#solomonars chronicles

[snackara]

Draconology Files: European Dragons

(pictured: Four-Horned Sea Dragon)

Classification: Draconius Alatus

Height: 9 ft-25 ft (varies by breed)

Weight: 344 lbs-8 tons

Distinctive Features: Long horns, bat-like wings, ability to breath fire, two legs

Location: Various European Countries

European Dragons are the most widespread and well known of any draconian species. They typically live alone in more secluded environments, such as mountains and small islands. Most breeds spend their time alone, except during mating season and rearing young. They have a gland in the back of their mouths that produces a chemical that, when ignited with carbon dioxide, produces their signature fire breath. A dragons scales are fire-proof, and are the toughest of any magical creature. Their hides, along with many other body parts such as their horns, bones, hearts, and blood, are highly sought after for alchemical and medical purposes. While not illegal, dragon hunting is extremely restricted and should only be done by professionals.

(pictured: Pygmy Island Dragon) Known Breeds

The Spike-tailed Mountain Dragon is located in the higher altitudes of Central Europe. It often uses its spike tail moreso as a means to help it climb rocky terrain rather then as a weapon. The breed also has excellent eyesight.

The Common Red is found throughout Great Britain and Ireland. It often hunts livestock and even drakes, and is the only dragon species known to attack a human unprovoked.

The Crystal-Scaled Dragon lives in the northern regions of Russia, and is the only dragon known to live in such temperatures. It’s pearl-like scales are almost translucent, and are worth thousands on the black market.

The Ridgeback Night Dragon is a breed found primarily in Western Europe. It’s notable for its chilling, wolf-like howl, and only leaves its lair in the cover of darkness.

The Pygmy Island Dragon is a rarer breed native to the Hebridean Islands of Scotland known for its agility and muscular build. With its smaller size and calmer disposition than most dragons, the Pygmy was used to breed [CENSORED] by the [CENSORED]. See more about [CENSORED] in their section below.

The Iron-Tooth Forest Dragon makes its home in Eastern Europe. The breed is notable for how it dives down to catch its prey, similar to falcons, as well as its sharp teeth.

The Four-Horned Sea Dragon soars above the Mediterranean. Its diet consists primarily of fish and sea animals. The breed is also known to be remarkably intelligent.

[SECTION CENSORED BY THE USMC KEEPERS OF ORDER]

[snackara]

Chapter One, Part One [Early Draft]

Atticus had one hand calmly in his pocket while the other gripped a wand held against another man’s throat. “I’m not gonna ask again: do you know Shirley Miller?”

The man he was holding at wandpoint wetted his lips behind a large mustache, back pressed against the wall of his living room. He held his hands up, one holding a glass of liquor. His wife from the nearby kitchen clutched her necklace and looked between the two men. “Johnny, what is he talking about?”

“I don’t know, darling. I’ve never known anyone by that name in my entire life,” Johnny replied, running his hand through his black hair to smooth it out. He didn’t look Atticus in the eye. Instead he looked at the large burn scar that covered the left side of his face, and the empty socket where his other eye should have been.

“Oh really?” Atticus tilted his head. “Because Shirley knows you. She says you keep bothering her when she tries to go home. She even said you stole a necklace of hers after you beat her in an alleyway for not accepting your advances. Shame really. Told me it belonged to her grandmother.”

“Johnny would never!” The wife protested. “He comes straight home every day after work, he doesn’t go chasing around after flappers and broads. Do you, honey?”

Johnny shook his head vigorously. “Of course not. I love my wife, and only my wife.”

Atticus wasn’t really paying attention to the man anymore, instead turning his attention to the wife. “When did you get that necklace?”

“My-My necklace?” The woman looked down at the necklace hidden by her fist. “Just this Monday, Johnny brought it home as a gift for our anniversary. Why do you ask?”

“That’s funny. That’s the same day Shirley said her necklace was stolen. Tell me, is it a gold locket with a phoenix painted on it?”

The wife glanced between the necklace she was holding and Atticus a few times, her brow furrowing in confusion. “How did you know?”

“Well, that’s the description Shirley gave me. I’ll be taking it back to her now, thank you very much,” Atticus took his hand out of his pocket and held it out.

The wife hesitated before taking it off and slowly walking towards Atticus, putting the locket in his hand before quickly backing away.

Atticus felt Johnny squirm under his wand and pressed it closer to his neck. “Ah ah ah, I’m not done with you yet. Listen to me carefully. If you ever bother Shirley again, I’ll kill you.” He leaned closer to the man’s face until they were only inches apart. He could feel the other man’s breath on his face. “Understood?” He asked coldly.

“Yes,” Johnny finally whimpered out.

“Good,” Atticus stepped away, lowering his wand. “See, wasn’t that easy? Now I’d better be off, because I think you and your wife need to have a conversation, and I want no part of that.” He turned and walked towards the door. 

From behind him he heard the wife cry out “Johnny no!”, and whirled around to see Johnny aiming his own wand at Atticus.

Before Johnny could fire a spell at him, Atticus pointed his wand at him and calmly said “Exarmare.” He felt his energy rush through his wand and out the tip in an invisible blast. Johnny’s wand was knocked out of his hand onto the floor. He looked from his empty hand to Atticus just in time to see him cast another spell. “Subdomo.” Another invisible blast of energy shot out, this time knocking Johnny against the wall. He slammed against it hard and slumped down, unconscious. His wife gasp and covered her mouth with her hands.

Atticus sighed and tucked his wand away. “He’ll be alright. You might want to take him to a hospital once he wakes up though.” With that he grabbed the glass of liquor Johnny had set down on a table and knocked it back. He set it back down and walked out of the apartment.

———————————————————————————

Atticus walked through the dimly-lit city streets of New York alone. At some point he glanced over his shoulder and ducked into an alleyway. He walked halfway then stopped at a flight of stairs and made his way down them, where he was met with a brick wall. He took out his wand and tapped the middle brick, which was brown instead of red like the rest.

The bricks parted, revealing a drab speakeasy. The Blind Tiger. Heads turned to look at Atticus as he walked inside before looking back to their own tables. He was a regular here, so no one ever minded him. The wall returned behind him, each brick returning to their original spot. 

He scanned the room and stopped on a younger woman wish short, curly brown hair and a black eye. She was sitting at a table with a few other ladies, laughing about something Atticus couldn’t quite here. He made his way over to the table, winding around other people as he passed them. The Blind Tiger was surprisingly full tonight.

“Shirley!” Atticus called to the woman. 

She perked up at her name, her eyes widening a little as she saw Atticus. “Did you do it?”

Atticus held up the necklace, setting it in front of Shirley. “Yes. Our little friend Johnny shouldn’t be bothering you anymore. But if he does, you know where to find me.”

Shirley beamed and leaped up, hugging Atticus. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” Atticus stiffened and patted her on the back. Her friends- at least, Atticus assumed they were her friends- exchanged glances of relief and amusement.

“Anytime, ma’am. Now, about payment,” Atticus said. 

Shirley pulled away from the hug, her smile faltering. “Oh, right…” She glanced away before she perked up again. “Wait, how about this? Why don’t you take my locket as payment? I’m a little tight on money right now, and the locket would probably get you more money then I could offer.”

Atticus glanced behind her at the locket and paused for a moment before grabbing it, stuffing it in his pocket. “Okay. Deal.”

Shirley smiled and sat back down in her chair. “Thank you again Mr…”

“Torrence. Atticus Torrence,” he said with a nod before turning around and making his way towards the bar. He sat down in one of the stools, setting his coat in his lap and rubbing his temples.

[snackara]

Hey there! Sorry it took me so long, but I finally got my questions ready for your "Solomonar Chronicles"!

I remember that this series was inspired by how bad "Fantastic Beast" got after the first film. (which I get, the other two were such wasted potential) Is anything else from Harry Potter being used for inspiration for your series?

How did you come up with your character names?

Who would say is your favorite character that you made?

Do these characters get trauma like the ones in "Upon a Star?"

Are you going to do more Draconology Files? That one caught my interest the most since I'm studying dragon biology for a villain in my superhero story.

Would this be formatted like a regular book, or play out like a movie?

Is Solomonar Chronicles like a series with each chapter being an episode, or one large story broken up into chapters?

Why did you choose the 1920's for the setting? Its not a bad thing, I actually really enjoy stories set in that period. I'm just curious.

Will we see designs for the characters some day?

Any major villains coming up we should know about?

Are there other fantasy creatures in this world, or just dragons?

I was also curious about your "Dinosauroids Project" story too. I finished the first story of my "Visitors From Pangea" trilogy, so I'm curious how you would write a dinosaur based project.

In regards to original stories we're making, I'm currently creating one called "SuperZeroes", where its a story inspired by all the CBM I grew up with. Not sure if you're into heroes, but I was hoping I could share some stuff I have with you? At least while I'm still building the world and characters.

Thank you! 🐶

Oh hell yeah, ask away!

I took a lot of inspiration from problems I found in the world-building. If you want an in-depth look at the flaws in the Wizarding World, I highly recommend this video. It’s very long, but very good. The main flaw I wanted to tackle with this series is the whole Statue of Secrecy, and how it’s more harmful than helpful for mages and non-mages alike. Also this is not a Harry Potter thing, but weirdly enough Deadpool and Wolverine had a heavy influence on the story.

I looked up lists of common names from the 1920s and picked out some that stood out to me for first and last names. Except for Atticus and Clara. Those two just sort of came to me.

Either Atticus or Jesse, it’s a tough choice. On one hand you have Atticus ,who’s deeply traumatized and scarred but over the course of the story slowly heals and finding good in the world again. And on the other is Jesse, who’s just an absolute sweetheart and so supportive of his lover.

Oh heavens no…it’s so much worse in this series. Just look at Atticus.

Yes, I have a couple in my drafts I’ve been meaning to work on.

Im hoping to get it published as a real book series someday, so it’s formatted like a normal novel.

More like a larger story broken up into chapters, for the most part.

Mainly because that was when the Fantastic Beasts trilogy was set. I’ll probably tie it into the themes of the story better with prohibition and the non-mage government, but for now that’s it. Shallow? Yeah. But it works.

I’ve been digging through concept art to use as references lately. So far the pickings are a little slim for how I envision dragons, but I still have some stuff.

Edward Donahue. He’s basically the head of the mage CIA but somehow worse (Keepers), is the strongest believer in keeping non-mages and mages separate, and oh yeah basically started all of this by killing William Torrence and burning half of Atticus’ face off. So yeah, not a great guy.

There are plenty. I’m not sure how I’ll fit them in at the moment, but they will appear, because I have some interesting interpretations. One fun idea I have is making fairies more like bugs than tiny humans.

It’s based of a theory originally created back in the 1980s by David Russell which explores the question of “What if dinosaurs never went extinct and involved human-like intelligence?” It’s a really fascinating concept that I’m surprised more people haven’t picked up on. My own story is based on concept art created by C.M. Koseman and Simon Roy. Unfortunately I don’t have a solid story yet, just some worldbuilding stuff.

Yes please

And thank you for the asks!

[snackara]

Draconology Files: Drakes

(source)

Classification: Draconis Alatum

Height: 3 ft

Weight: 180 lbs

Distinctive Features: short snout, back hump, head spines, lack of wings, inability to breathe fire

Location: English Western Midlands

It is unknown why Drakes have do not grow to the same size as many other dragons. One explanation is that they evolved to fill a similar niche that wolves do in North America, which is supported by their behavior. They often live in family units called pods, which work together to hunt deer, rabbits, badgers, and occasionally livestock. It is also unclear why they did not develop the same glands that allow dragons to breathe fire. Most draconologists speculate due to their diet of smaller animals and pack animal nature, there was simply no need for it. Due to their small size and association with dragons, drakes are easy targets for poachers and exotic breeders. Poachers hunt them for their hides organs that would be typically much harder to obtain from dragons. While exotic breeders try to capture and breed them as guard animals or fierce pets. In particular, they are often captured to be used in illegal fighting rings. People will often abuse drakes and try to cast spells to make them more violent before pitting them against each other. However, it is illegal to own drakes or dragons of any kind outside of research purposes.

[snackara]

Vulneratus

A vulneratus is a rare response to trauma that can develop in mages. It often develops in young children who suppress their magic, whether consciously or from a form of abuse. When a vulneratus child experiences strong negative emotions, their magical energy is released as a destructive force.

A vulneratus can appear in different ways depending on how strong it is. A weaker vulneratus is an invisible force that can cause mild damage. More commonly they appear as a flying, incorporeal mass with the appearance of a dark, fluid-like cloud with shining white eyes. In a few documented cases, the vulneratus took on the vague form of an animal or human. The strength of the vulneratus depends on the strength of the host. When a child reaches their mental breaking point, they can loose control and turn into a vulneratus for good.

A vulneratus can be highly destructive, causing severe damage to structures and making objects levitate. People who are killed from a vulneratus attack typically will have cuts and bruises along their body from the attack. A vulneratus can be calmed down and go back to their human form. It can be extremely difficult to do so however, and most mages resort to killing them. They can be treated, but there is no cure.

[snackara]

The Solomonar Chronicles: The Magic System

I’ve been thinking a lot about how magic functions in the Mageborn’s universe, and I encountered one big question.

Why not use magic for everything? And the answer is simple, honestly.

Casting spells costs energy.

The exact cost of energy depends on the scale and complexity of the spell. Basic charms such as levitating a box of teleporting a cup across a room wouldn’t affect someone that much. Spells such as combat and healing spells drain more energy, leaving the caster feeling more tired. And spells such as teleporting long-distance and turning invisible leave the caster almost completely drained of their energy, and some will pass out afterwords. Several spells in rapid succession (usually during a fight) can also drain a lot of energy.

Casters can actually train to cast spells at a smaller cost. Think of it like exercising. The more that spell is cast and trained, the less energy it takes to do so. This is often the focus of job training and the magic part of mage schools, not just learning the spells themselves.

Something else to add is that since energy is converted into spells, objects and spells cannot be created from nothingness. The energy can be converted into things such as fire or water, but not solid objects. With objects, they must be transformed from something else. Such as transforming a pumpkin into a chair or something.

TL;DR

Casting spells comes at the cost of energy

The larger or more complex the spell, the more energy it drains from the caster

A caster can train with certain spells so that they cost lest energy

Spells cannot be conjured from nothing

Spells can only convert energy into elements such as water, fire, and air; it cannot be converted into solid objects

Magic can only transform one solid object into another or into an element and vice versa; the more alike the objects are the easier it is to transform

[snackara]

You’re here with me, it’s like a dream [Early Draft]

Fuck, fuck, FUCK.

Atticus had been pacing in the small hotel room for the better part of a hour, gripping a bottle of whiskey and trying to calm himself down. As soon as they had gotten back he had told the others to leave him alone, perhaps harsher than he meant to, and locked himself up in his room. He couldn’t stop thinking about those memories that had flashed through his head when Donahue cornered him. That fateful flash of light. William and Nancy lying on the ground. The dawning realization that they were dead. The memories had faded over the years, but now they were flooding back, as strong as ever.

Then there was what Donahue said. “No one will ever love you, Atticus. Because you aren’t worth loving.”

And Atticus believed him.

A knock on the door startled Atticus out of his thoughts. He chugged some of the alcohol, stormed towards the door, and almost ripped it open. Jesse was standing on the other side, flinching as the door flew open. “What do you want?” Atticus asked.

“Can we talk?” Jesse asked.

“No,” Atticus tried to shut the door, but Jesse stopped him.

“Please, I just want to help you.”

Atticus snorted humorlessly. “Why the hell would you want to help me? Leave me alone.”

“Atticus, please, I’m worried about you. Clara and Florence are too,” Jesse said.

Atticus’ jaw clenched. “Why do you people want to bother me so much? Just leave. Me. Alone.”

There was a few moments of silence before Jesse shoved his way through the door. “Okay, you know what? No. You’re not doing this shit tonight.” He closed the door behind him. Atticus took a step back, surprised by Jesse’s sudden shift. “You’re not going to push me away like this. I’ve been trying to talk to you through this whole trip, but you’ve just ignored me.”

Atticus snorted and set the bottle of whiskey down on the nightstand. “Oh come on, the last thing I need right now is a lecture from you-“

“Quiet.”

Atticus snapped his mouth shut, again startled by Jesse’s harsh tone.

“You can’t just shove people away like this. It’s not good for you, or us. You’ve done nothing but act like a pessimistic asshole this whole mission. Do you really want to treat us like that. Do you want to treat Clara like that?” Atticus winced at the mention of her. “Every time one of us tries to reach out and help you, you just run. But you can’t run from your problems forever. You can’t bottle up your emotions like you have been and wallow in your own self-destruction. If you just let one of us talk to you, we could help you. I could help you. But you have to let me help you.”

”…why are you so insistent on this?” Atticus asked dryly.

“Oh for god’s sake- because I care about you!” Jesse snapped. “We all do! Atticus, we’re your friends. Friends care about each other they help one another when they need it most. I don’t want to see you like this.” He took a deep breath and stepped closer to Atticus, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Please just…talk to me. Talk to me about what’s going on.”

Atticus’ heart was pounding in his chest. He couldn’t speak, and he could barely breathe. Jesse was right. Of course he was. He couldn’t run from his past forever. It seemed like it had a habit of catching up to him at the worst of times. But he was so scared of it. Scared of confronting it, scared of acknowledging that it happened. Because that meant facing the fact that he failed to protect two innocent people. One of which being his brother, no less.

“Fine,” Atticus finally said. “Fine. Let’s talk.”

Jesse looked relieved as he walked around Atticus. He grabbed the chair from the desk by the window. He put it in front of the bed, sitting down. Atticus sat on the bed, crossing his legs. “So, what happened back at that house?” Jesse asked.

Atticus glanced away, figuring out how to phrase his words best. “I ran into someone who…hurt me. He hurt my brother too, a long time ago.”

“Edward Donahue,” Jesse said.

“Yes,” Atticus replied.

“What did he do, exactly? Did it have to do with non-mages?”

Atticus felt his throat close up and could only nod. He really didn’t want to talk about this. He certainly didn’t want to talk about it to the man he was jealous of. But now he felt like he had no choice. So he looked out the window and began. God, he wished he had more whiskey right now.

“My brother William. He fell in love with a non-mage, Nancy, and broke the Code of Secrecy. He didn’t want to break things off with her though. So he planned on moving to Ireland or Scotland with her. You know, somewhere where the rules are a lot looser. He convinced me to come along. Thought I was too unhappy in New York and that a change of scenery would do me some good.” Atticus looked down, plucking at a loose thread on the blanket.

“I don’t know how, but the Keepers found out. We were traveling at night to the docks when they confronted us. An argument broke out, and Will tried to protect Nancy from getting her memories wiped. He casted a shield spell, and Donahue mistook it for a threat. So a fight broke out. I was just trying to fend off the Keepers, trying to get Will and Nancy out of danger. I didn’t want to hurt anybody. Then Donahue-” Atticus had to pause, his voice shaking as he spoke again. “He killed them. Both of them. He claimed it was an accident but I knew better than that”

“Then they arrested me. The jury said I was innocent and only trying to defend myself, but I think the USMC was just trying to cover their asses and keep the newspapers off their backs. Donahue wasn’t happy. He thought I should be sent to prison and rot as a traitor. So he did the next best thing he could think of.” His body was trembling now. He grabbed his right arm, running his thumb along the inner side of it. “He ganged up on me with a couple other Keepers as I was going home and…”

He gestured vaguely at the scar that covered the left side of his face. Jesse’s eyes widened with horror as the realization dawned on him. Atticus shrugged. “I suppose that’s what I deserve for failing to protect them.”

For a minute neither of the two men spoke. The only sound was some faint chatter in the hallway. Atticus couldn’t meet Jesse’s gaze. Each time he tried he felt like he was about to fall apart.

“I’m not a good person to be around, Jesse,” Atticus finally said, his voice hitching a little. “All I do is hurt people. It’s what I do for a living. And the people I care about get hurt or killed, so it’s for the best if they just stayed away from me. Because if I don’t hurt them, I’ll just be a burden on them. And I don’t want to put that on anyone.”

He put his head in his hands. He couldn’t do this. He needed to leave. He was just a drunken nuisance the others had to deal with. They didn’t deserve to deal with his shit. Not Jesse. Not Florence. Not Clara…God, not Clara. Not after how kind she had been to him. Panic flooded his chest. He couldn’t do this. He-

“Atticus. Atticus look at me.” Atticus flinched at the voice, and looked up to see Jesse was sitting beside him on the bed. He forced himself to look him in the eye. His gaze was soft and filled with empathy. “It’s not your fault. You are not a burden.”

Atticus took a deep, shaking breath. “You don’t know me Jesse, I’m not…I’m not a good person.”

“I think you are,” Jesse said. Atticus blinked. “The past doesn't define who you are, what you do now does. But only you can make yourself better. Nothing is going to change until you do. And you can’t love anyone else until you stop destroying yourself over something that’s not even your fault. And sure, maybe I don’t know you that well. But I believe you have as much capacity for good as anyone else. You just need to find it.” He took Atticus’s hand in his own, making his heart flutter a little. “It’s going to be okay.”

“But-”

“You’re going to be okay.”

Atticus felt his resolve finally break. Tears he had been holding back desperately spilt out and ran down his cheeks. “How? How do I keep going when I have nothing left?”

Jesse pulled Atticus into a warm and tender embrace. “You don’t have to do it alone. You never did. You have The Order, you have Florence, you have Clara, and…and you have me,” he spoke gently, voice thick with emotion. Atticus buried his face into Jesse’s shoulder, letting out a sob. “We’re not leaving you. No matter how bad things get, not matter how dark the road ahead is, we’ll be right here with you.”

Atticus gripped Jesse a little tighter, and felt him adjust so they were leaning against the headboard. And for the first time he felt a spark of something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hope.

It felt so small and so fragile, but it was there. That was all Atticus needed for now.

“Can you stay for a little longer?” Atticus asked weakly.

“Of course,” Jesse replied, resting his hand on Atticus’s head. “As long as you want me to.”

Atticus relaxed completely, practically melting into the embrace. Silence enveloped them again, but it felt more comfortable now. He focused on the sounds around them. Jesse’s steady breathing, the gentle thump of his pulse, faint voices from the hallway. For the first time in years, he felt completely at ease. He stayed holding onto Jesse and lost track of time.

Atticus didn’t realize he’d dozed off until sunlight hit his eyes the next morning. His head was pounding. He lifted his head and realized he and Jesse were still holding each other. Jesse was peacefully asleep, resting against the headboard of the bed. Atticus smiled a little at the sight. He slowly untwined himself from Jesse’s arms, making sure to not wake him up. He got out of bed and noticed the bottle of whiskey on the nightstand. It was almost empty. He thought about the conversation him and Jesse had the night before and grabbed the bottle, tossing it into a bin.

It was a start.