Nothing is Ever Easy Universe Primer
Nothing is Ever Easy Primer
The Universe
The Nothing is Ever Easy universe is a world not too unlike our own, set in a medieval-esque time period. The stories all center around Tira, a small country, bordered by its three neighbors: Alyia, Nerius and Gilan and then the Windfall Sea, a notoriously large and rough body of water that the Tirans generally avoid.
Tira:
Ruling Family: Highcastle, (briefly: Maigor and Carris)
Capital: Oakbridge
Nerius:
Ruling Family: Belmonte
Capital: Citta del Lago (commonly known as Lago)
Alyia:
Ruling Family: de Carlins
Capital: Villesain
Gilan:
Ruling Family: Winchester
Capital: Gilan
A Little Background
I leaned back against the side of the cell and studied the three upturned and expectant faces watching me. - The original first line
I started NIEE on Aug. 23, 2003, so that makes it exactly nine years old as I type this (creepily, it is within the hour of when I first posted bits online). I was home alone while my mom was off at her third year of law school. Never did I imagine what would come of a simple scene that popped into my head as I ate my lunch of Chef Boyardee. I finished it some two years later in December of 2005, during winter break from my freshman year of college. I’m currently about a third of the way through massive rewrites and edits to try and get it up to snuff. As for the others, they were mostly written as NaNo stories. Of those, only Taken and Choices are also finished. Healing was written concurrently with NIEE, when I needed to write a dose of angst, and is also complete and can generally stand alone.
The Stories
Healing a Nation:
Years: -1 to 1
Sek slipped through the fog. He had a job to do, which was more than could be said for about half the people in this depressed excuse for a city.
The Highcastle line has been all but wiped out. When it comes out there is one remaining family member, will he take the mantel and bring his country out of the dark? It starts with Sek, a young mercenary who is running from his past, and with Alex, a girl on the run from the men who have terrorized her childhood. Add in Resh, a scarred young man with an uncertain past but a tendency to lose control of himself and Kenz, a serious only child who befriends street urchins and understands far more than the rest of them. Andrew’s disillusioned with his life and everyone else while Damien just wants to rescue the world. Together, they seem to be the only hope for a Tira on the brink of self-destruction.
Characters:
Sekinco “Sek” Highcastle (nee Kalim): main protagonist, only surviving Highcastle, spent five formative years as a slave, 18-19 during the story
Rose Alexandra “Alex” Solaris: switches to Alex when parents are killed, horribly abused during formative years, 16-17 during the story
Alexander Resh Solaris: goes by Alex until parents are killed then Resh, takes the last name Cobble for some years, has blank pieces in memory from childhood abuse, 14-15 during story
Mackenzie “Kenz” Midden: the perfectly normal one other than a belief in prophecies and a dislike of contractions, 13-14 during the story.
Damien Rast: rescues Alex from her abusers, orphaned and raised by uncle, ~19 during story
Andrew Shann: former captain of the King’s guard, handy with a sword, friendly enemy of Sek, 21 during story
Antagonists: Jonathon Carris, Taggert, Holden & Mitch
Nothing is Ever Easy:
Years: Winter 290 to Spring 293
I heard a clang as the cell door opened. “Move back,” the guard in front ordered some unseen person.
Jasmine Lockholme stops an assassin and next she knows, she is marked for death herself. Rescued by a group that call themselves the Freedom Fighters, she finds herself at the center of an all-out war for Tira. It doesn’t take her long to realize that, despite the odds against them, Beau and the rest of the Freedom Fighters are determined to win. But the new rulers, a set of siblings scornfully called ‘The Three,’ are just as determined not to give the throne back up without a fight.
Characters:
Jasmine “Jez” Lockholme: our MC, just 18 at the beginning, youngest of five (all boys)
Beau Highcastle: known just as Captain Beau, 21 at the beginning
Renier Highcastle: Crown Prince, captive of the Three, 25 at the beginning
The Three:
Vladimir Opalin: oldest, driving force, slowly mentally unbalancing, 27 at beginning
Sorin Dakamar: middle half-sibling, result of a rape of their mother, mastermind, coming out of a deep depression, 25 at beginning
Anica Opalin: youngest by four years, pretends to be an airhead, in love with Ren
Freedom Fighters:
Michael “Mick” Sanders, Brighton Dall, James “Jay” Dall, Jessica Rider, Rylia Schid, Dunkin Kramer, Benton Walters, Colin Lockholme, Kira Walters
Others:
Stella & David Harper: fellow prisoners
Lt. Jakium McRuoes & Col. Trigger Rees: members of the Three’s forces
Choices:
Year: May 297
“Russ, I have a favor to ask,” were the first words out of Colin Lockholme’s mouth as he moved past him into the small kitchen, immediately beginning to pace around the table.
In the years since NIEE, Colin Lockholme has set up the King’s Information Network, more commonly known as KIN, Tira’s CIA equivalent. When he sends his newest, and youngest, agent, Morgan Campbell, into Grayspire, he had no idea what he’s setting her up against. After she disappears, he recruits Russell Darcy, another member of KIN, to help him figure out what’s happened. Russ has a better idea than expected, considering he grew up there and ran away almost ten years prior. Together, the two of them, and later Sorin, turn Grayspire on its head in their efforts to get Morgan back safely.
Characters:
Russell Darcy: parents were murdered at 15, took it out on innocents accidentally, now a KIN agent, lives with Sorin and Dean
Colin Lockholme: head of KIN, Jez’s year older brother
Morgan Campbell: KIN’s youngest ever at almost 18, feisty red-head
Dean Dakamar: Sorin’s son, 10 at this point, lives with Sorin and Russ
Christopher Malone: our villain, an old ‘friend’ of Russ’s, actual murderer of Russ’s parents, very smart psychopath
Paths:
Year: July 299
There are a few hours of every night where even a normally bustling castle, home to royalty, is quiet. That’s not to say that everyone is asleep, but most of the world is, with the exception of a few guards who drew the short straw and got night duty.
When Dean and his two younger cousins are kidnapped early one morning, Russ, Morgan, Sorin and surprise addition, Jay Dall, go after them. Only, they don’t know where the kids are or who took them. Once Dean finds out who has taken them, he wishes he never knew. The only bright spot is his burgeoning friendship with Sage.
Characters:
Sage Opalin: Vlad’s daughter, 15, lived with her mother until 13 where she was abused
Irene “Renie” & Connor Highcastle: Ani and Ren’s two children. Renie is 4, Connor 6 months.
Tourn: Vlad’s right hand man
James “Jay” Dall: newly minted KIN agent, one of the original Heroes
~~Anything after Paths is considered Caramel for Runaway Tales~~
Taken:
Year: Summer 302
Russell Darcy leaned back in his chair as he sipped at his ale. “Where is she?” he murmured.
The teenager sitting at the table with him favored the question with a one shoulder shrug. “Dramatic entrance.”
Morgan decides to drag Sage along on a brief visit home, but things go almost instantly wrong when her entire hometown is MIA and Sage also disappears almost immediately. Joining up with Malcolm Rees, who happened to be coming to visit the same day, she goes after Sage and the people of Evenly. Sage discovers that not only are her captors after Evenly and Morgan, but all of KIN, seeking to take down the top tier - and that they’re most of the way there. Working at a disadvantage, KIN’s best race to fix things before they get even worse.
Characters:
Edward “Ted” Clancy & Marie: our villains, slavers, have a grudge against KIN
Malcolm Rees: one of ten kids, nephew of the infamous Trigger Rees, mentally and physically scarred, used to work for the Tiran military, met Ted and Marie before
Victor: the one who mentally and physical scarred Mal, where Mal met Ted and Marie, never actually appears but has a profound impact on events
Pirates!:
Year: Fall 305
Dean stood outside the small house, looking at it with a thoughtful expression on his face, caught halfway between feeding the horses and returning to the well-meaning chaos inside.
“You okay?” Carrie asked, coming out of the barn behind him and stepping up to his side.
Dean and Sage are sent on their first un-chaperoned mission in Gilan to oversee the transfer of power in the Gilan government to young Elizabeth Winchester. Things go wrong, as they always do, when the duo is shanghaied by a local pirate captain into kidnapping Elizabeth and her brother, and second-in-line for the throne, Ian to protect them from other branches of the government. Instead, Dean ends up with Elizabeth on a rival pirate’s ship, while Sage, Ian and the crew of the Cerulean Anteater go after them.
Characters:
Carolina “Carrie” Morales*: Dean’s girlfriend, leaves for KIN training as Dean and Sage leave for the mission
Elizabeth & Ian Winchester: heir and ‘spare’ for the Gilan throne, 18 and 16 respectively, sheltered
Captain Corinne Harden: Captain of the Cerulean Anteater, cousin of Elizabeth and Ian
Nathan Miller: same age as Sage, one of Corinne’s crewmen
Roderick: Captain of the Ebony Falcon, rival pirate, captures Elizabeth and Dean
*Carrie originates as one of Marina’s characters from her Dragon World story. More on her and the crossovers later.
Broken (tentative title):
Year: ~317
Morgan’s senses returned slowly. Her head pounded and she couldn’t figure out why, although hints slowly filtered in as she became more aware of her surroundings.**
When Morgan and Mal are charged with a heinous crime and faced with flawless evidence and heavy handed justice, they have no choice but to run. As Dean and the others struggle to find sense in their friends’ case and a sudden rash of failed KIN missions, Morgan and Mal seemingly vanish off the face of the world entirely. Convinced it has to all be related, Dean, with what help he can muster, fights to hold together KIN and get to the bottom of things, before it’s too late for all of them. As it turns out, maybe the key has been in Dean’s memory all along.
Characters:
Uncertain, as yet, to what new characters might be added. Our villain is Victor, first mentioned during the events of Taken.
**Not the first line but all I’ve written about this story so far.
superCaramel:
Years: 305 to ~330
“What?” he managed to croak before coughing again, although not as hard as before.
She turned around, the corners of her mouth crinkling upwards. “Welcome back to the land of the living, William.”
This is slightly more ambiguous and less defined - a time period versus a specific story. It begins in 305, shortly after the events of Pirates! when the first of KIN’s Generation Two is born, William Darcy. Other than the events of Broken, it tracks the kids’ growth and eventual ascendance to the leaders of KIN. Mostly, it deals with our main antagonist, Leigh Parker, who eludes KIN’s grasp from 308 until her supposed death in 329 and her relationship with the oldest tier of Generation Two. It ends around 330 when William Darcy takes command of KIN.
Characters:
Leigh Parker: a pyromaniac with a soft spot for William
William Darcy: the oldest of KIN’s Generation Two
For the rest of Gen. Two, see the Family Tree below.
ultraCaramel:
Years: ~330 and on
"We've got trouble."
Her eyes had fallen back down to the homework assignment in front of her, but they shot up again at hearing that. "What?"
"I think they're gonna hit tonight, not two nights from now."
Again, a time period versus a specific story. Continues the story onward. At this point, it mainly focuses on four kids in the year 359: Simon Highcastle, Ben and Emma Dailey and Avalon “Loni” Johnson. The latter three live at an inn in Oakbridge with their two mothers and Tanner, a skilled young man who used to work for the wrong side of the law. Together, the four of them have spent the previous couple years stealing goods out from the noses of bad guys and turning them in to KIN for investigation. All of that is about to change. Also includes Jackson Darcy & Molly Rees in fairly prominent roles.
Characters:
Tanner: only has one arm, now works in conjunction with KIN, has trained the trio
Ben Dailey & Avalon Johnson: 13 years old, best friends, great team, Loni’s father died, Ben’s walked out on them, their mothers co-own an inn in Oakbridge
Emma Dailey: 10-year-old, very shy with non-family (which includes Loni, her mom, Tanner & Simon), can move silently on almost any terrain
Simon Highcastle: Ren and Ani’s great-grandchild, son of Renie’s second son, Nicolas, goes to the same school as the Trio, sneaks the goods into the castle to get them into KIN’s hands.
The Alternate Universes/Crossovers
Half of these AUs require a bit of explanation, in conjunction with Carrie’s presence as mentioned above. Marina and I have been writing together, both formally and informally, for a long time now. As a result, we’ve played especially with the trio of Dean, Carrie and Chase outside of both our universes, which, in turn, caused us to do some importation into each other’s stories. I snagged Carrie for Dean and vice versa, among other small bits and bobs.
NIEE-Based AUs:
1. Sorin joins the Freedom Fighters: Sorin is raised by his bio-dad without knowing Ani and Vlad, takes Dean and joins the Freedom Fighters after Diana dies
2. Vlad ‘raises’ Sage: Vlad rescues Sage from her mother at age three
3. Real World AU: all of NIEE’s main cast grows up in the same neighborhood in the early 2000s.
4. Chase and Dean: immediately following Paths, Chase moves to town and he and Dean become best friends.
Dragon World and it’s AUs:
1. Dragon World: The entire Dakamar/Opalin crowd has transplanted into the DW world. Personalities generally stay the same and the main difference is that Sorin pretty much raised Sage as well as Dean, so they are closer than ever. Dean meets Carrie and Chase their junior year of high school.
2. Taking Root: Basically, Edward Opalin becomes Edward Applegate and has been trying to destroy Sorin and Dean for most of Dean’s life, after being responsible for Diana’s death. When the Dakamars move to Madison, Chase ends up embroiled in Edward’s final stand, leaving Dean and Chase especially close.
3. Triple D: Diana lives, Sorin, Russ and Jakium spend years working for the CIA, Vlad’s a traitor, and Dean ends up helping with heists and hijinks - later Carrie and their girls join in.
The Universe
The Nothing is Ever Easy universe is a world not too unlike our own, set in a medieval-esque time period. The stories all center around Tira, a small country, bordered by its three neighbors: Alyia, Nerius and Gilan and then the Windfall Sea, a notoriously large and rough body of water that the Tirans generally avoid.
Tira:
Ruling Family: Highcastle, (briefly: Maigor and Carris)
Capital: Oakbridge
Nerius:
Ruling Family: Belmonte
Capital: Citta del Lago (commonly known as Lago)
Alyia:
Ruling Family: de Carlins
Capital: Villesain
Gilan:
Ruling Family: Winchester
Capital: Gilan
A Little Background
I leaned back against the side of the cell and studied the three upturned and expectant faces watching me. - The original first line
I started NIEE on Aug. 23, 2003, so that makes it exactly nine years old as I type this (creepily, it is within the hour of when I first posted bits online). I was home alone while my mom was off at her third year of law school. Never did I imagine what would come of a simple scene that popped into my head as I ate my lunch of Chef Boyardee. I finished it some two years later in December of 2005, during winter break from my freshman year of college. I’m currently about a third of the way through massive rewrites and edits to try and get it up to snuff. As for the others, they were mostly written as NaNo stories. Of those, only Taken and Choices are also finished. Healing was written concurrently with NIEE, when I needed to write a dose of angst, and is also complete and can generally stand alone.
The Stories
Healing a Nation:
Years: -1 to 1
Sek slipped through the fog. He had a job to do, which was more than could be said for about half the people in this depressed excuse for a city.
The Highcastle line has been all but wiped out. When it comes out there is one remaining family member, will he take the mantel and bring his country out of the dark? It starts with Sek, a young mercenary who is running from his past, and with Alex, a girl on the run from the men who have terrorized her childhood. Add in Resh, a scarred young man with an uncertain past but a tendency to lose control of himself and Kenz, a serious only child who befriends street urchins and understands far more than the rest of them. Andrew’s disillusioned with his life and everyone else while Damien just wants to rescue the world. Together, they seem to be the only hope for a Tira on the brink of self-destruction.
Characters:
Sekinco “Sek” Highcastle (nee Kalim): main protagonist, only surviving Highcastle, spent five formative years as a slave, 18-19 during the story
Rose Alexandra “Alex” Solaris: switches to Alex when parents are killed, horribly abused during formative years, 16-17 during the story
Alexander Resh Solaris: goes by Alex until parents are killed then Resh, takes the last name Cobble for some years, has blank pieces in memory from childhood abuse, 14-15 during story
Mackenzie “Kenz” Midden: the perfectly normal one other than a belief in prophecies and a dislike of contractions, 13-14 during the story.
Damien Rast: rescues Alex from her abusers, orphaned and raised by uncle, ~19 during story
Andrew Shann: former captain of the King’s guard, handy with a sword, friendly enemy of Sek, 21 during story
Antagonists: Jonathon Carris, Taggert, Holden & Mitch
Nothing is Ever Easy:
Years: Winter 290 to Spring 293
I heard a clang as the cell door opened. “Move back,” the guard in front ordered some unseen person.
Jasmine Lockholme stops an assassin and next she knows, she is marked for death herself. Rescued by a group that call themselves the Freedom Fighters, she finds herself at the center of an all-out war for Tira. It doesn’t take her long to realize that, despite the odds against them, Beau and the rest of the Freedom Fighters are determined to win. But the new rulers, a set of siblings scornfully called ‘The Three,’ are just as determined not to give the throne back up without a fight.
Characters:
Jasmine “Jez” Lockholme: our MC, just 18 at the beginning, youngest of five (all boys)
Beau Highcastle: known just as Captain Beau, 21 at the beginning
Renier Highcastle: Crown Prince, captive of the Three, 25 at the beginning
The Three:
Vladimir Opalin: oldest, driving force, slowly mentally unbalancing, 27 at beginning
Sorin Dakamar: middle half-sibling, result of a rape of their mother, mastermind, coming out of a deep depression, 25 at beginning
Anica Opalin: youngest by four years, pretends to be an airhead, in love with Ren
Freedom Fighters:
Michael “Mick” Sanders, Brighton Dall, James “Jay” Dall, Jessica Rider, Rylia Schid, Dunkin Kramer, Benton Walters, Colin Lockholme, Kira Walters
Others:
Stella & David Harper: fellow prisoners
Lt. Jakium McRuoes & Col. Trigger Rees: members of the Three’s forces
Choices:
Year: May 297
“Russ, I have a favor to ask,” were the first words out of Colin Lockholme’s mouth as he moved past him into the small kitchen, immediately beginning to pace around the table.
In the years since NIEE, Colin Lockholme has set up the King’s Information Network, more commonly known as KIN, Tira’s CIA equivalent. When he sends his newest, and youngest, agent, Morgan Campbell, into Grayspire, he had no idea what he’s setting her up against. After she disappears, he recruits Russell Darcy, another member of KIN, to help him figure out what’s happened. Russ has a better idea than expected, considering he grew up there and ran away almost ten years prior. Together, the two of them, and later Sorin, turn Grayspire on its head in their efforts to get Morgan back safely.
Characters:
Russell Darcy: parents were murdered at 15, took it out on innocents accidentally, now a KIN agent, lives with Sorin and Dean
Colin Lockholme: head of KIN, Jez’s year older brother
Morgan Campbell: KIN’s youngest ever at almost 18, feisty red-head
Dean Dakamar: Sorin’s son, 10 at this point, lives with Sorin and Russ
Christopher Malone: our villain, an old ‘friend’ of Russ’s, actual murderer of Russ’s parents, very smart psychopath
Paths:
Year: July 299
There are a few hours of every night where even a normally bustling castle, home to royalty, is quiet. That’s not to say that everyone is asleep, but most of the world is, with the exception of a few guards who drew the short straw and got night duty.
When Dean and his two younger cousins are kidnapped early one morning, Russ, Morgan, Sorin and surprise addition, Jay Dall, go after them. Only, they don’t know where the kids are or who took them. Once Dean finds out who has taken them, he wishes he never knew. The only bright spot is his burgeoning friendship with Sage.
Characters:
Sage Opalin: Vlad’s daughter, 15, lived with her mother until 13 where she was abused
Irene “Renie” & Connor Highcastle: Ani and Ren’s two children. Renie is 4, Connor 6 months.
Tourn: Vlad’s right hand man
James “Jay” Dall: newly minted KIN agent, one of the original Heroes
~~Anything after Paths is considered Caramel for Runaway Tales~~
Taken:
Year: Summer 302
Russell Darcy leaned back in his chair as he sipped at his ale. “Where is she?” he murmured.
The teenager sitting at the table with him favored the question with a one shoulder shrug. “Dramatic entrance.”
Morgan decides to drag Sage along on a brief visit home, but things go almost instantly wrong when her entire hometown is MIA and Sage also disappears almost immediately. Joining up with Malcolm Rees, who happened to be coming to visit the same day, she goes after Sage and the people of Evenly. Sage discovers that not only are her captors after Evenly and Morgan, but all of KIN, seeking to take down the top tier - and that they’re most of the way there. Working at a disadvantage, KIN’s best race to fix things before they get even worse.
Characters:
Edward “Ted” Clancy & Marie: our villains, slavers, have a grudge against KIN
Malcolm Rees: one of ten kids, nephew of the infamous Trigger Rees, mentally and physically scarred, used to work for the Tiran military, met Ted and Marie before
Victor: the one who mentally and physical scarred Mal, where Mal met Ted and Marie, never actually appears but has a profound impact on events
Pirates!:
Year: Fall 305
Dean stood outside the small house, looking at it with a thoughtful expression on his face, caught halfway between feeding the horses and returning to the well-meaning chaos inside.
“You okay?” Carrie asked, coming out of the barn behind him and stepping up to his side.
Dean and Sage are sent on their first un-chaperoned mission in Gilan to oversee the transfer of power in the Gilan government to young Elizabeth Winchester. Things go wrong, as they always do, when the duo is shanghaied by a local pirate captain into kidnapping Elizabeth and her brother, and second-in-line for the throne, Ian to protect them from other branches of the government. Instead, Dean ends up with Elizabeth on a rival pirate’s ship, while Sage, Ian and the crew of the Cerulean Anteater go after them.
Characters:
Carolina “Carrie” Morales*: Dean’s girlfriend, leaves for KIN training as Dean and Sage leave for the mission
Elizabeth & Ian Winchester: heir and ‘spare’ for the Gilan throne, 18 and 16 respectively, sheltered
Captain Corinne Harden: Captain of the Cerulean Anteater, cousin of Elizabeth and Ian
Nathan Miller: same age as Sage, one of Corinne’s crewmen
Roderick: Captain of the Ebony Falcon, rival pirate, captures Elizabeth and Dean
*Carrie originates as one of Marina’s characters from her Dragon World story. More on her and the crossovers later.
Broken (tentative title):
Year: ~317
Morgan’s senses returned slowly. Her head pounded and she couldn’t figure out why, although hints slowly filtered in as she became more aware of her surroundings.**
When Morgan and Mal are charged with a heinous crime and faced with flawless evidence and heavy handed justice, they have no choice but to run. As Dean and the others struggle to find sense in their friends’ case and a sudden rash of failed KIN missions, Morgan and Mal seemingly vanish off the face of the world entirely. Convinced it has to all be related, Dean, with what help he can muster, fights to hold together KIN and get to the bottom of things, before it’s too late for all of them. As it turns out, maybe the key has been in Dean’s memory all along.
Characters:
Uncertain, as yet, to what new characters might be added. Our villain is Victor, first mentioned during the events of Taken.
**Not the first line but all I’ve written about this story so far.
superCaramel:
Years: 305 to ~330
“What?” he managed to croak before coughing again, although not as hard as before.
She turned around, the corners of her mouth crinkling upwards. “Welcome back to the land of the living, William.”
This is slightly more ambiguous and less defined - a time period versus a specific story. It begins in 305, shortly after the events of Pirates! when the first of KIN’s Generation Two is born, William Darcy. Other than the events of Broken, it tracks the kids’ growth and eventual ascendance to the leaders of KIN. Mostly, it deals with our main antagonist, Leigh Parker, who eludes KIN’s grasp from 308 until her supposed death in 329 and her relationship with the oldest tier of Generation Two. It ends around 330 when William Darcy takes command of KIN.
Characters:
Leigh Parker: a pyromaniac with a soft spot for William
William Darcy: the oldest of KIN’s Generation Two
For the rest of Gen. Two, see the Family Tree below.
ultraCaramel:
Years: ~330 and on
"We've got trouble."
Her eyes had fallen back down to the homework assignment in front of her, but they shot up again at hearing that. "What?"
"I think they're gonna hit tonight, not two nights from now."
Again, a time period versus a specific story. Continues the story onward. At this point, it mainly focuses on four kids in the year 359: Simon Highcastle, Ben and Emma Dailey and Avalon “Loni” Johnson. The latter three live at an inn in Oakbridge with their two mothers and Tanner, a skilled young man who used to work for the wrong side of the law. Together, the four of them have spent the previous couple years stealing goods out from the noses of bad guys and turning them in to KIN for investigation. All of that is about to change. Also includes Jackson Darcy & Molly Rees in fairly prominent roles.
Characters:
Tanner: only has one arm, now works in conjunction with KIN, has trained the trio
Ben Dailey & Avalon Johnson: 13 years old, best friends, great team, Loni’s father died, Ben’s walked out on them, their mothers co-own an inn in Oakbridge
Emma Dailey: 10-year-old, very shy with non-family (which includes Loni, her mom, Tanner & Simon), can move silently on almost any terrain
Simon Highcastle: Ren and Ani’s great-grandchild, son of Renie’s second son, Nicolas, goes to the same school as the Trio, sneaks the goods into the castle to get them into KIN’s hands.
The Alternate Universes/Crossovers
Half of these AUs require a bit of explanation, in conjunction with Carrie’s presence as mentioned above. Marina and I have been writing together, both formally and informally, for a long time now. As a result, we’ve played especially with the trio of Dean, Carrie and Chase outside of both our universes, which, in turn, caused us to do some importation into each other’s stories. I snagged Carrie for Dean and vice versa, among other small bits and bobs.
NIEE-Based AUs:
1. Sorin joins the Freedom Fighters: Sorin is raised by his bio-dad without knowing Ani and Vlad, takes Dean and joins the Freedom Fighters after Diana dies
2. Vlad ‘raises’ Sage: Vlad rescues Sage from her mother at age three
3. Real World AU: all of NIEE’s main cast grows up in the same neighborhood in the early 2000s.
4. Chase and Dean: immediately following Paths, Chase moves to town and he and Dean become best friends.
Dragon World and it’s AUs:
1. Dragon World: The entire Dakamar/Opalin crowd has transplanted into the DW world. Personalities generally stay the same and the main difference is that Sorin pretty much raised Sage as well as Dean, so they are closer than ever. Dean meets Carrie and Chase their junior year of high school.
2. Taking Root: Basically, Edward Opalin becomes Edward Applegate and has been trying to destroy Sorin and Dean for most of Dean’s life, after being responsible for Diana’s death. When the Dakamars move to Madison, Chase ends up embroiled in Edward’s final stand, leaving Dean and Chase especially close.
3. Triple D: Diana lives, Sorin, Russ and Jakium spend years working for the CIA, Vlad’s a traitor, and Dean ends up helping with heists and hijinks - later Carrie and their girls join in.