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Author’s name:
Laurel A. Rockefeller
Title of book and/or
series:
The Peers of Beinan Series (in chronological order):
●
Goodbye A672E92 Quintus
●
The Poisoned Ground
●
The Great Succession Crisis
●
The Ghosts of the Past
●
Princess Anyu Returns
Brief summary of the
story:
Nobles and royals battle against each other for power, wealth,
and prestige. Behind the scenes an alien
race secretly pulls puppet strings in a quest for revenge against one of their
own reborn as a Beinarian.
Brief description of the
world or location you created for this story:
Located in a bar-spiral galaxy on the other side of M31
Andromeda, planet Beinan is properly known as B345A15 Quartus. Five times the size of Earth, Beinan orbits a
blue-white star as its fourth planet. A
thick upper atmosphere protects Beinan from the intense heat of its sun. On the ground, humans and animals breathe
chlorine gas (called nirlar). Beinarian
plants convert toxic oxygen (called bilast) into nirlar.
The planet itself has four continents: Dong-bei, Xi-bei,
Dong-nan fang, and Xi-nan fang. The
largest ocean is called “Amba Mederi.”
The weather is generally stormy with upper atmosphere hurricanes
common. From the ground stars can only
be seen near the poles where the atmosphere is thin enough for starlight to
penetrate.
If we were to visit
Beinan as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or do there?
The capital city of Hejing is always delightful -- or rather
was before Lord Yelu began his reign of terror.
The coastal city of Bira Hecen, home to house Miyoo, features many grand
and ancient temples cut out from the cliffs that protect the city from the Amba
Mederi Ocean. In addition, Bira Hecen is
home to Our Lady Healing Centre which terrorists famously destroyed in BE
6777. The rebuilt healing centre is one
of the top hospitals in all of Beinan.
In honour of the many healers who perished in the attack, the healing
centre built a beautiful memorial garden that is a must-see. A fountain sits at the heart of this, the
names of each healer killed in the bombing lovingly inscribed into it,
including that of Lady Healer Keelia of house Ten-Ar, Lord Knight Elendir’s
late mother.
If you can gain permission, take a visit to the nearby Isle of
Ben-Ar where you will be treated to the sights and sounds of protected
wildlife. In particular look for the
sacred falco albus, the divine messengers of the goddess Abka Gahun whose
temple makes the island a popular pilgrimage site. You can recognize falco albus by their huge
wingspans and snowy white feathers, though it can take a sharp eye to spot them
when they are hunting. Along the beach,
look for raks, a type of crustacean that looks like a cross between a lobster
and a crab. Fishing for raks is
perfectly legal and the meat is quite delicious.
If an old-world style pub is more your fare, head to the town
of Luton in Dong-bei and go to the Luton Town Jiudian. You’ll get great food, friendly service, and
the chance to gossip with the locals.
What dangers should we
avoid in Beinan?
These are dangerous times.
Terrorists have targeted healing centres planet-wide, especially those
staffed by houses Ten-Ar and Gurun.
In addition, visitors to the southwestern continent of Xi-Nan
Fang must be careful about the air quality.
Xi-Nan Fang is home to most of the planet’s mining operations. As a result, toxic bilast pollutes the
air. If that is not enough, radioactive
argene dust and argun ore is everywhere, the inevitable product of the area’s
many mining operations.
Rumour has it that Nan-li City in Xi-Nan Fang is home to the
most dangerous of the terrorists. Watch
your back if you dare tread there!
Is there a distinct or
unusual type of food or meal that we might be served in Beinan?
The Luton Town Jiudian is an excellent pub for affordable and
quality dining. The steamed rak tails
and rak legs are especially well prepared.
Complete your meal with seasoned buttered bread, an assortment of
cheeses, minced fruit, and berries, including kelan, nanla, and nara berries.
What types of weaponry
or fighting styles are common in Beinan?
Beinarian nobles use both heritage and modern weapons including
laser épée, laser crossbows,
and laser spears. Knights of Ten-Ar are
known for their circling martial arts styles which resemble ba gua gongfu to
Earth humans.
What types of vehicles,
animals, technology, etc. are used to travel in or to Beinan?
Low altitude shuttles are the primary form of transportation
planet-wide. Mid-range shuttles operate within the B345A15 solar system,
readily moving within and across all Beinarian atmospheric, aquatic, land, and
intrasolar environments. Star craft are
largely small to medium sized vessels used to travel between worlds and between
galaxies.
What types of plants,
animals, or sentient races might we encounter in Beinan that we don’t see on
Earth?
Beinan is full of many plants and animals, all of them silicon
based. On planet Beinan plants breathe
in toxic bilast (oxygen) and release nirlar (chlorine gas) which is breathed in
by animals of all types, including Beinarian humans. Nanla, nara, and kelan trees grow in
abundance, producing some of the tastiest fruits and berries. Animals include losos (a type of salmon), rak
(a cross between a lobster and a crab), konyn (a long haired rodent whose fur
is sheared for wool), falco albus (a massive white bird of prey), and songbirds
fabuku and fafiku.
Human life is not native to planet Beinan. Beinarians arrived from their original
homeworld of A672E92 Quintus nearly 7000 yen-ars ago.
What role, if any, does
magic or the supernatural play in the lives of people in Beinan? If there is magic, please give some examples
of what it involves or how it’s used
Beinarians are naturally psychic though to what degree largely
depends on the individual. Members of
houses Miyoo and Ten-Ar cultivate their psychic and precognitive abilities more
than the other houses, particularly among the priestesses of Miyoo and the
knights of Ten-Ar. The dominate religion
on Beinan, headed by the High Priestess of Miyoo, teaches reincarnation, a
belief abhorrent to its monotheistic rivals in house Shem. As a result the idea of past lives and past
life memories are mainstream across Beinarian society.
Is there any advanced or
unusual technology in Beinan? If you
haven’t described it already, please give some examples.
Modern weapons on planet Beinan use lasers and plasma bolts
such as in laser spears, laser crossbows (laser beams firing plasma bolts), and
laser épées. Low altitude and mid-range
shuttles fly instead of moving on the ground. Trains run on a monorail in an
advanced version of maglev technology.
Star craft are able to travel to worlds in distant galaxies, often doing
so with the help of advanced alien technology.
Tell us about any
sports, games, or activities that are available for entertainment in Beinan.
Beinarian nobles and royals love fine food and dancing,
particularly the Beinarian variant on English country dancing. In addition martial arts, fencing, and
archery remain popular across many noble houses.
Are the days of the week
and months of the year the same in Beinan as on Earth? What holidays or special
events are celebrated regularly there?
There are 197.26 beinors (Beinarian days) per yen-ar (Beinarian
years). Beinors (Beinarian days) are
numbered 1 to 197 or 198 in the case of a yeap yen-ar. “Beinor 1” is the start of the Beinarian
yen-ar and is typically celebrated with fireworks, feasting, and dancing.
Is there a particular
religion practiced in Beinan? Please
describe what it involves.
There are two major religions on planet Beinan. The primary religion worships a triple
goddess similar to the Morrigan of ancient Britain. The three goddesses are: Abka Biya (goddess of the moon), Abka Gahun
(goddess of birds of prey), and Banumu Hehe (goddess of Beinan the land). The high priestess of house Miyoo heads this
dominant religion where both women and men serve as priestesses and priests as
equals. In this tradition, belief is in
reincarnation. Direct, mystical
experiences are the main ways that worshippers discover and understand the
goddesses. Science is regarded as a sacred form of religious expression. As you might expect, environmental
stewardship is also key to belief and practice as the divine faces are manifest
across nature. Followers of the triple
goddesses uphold generally liberal values, allowing worshippers to follow their
own conscience on matters of marriage, child rearing, divorce, and sexuality.
The other major religion is centred in house Shem where they
worship the Shemai, a male creator god similar to the one worshipped in
Abrahamic religions. People are believed to be born and die only once after
which they go into an eternal afterlife. Like in the Abrahamic religions,
worshippers have a written scripture they use to learn about and understand the
Shemai’s commands. Religious leadership is restricted to men with priests called
sacerdos and the high priest called sacerdos maximus. Psychic abilities are regarded as evil and
perverse. Values are conservative with
non-marital sex, contraception, abortion, and divorce all highly discouraged.
What is the political or
government structure in Beinan? Who is
in charge there at the moment, and what kind of leader is he/she?
Beinan is ruled by a feudal constitutional monarchy based on
medieval, renaissance, and modern England and Scotland. The Great Council of Beinan serves as the
lawmaking branch of government with delegates from all of the noble houses
represented; excluding the non-noble houses of Plover, Skeinera, and Croften
making these houses a form of under class.
Executive and supreme judicial powers are vested in the monarchy. Kings and queens rule with the consent of the
Great Council and, in theory, can be overthrown at any time if they abuse their
power. In practice, government corruption
runs rampant enabling absolute despots like King Gareth I (The Poisoned Ground)
free rein to do as they please.
Dynastic change is achieved by votes of the Great Council. As dynastic change is usually contested
(often by force of arms) by the outgoing noble house, the Great Council rarely
votes in favour of it.
Most of the Peers of Beinan Series focuses on the Gurun dynasty
which reigned the longest in the Beinarian Era.
The Legacy of Princess Anlei begins with Queen Isabelle and her consort
Prince Bevin, a knight of Ten-Ar. The
last Gurun monarch in the trilogy is Queen Constance the Kind who is eventually
overthrown by the murderous Lord Yelu in The Great Revolution. Queen Constance’s daughter Princess Anyu
escapes at the end of “The Ghosts of the Past” with her exile, return to
Beinan, and fight against Lord Yelu’s tyranny being told in the series’ final
book, “Princess Anyu Returns.”
What, if any,
“hot-button” or controversial topics do you touch on in your book?
The Peers of Beinan Series follows in the Star Trek tradition
of offering thought provoking explorations of social issues.
In particular the Poisoned Ground was ripped from the headlines
with its look at the effects of strip mining on local communities. In this novella government corruption and
corporate greed come together to endanger the population of the southwestern
city of Nan-li, consciously ignoring safety measures designed to protect the
city. In part two of the Poisoned Ground
I look at rape and domestic violence with a special message to women.
In the Legacy of Princess Anlei Trilogy I look at how in vitro
fertilization (IVF) technology might be abused for political purposes if we are
not careful to put in place strong ethical standards.
Finally I explore the question of terrorism and religion in the
Ghosts of the Past, reflecting on my own 9/11 experiences living just five to
ten miles from the World Trade Center at the time.
Author Autobiography:
Born, raised, and educated in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, author-historian
Laurel A. Rockefeller has written over a dozen book titles since August 2012
including The Peers of Beinan science fiction series, American Stories, the
Legendary Women of World History biography series, and her latest passion: the
My First Cockatiel Series.
A literary author with a cosy fireside narrative style, Ms.
Rockefeller’s books come to life in audio editions narrated by Mr. Richard Mann on Audible and UK Audible.
A devoted animal lover, Ms. Rockefeller is owned by her two beautiful
cockatiels, both of whom will be moving with her to England following approval
of her UK residency visa.
Where, and in what
formats, can we purchase your books?
Find these and other Peers of Beinan Series books on Amazon:
The entire series is also available on Smashwords
in your choice of formats and on ibookstore.
Enjoy the Legendary Women of World History Series on Amazon:
●
Boudicca:
Britain’s Queen of the Iceni for kindle in English
and in Chinese,
plus paperback, and Audible
edition;
Enjoy the entire Legendary Women of World History Series on Smashwords
in your choice of formats.
UK residents: come out
to Southcart
Books in Walsall and discover the Peers of Beinan and Legendary
Women of World History Series from the comfort of their cosy reading room or
head to their Amazon store.
Where can readers
connect with you online?
Email: peersofbeinan@gmail.com
Skype: peersofbeinan
I hope you all enjoyed the trip to Beinan. Questions about the world or the book? Ask them in the comments and the author will get back to you!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the fantasy world of Aerisia, in Realm Explorers Part LI!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the fantasy world of Aerisia, in Realm Explorers Part LI!
-Annie Douglass Lima
2 comments:
Wow. This is some serious world building
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