Welcome to my World
And let me tell you…it is certainly a world of my own. Alice said it best (mine, of course, has fewer flowers and playing cards involved, but you get the idea.)
Basically it goes like this: I’m a writer and the characters I write often become very real and distinct entities from myself. I don’t write these stories. My characters do. They tell me how it happened and I write down the words. I often feel more like a scribe than a creative writer. People often wonder how I can read over something I’ve written in the recent past and laugh like it’s a favorite movie or something, and that’s the very reason. I am reliving the actions of characters that run rampant in my head, begging to be written about as they tell their elaborate, adventurous and often hilarious lives. I’ve collected the stories they’ve told me and entitled them “The Coloterra Tales”
Abadoo is my dearest character, and the hero of the Coloterra Tales. (He’s the nearest to me in the banner on the top of my blog.) He’s naive, absent-minded, innocent…brave, loving, loyal and courageous. He’s often given a hard time because of his forgetfulness or ignorance, but he’s always going to be there to protect the ones he loves.
The others (left to right in the banner) Lightningbolt, Glacier and Flash, as well as many others, hold special places in my heart and I love sharing their lives with anyone who wants to read of them. Here’s a bit of an intro to the way Abadoo’s story starts, giving a synopsis of the first few tales and an intro to its main characters.
The Coloterra Tales is a collection of stories centered on the abadoo race. Originating from the planet of Coloterra, the abadoos are a two-legged, but canine-like creature that varies as much in appearance, culture and abilities as the humans of earth do. They are full of pride, history, uniqueness and rich in culture. The primary story of the Coloterra Tales centers on a prophesied hero who, after years of war with their greatest enemy, the toshis, has come to reclaim Coloterra as their own and reestablish stability and security in a world full of despair, mysteries and turmoil.
The prophesied savior, “the one named for his race,” Abadoo, is nothing like what the generations have been expecting. With the heart and naivety of a child, he’s far more interested in observing a line of ants march along the sand than saving the world. With his innocence and pure smile, he would probably easily make friends with the ants, too. After an incident in the final Coloterrian war against the toshis that nearly cost the young Abadoo and eleven other children their lives, Abadoo finds himself reborn into a strange world half a century later with no idea as to his identity. Master Fire, one of the few survivors of the Toshi War, takes the responsibility onto himself of preparing Abadoo for the task at hand: reuniting his race and bringing the once powerful and dominant race back from the shadows of existence. It is here that Abadoo meets his first challenge: to discover and accept his own identity.
A battle between the remnants of the toshi army and the reappearing abadoos introduce many of the main characters
As Abadoo meets others and begins making friends, he begins to understand the need for unity among them. He still finds the old prophesy very difficult to take seriously, however, until the danger of enemies threatens their new and quite fragile way of life. Lightningbolt, his new but closest friend, is nearly taken from him by Shigaten, Segaten and Sogaten, servants of an unnamed (as of yet) evil force. Reality finally begins to show through to Abadoo and he swears to provide protection and safety for his loved ones…even if it means growing up and, heaven forbid, fulfilling the preposterous prophesy.
Within their universe, there are many things that hold power and promise some sort of protection or gain with their possession. Among these are, scattered in unknown places across the universe, are seven legendary crystals. Each is very unique, but there is no greater source of power and protection known to man or abadoo. In the hands of evil, these powers will multiply for the wicked and defeat for the abadoos is inevitable…but if they were to possess the crystals themselves, protect and keep them from such evil, peace and security would be attainable and death would no loom so closely, a dark cloud over the horizon.
Abadoo doesn’t really understand it all at this point, but if these colored rocks will bring safety to Lightningbolt, Kinkerpoo, Glacier and all the others, then he is willing to give it a shot. A journey to our own planet Earth hands him over to his first adventure. He meets other abadoos from many other walks in life and learns more of the universal struggle over the crystals and the history of his own race. With the aid of Master Fire and a new acquaintance, a space abadoo named Comet, he learns and grows in many ways. But his world is still riddled with allusions and mysteries that only time will reveal for him.
Abadoo’s first few adventures only scrape the edge of his innocence and his leadership skills leave room for much more development. He might not appear to be of warrior material, but his honesty, genuine love and purity of heart show great promise for a future of victory and prosperity. Waiting along side that hope, however, is the mysterious shadow-creature Khaos who no one can say if he hails to the side of evil or good. He seems but a dark allusion to the enemy. Irochidayu, an old foe from Abadoo’s child hood, is also among the list of possible enemies. But who Master Fire seems to fear the most is unnamed dark lord that Shigaten, Segaten and Sogaten serve who seems to have some personal grievance against Abadoo. Not to mention the six remaining undiscovered crystals. Though faced with a very uncertain future, the group of abadoos has already begun to discover the importance of unity, faithfulness and love. It is these qualities that they must hold on to if they are to reach their goals and push the reigning terrors back into the darkness and solitude where they belong.
This is the first book of a series, so many of its plot elements are allusions and mysteries to later stories. Each individual story, though, has its own sub-plot and conclusion. As we watch Abadoo’s growth throughout this book, we are also introduced to characters that will help him along his journey and grow closer to him as he learns how much he needs his friends. He and Lightningbolt click perhaps better than any two of the other characters. They are there to mutually support one another as Master Fire begins their training. Their friendship will last many, many years; death may be the only thing that can separate these two. Lightningbolt and his safety is initially the one who ignites Abadoo’s protective desire that sends him gallivanting to Earth. Though other close friends will enter the picture, Abadoo and Lightningbolt’s friendship sticks through it all.
Master Fire is Abadoo’s mentor. He was one of the few survivors from the Toshi War as a child and has waited the past fifty years with his memory of the prophesy still in tact. He makes it his purpose to lead Abadoo and the others in the right direction, helping them to learn about themselves and their heritage so that the abadoo race might make its comeback, as was always hoped.
Glacier may be on their side, but she surely can serve as a playful antagonist in Abadoo’s home life. If it weren’t for her things might never run smoothly in their hideout and the men would probably starve and live in filth. She and her best friend Snowmountain keep the Crypt clean and stocked with food. Glacier has something of a wall surrounding her when it comes to relationships with the men, which immensely confuses and frightens Abadoo. He cannot seem to understand her and she is no where near willing to let him in. Perhaps it’s something from her past that even she can’t remember that prejudices her in this way…
The greatest things that are accomplished in this first book are Abadoo’s rediscovering and accepting of his identity and purpose, character introductions, beginning developments of friendships, and Abadoo’s first adventure in which he learns and discovers many things about the world in which he lives. These characters have a lifetime of adventures ahead of them and many stories in which to tell us all about them.
