The Protagonist Speaks

Dear Readers, tonight with us is an intergalactic adventurer, here to tell us about his home-world and adventures.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

Where I grew up? Well, I doubt that you could understand my world or what is left of it. The capital city is beautiful. There are rivulets, hillocks, large lakes, and gorgeous scented flowers that perfume the air. It appears to go on endlessly until you unveil the illusion. The Uleryn capital is all that remains of my world. My planet, Triaxeyn was nearly decimated during a biological attack shortly after my birth. All that remains is protected within a dome. That’s the truth of my world and of my life.

Did you have any favorite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

It’s not the toys or frivolous items that I think of fondly. It was the people who surrounded me that made my childhood memorable. My childhood was a happy one, despite our hardships. My mother, Alyahna, became queen when I was but three cycleids. Since that time, it’s her and Q-1 Raydren that I recall at my side. If not for them and my friend, Aldryn, Triaxeyn could’ve been a depressing place; even for a prince.

You spoke of hardships. Can you share them with me?

I’d rather focus on what’s good on Triaxeyn. Regardless of the attack on my planet and the abuse of my mother, there’s good here. We were able to construct the dome to protect our capital city of Uleryn. Though many people died, many were also saved.

Triaxeyn is beautiful beneath the glow of the twin moons. Being with my personal guard, Aldryn, is even more so. It’s difficult to think of what you’ve lost when you’re surrounded by what you love. Besides, it’s remarkable to create a new world in the dream room and defeat the House of Naytiohn atop a flaming Rakernd beast. Not many people can say that they’ve done that. We do it every lunar cycle.

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

In or out of the dream room? Despite my mother’s protests, I recently paid a visit to Praizetyn with a companion from QuNytwan. With the dangers present in the galaxy, my features were altered. It was an adventure, indeed. There’s nothing quite like walking into a room full of academy recruits outfitted as a Aladorian pleasure trin. Had Lezayen not been at my side, I fear I would’ve been overrun. However, in the young recruit’s defense, I was quite an attractive trin.

Has anyone caught your eye? What did you first think when you met?

Ah, Itanya. Have you ever seen someone and knew that they were the one person who you were meant to meet? It’s difficult to express what I feel and sense from her. When Itanya arrived with the crew, I had to ask for her to remain. Sure, I have other women in my laranhge, but they’re different. There’s something special about Itanya, and I need her with me. First, I must convince her to stay.

What scares you?

My condition. However, I don’t fear for myself. If I succumb to the confined energies of the Xryntahn, it’s meant to be. But I’m afraid for my mother. Other than Raydren, I’m all that she has—all that she’s ever had. If I die, Mother will never recover. She blames herself for my suffering even though the Xryntahn is endemic to Triax males.

With the approach of my twenty-fifth cycleid…

Enough of that. My only fear is not being able to protect my mother and my planet. My life is infinitesimal compared to those things. I’d relinquish it now if it would heal my world. But that’s not the way, so I must continue to fight.

What is the worst thing about living in a domed city?

Have you ever used a dream room? It’s the grandest of all illusions. I’d have to say the same of our dome. It’s a beautiful illusion that appears to be endless. Well, until you collide with a transparent wall projecting an image of a field, or rivulet, or road. J All right, it’s truly not that bad. The dome saved our lives and what remains of our people.

At times, I go to the observation tower and look beyond the projection to what Triaxeyn truly is. That image, that glimpse of reality both focuses and angers me. I have to survive to reclaim what was taken from us.

What is the best thing about it?

The closeness that we share. There are less than two-thousand Triaxeyns left on our world. We use our technology to survive and protect what remains, but we’ve also acquired plantlings and animals from our trade partners. I never thought that I’d enjoy tending the vahrasi or the orchards. I enjoy it even more so that Itanya has come. The vahrasi are similar to Earth horses. They were her favorite and have become mine as well. I may be Triaxeyn’s prince, but I’m not above any others of my world. We’ve become stronger as we work together to re-build.

Tell us a little about your friends.

I have but one. Aldryn has been my best friend since we were children. His father was the 3^rd of my grandfather’s guard. Since the very beginning, Aldryn’s gotten me into trouble. Now, with him as my personal guard, it’s even worse. If I’m not rescuing him from his numerous combating lovies, he’s dragging me through recreations of ancient battles. I’d rather shoot an Ionic Neutralizer or Electron Disruptor over lugging around one of those heavy swords any cycle.

Even with his womanizing, drinking, and penchant for antiquities, I wouldn’t want anyone else at my side. Besides my mother and Raydren, I trust only Aldryn with my life. All right, I admit that I rather enjoy the adroitness of his tongue when he romances the lovies. Perhaps I should start taking notes.

Any romantic involvement?

There’s someone, but it’s difficult. I can’t express what or how I feel. As all royals on Triaxeyn, I must await my Eylul (life mate). So, how could I tell her that I’m in love with her if I can’t be with her?

Albeit, I’m certain that she knows how I feel. There’s no other woman in all the universes that I’d rather at my side than Itanya. If the Wielders are good, at my side she shall remain.

Whom (or what) do you really hate?

I doubt that there’s time enough to list them all. They massacred my people, violated my mother, and poisoned my planet. Due to the Galactic Coalition, the Kaylohrn leadership, and the Fridoan Order, my world was nearly destroyed. With the help of Raydren, I’m learning more of that treachery and betrayal. I pray to the Wielders that I live long enough to make them suffer as they have those of my planet. I’ll start with the King of Kaylohr and his waste for a son, Zyric. Those Weishints aren’t fit to wipe the shite off a Xhue-slug’s arse!

What’s your favorite drink, color, and relaxing pastime?

Well that would be Tergonyian Lava-wine. That’s the drink of men! Between us, I have to smuggle it in from Adnamax in cruses labeled N’ahtybrae Nectar (my mother would never understand otherwise). Only the formidable Srahts of QuNytwan can truly handle the Lava-wine. I think they started drinking it as infants. That would explain their unnatural strength, height, and endurance.

What does the future hold for you?

I was denied my rule and denied my birthright. Now, I’m taking it back. I wasn’t supposed to survive, I wasn’t supposed to fight, and I wasn’t supposed to receive the Rites of Heirdron.

I’ll discover my Eylul so that I may heal. Once I’m whole, I’ll join with the QuNytwanians to take back what was stolen from us. The Sorcery of Orark, the Fridoan Order, the Galactic Coalition, and the corrupt Kaylohrn leadership will answer for their treachery and their betrayal.

They’ve derided me as a kahtdrol, the prince of nothing, and the unclaimed. It’s time to show them who Zrahnz Uleryn truly is.

Aaron-Michael Hall is an American Speculative Fiction author (Epic Fantasy and Science Fantasy) from southern Illinois. She uses the pseudonym Newland Moon exclusively for her SciFan novels. Since August 2015, she has written eighth full-length novels and published four.

Now, when she is not interviewing indie authors on her Desu Beast Blog, being super mom, or managing her 9 to 5, she is interweaving genres and adding just the right edge to keep you turning pages. Aaron-Michael has been reading since she was three. Her preferred genres (other than non-fiction) are Science Fiction and Fantasy. Some of her favorite authors in those genres are Andre Norton, N.K. Jemisin, R.A. Salvatore, Octavia Butler, Neil Gaiman, Ursula K Le Guin, and R. Scott Bakker.

When asked why she wrote this series, Aaron-Michael simply said, “It needed to be written.”

Learn more about Zrahnz Uleryn and the Ahmezurhran galaxy in the pages of Rites of Heirdron.

Join us next week, when an orphan will tell us about the visions she had since childhood. Please follow the site by email (bottom-right), via Twitter, or like our Facebook page to be notified when the next interview is posted.