as a man.
I was about 12 years old when the dream of Narien Altri’hu initially came to me. So I suppose in my years of rapid growing pains, I had mistaken her proud inner strength for that of a brutish man.
In my dream, she was a woman, but it took a couple of writing sessions for me to remember who Narien Altri’hu was at the core of her being.
But looking back now, I’m impressed that such a character even entered my mind. I was blessed by God to create such a humble yet strong-willed character. Now that I’m older, I don’t see Narien for her gender or sex but her inner nature.
The contents of Narien’s actions speak louder than any words could ever do. But, most importantly, I admired Narien for her personality, even as the culture and traditions of her homeland are just as equally stunning and memorable.
Narien Altri’hu, to me, has always represented the strength of a whole tribe. After finalizing her character, I always imagined her as one of her prominent home village leaders. Because Inur-Urksa (her homeland) is filled with ancient culture and historical customs, I always dreamed of fantastic places full of wonder and magic.
I remember pondering how lucky and fortunate Narien was to grow up in a family-oriented culture and society. A society where everyone competed aggressively and respected the reality of human emotion.
Of course, there are dark sides to the Urksinian culture, but that will be further seen in future books. I know Book I isn’t even out yet, but I have this whole series mapped out in my head. At least, for the most part. Nothing is final until it is written in chapter form.
This might sound strange, but Narien has given me my current strength. With the help of a couple of other characters in the book, I’ve easily gotten through 2020 and 2021. But during adversities that I’ve faced in the real world, she’s definitely the character I turn to when I need to find my own inner strength.
Thanks to her, I’ve been able to pass through some unbearably tricky situations in my life. For example, a coworker once told me that she admired my inner strength for letting rude comments from one particularly nasty manager slide right off me. Little did my coworker know that I was strong at that moment, thanks only to Narien Altri’hu.
I remember telling her that I had help, “a great support system.”
It was a moment where my imaginary world collided with my real-world life. And at that moment, I was struck with silent awe.
Aside from this, one truth has become increasingly evident to me in recent years. The truth is that the story has come to me in the form of countless years of dreams.
I’ve always believed that this story was told through these strange yet realistic dreams. Passed on from generations and generations of my ancestors. Until finally, I was able to piece their stories together.
It’s strange how dreams work, how extensive and unrelated they may seem at first glance. But, in the end, it’s all part of the creative process for artists and writers. Every aspect of our dreams while we sleep helps create and foster real change in the world we live in.
We use small bits and pieces of our memories and the memories of our dreams whenever we’re creating something out of seemingly nothing.
At the end of it all, my ultimate dream will yet be seen. But what my hope is; is that my goal will help shape the future world in some way possible, even if it’s on a small and insignificant scale. The truth is, I want to help people in any way possible.
This story is my one way of giving back to our own world. It’s my greatest aspiration to one day live in a world where good triumphs over evil. Even if the concept of “good and evil” are mere illusions of our human culture.
But then again, if you can dream up something, you can certainly make it into reality…
Forever in Your Debt,
Leon R.M. Auguste
Leon R.M. Auguste 