Let's Discuss Brenna Tybar

Brenna Tybar is the only child of Lyon Tybar and Marianna Ryn.  She is the One - the person prophesied about for many millennia - back when the Five were ruling the free land.

Brenna is three when the main story opens.  The Sons of Thunder guard her on the way to the Temple to visit Father of All. Once there, she sits on his lap and listens while He tells her of the things she will be doing in life, reminding her that she will remember the important things he is saying when the time is right.

One of those things is Talon. She is taken by the Sons of Thunder to see the six-year-old Talon, who has brown eyes. She is told he will be her Champion. In her three-year-old mind, this meant he was hers and hers alone.

Talon and Brenna are childhood chums.  He considers her to be like a little sister (a.k.a. pain) since he is ordered to protect her.  It isn't easy since things happen around Brenna that never happen to anyone else.

Do not remember where I got this picture, so if anyone knows who
she is, let me know and I can give credit.

To be fair, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it won't really matter who I choose to represent the 'most beautiful' woman in the world, inevitably, someone will say - NOT!

So, I please myself by choosing someone that I think is very beautiful and still has a softness in her eyes.

While the above picture portrays the softness, the eyebrows are too much, though you hardly notice them unless you really stare at them. The real eye color is below and, therefore, so is Talon's and Mee's (Brenna's pet). Brenna would have highlights in her brunette hair from being in the sun. 

Brenna/Talon, Mee's real eye color

Brenna, for the first nine books, is your massive over-achiever - which is part and parcel of being the ONE in prophecy.  Literally, nothing and no one stands between her and Talon with one exception:  Father of All. 

She doesn't understand Talon's role as her Champion. All she understands is that she can't bear the thought of living without him. At the 'advanced' age of thirteen, she would die if Talon didn't notice her - so she made a few changes her parents didn't approve of, but Talon did, but they didn't get to stay together for long before they were (by circumstance and the whim of the author) separated. 

On a personal note: some people might say I went too far overboard with the idea anyone could be that consumed with any other person.  I can prove them wrong with my own journals - yes, it is possible for someone to be concerned with another person's every breath. To wonder what they think, how they feel, if they...well, my journals would make very boring reading to most people, but it is the bald (sometimes painful) truth of how I felt, how obsessed I was with my flame in High School. There is a lot more to that story, which has a truly anti-climactic ending and will likely end up as fodder for other books. 

The Tybars are a very wealthy and/or privileged family. Her parents are well acquainted with prophecy so their main concern is to keep her alive long enough she can save the world and try to keep her from dying as she completes that part of her mission. 

In truth, Brenna has no real home of her own, no siblings, and parents that travel a lot. She is stuck in an orphanage. While it is true that her aunt is the matron, Brenna still feels the pinch of feeling  unloved/unwanted/abandoned by her parents.   

Her life cycle looks like this:  birth, move to safe place, and repeat. The problem is, there really isn't a safe place. She is the One and evil will search for her to destroy her before she destroys it.

COS: Let's Discuss: Utak

Utak (You-tack) means “High Mountains”

If you want to know more about the Utak origin story, read Said in Stone.

Capital: Lake City

Flag: Royal blue background, silver fist (you can see this flag on the cover in the background of Said in Stone)

Money: Barter/Gold/precious gems

Exports: Every other country depends on Utak for it's water - they don't charge for it, but they do control its flow.  Hence the saying, All life flows from Utak

The official exports are:  Crops, Ryke meat, Paynach (pronounced Pay-nack) stone, salt

Dangers:  Roaming Ybarra herds - especially at harvest time, not following the law

Characters from this land: Rube, Pax, Talon, Brenna, Mari, Loni, Jac Ryn, Mari's mother 

Land

Think of dividing the U.S.A. into quarters, this would be located in the northwest corner and look more like Africa turned upside down. Picture a country populated by Thomas Kincaide buildings with enormous rocky mountains in the background and you pretty much have the fairy-tale like quality that exists in Utak.  95% of it is rural with its spiritually-minded people spread evenly over the area.

People

Known to contain the most beautiful women in the world.  Wars have begun over this fact - Kings want a Utakian wife and Utak won't grant permission entrance into their land  to just anyone.  Once a  year, there is a festival where traders are allowed in, but everyone is carefully checked/monitored.

  

History

Back when the Five Creators were roaming around the land, the one that ruled Utak was Jaydren the Just.  He built a wall out of...well, I won't let the cat out of the bag since  "Five - the Power Rising" tells that story, but by book 6, Chest of Souls, this wall has crumbled over the millennia.  People no longer remember what the wall was supposed to represent.

Arches of Utak

Utak is enchanted and everyone that enters will have to pass under two arches made of what people think are an extremely large but extinct animal's tusks.  The bones are on the south end of a fertile seemingly deserted valley. This arch was completed in ancient times (You'll have to read Said in Stone to understand how and why) and no one living knows how it works, only that everyone who enters Utak, will find themselves by these arches, no matter what direction they are coming from.  

If you want to know what Utak looks like by the time Talon/Brenna are born, and shows more of what the area around Rykett would be like in northeastern Utak, Here is a link that I recently found (2023) that really helps a person envision what the country of Utak is visually: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPzy_gjpFq8

The link will take you to Peter B Helland "The Ancient Tale" which is a bit over 4 minutes long.

 

Let's Discuss: Wynna Ryn

Wyn after her transformation
Her hair would be white, but
this picture is as close as I
could come to how she looked.

(Wynna Ryn) is Loni's adopted daughter. The daughter of her heart. Wyn's parents died in a plague and she was found on the streets, or rather, she found Loni on the streets and thought Loni was her mother.

Wyn as Sundara
- shorter hair than she would
actually have.

From the start, Wyn has attributes that make life more of a challenge.

At the beginning of her story in Chest of Souls, she's cross-eyed, extremely short for her age, and she stutters.

Wyn clings hard to those she loves and suffers separation anxiety and abandonment. This pint-sized cookie lover becomes Brenna's best friend/adopted sister-cousin. They get into and out of trouble together - and there's lots of trouble to be found.

Wyn is in all the books.  If sequels are written, she will be featured in the first (yes, I've toyed with the idea many times). I've even chosen a title:  Sundara:  Queen of the Ammonites.  Update:  That is exactly what I did.

Wyn's eye color

Wyn wants children - so does Japh.  Here is a cute little picture of a pure-white blonde doll that I think will become a child of Wyn/Japh's.

Wyn's future daughter, named after her pirate grandmother, Evianna
who was the daughter of Soline.

Let's Discuss Tasut

Jocko Willink - the man I'd want for Tasut

Tasut (Tah-suit)

In general, everyone hates the character - even I do at times. He is emotionally cold, physically brutal, and makes life miserable for his son, Talon. 

When I first wrote his character, I had no idea what happened to his wife; I simply wrote him as a single father, a struggle many can identify with.

It helps to remember that he is a man with a mission. He never loses sight of the bigger picture. Naturally, there are reasons for all of this, but you will have to peel the onion to find out what's under the layers of Tasut's skin.

Jocko gave a wonderful speech on conquering emotional pain.  You can find the link here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TpIL4SJb6A&fbclid=IwAR2bDbysPVJtorKxqofgGCXoxAYv_3RcDRPsJqsbC5fkrTicsd5xDnYL8OU

Jocko - colored photo This is how I picture Tasut looking on an average day - though his eyes are brown. Jocko has the, "I will kill you and not blink" thing signed, sealed, and delivered.

Younger pic of Jocko 

Here is a little blurb about him - a REAL man with REAL skills.  You can see it in his eyes - he has been there and done that! 

Jocko Willink is a decorated retired Navy SEAL officer, author of the book Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, and co-founder of Echelon Front, where he is a leadership instructor, speaker, and executive coach. Jocko spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams, starting as an enlisted SEAL and rising through the ranks to become a SEAL officer. As commander of SEAL Team Three's Task Unit Bruiser during the battle of Ramadi, he orchestrated SEAL operations that helped the "Ready First" Brigade of the US Army's First Armored Division bring stability to the violent, war-torn city. During his career, Jocko was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and numerous other personal and unit awards. In 2010, Jocko retired from the Navy and launched Echelon Front with Leif Babin where he teaches the leadership principles he learned on the battlefield to help others lead and win.

A REALLY important fact is that Tasut is more than muscle. In the final book, there is a scene that will require a very fine edge to be walked.  Jocko also has kids.  He knows that a man is "someone that does what he is supposed to do." 

What should you teach your son(s)? 
He wrote a book about it.  The Way of the Warrior Kid.  Haven't read it, yet.

Nathan Jones

Nathan Jones

Years ago, my youngest son suggested Nathan Jones as Tasut. I can understand why. Nathan is TALL at 6'11" and he's big - as in 331 pounds.  He looks like he could tie the average person in knots twice a day and not break sweat. 

Yes, he looked the part - but can he act?  

Well, Nathan is an Australian actor, powerlifting champion, strongman and retired professional wrestler. He held the WWA World Heavyweight Championship once in World Wrestling All-Stars and aligned himself with The Undertaker in World Wrestling Entertainment.

The only thing I've seen Nathan do is the fight between him and Jet Li in Fearless (my son was giving me an example).

Let's Discuss: Nez Shavae

Robert Downey Jr - my choice for Nez

Books can't exist without some form of conflict and that form usually comes with umbilical cord attached to low life's. The worst of the bunch in Chest of Souls (COS main series, not the prequels) comes in the form of Nez Shavae.

Robert Downey Jr. can do arrogant, confident, genius - and addicted/afflicted.

Jason Isaacs

I considered Jason Isaacs for the role originally, based on his ability to sneer and speak through clenched teeth while his blue eyes stab you through the heart.  I think he made an awesome villain in the Harry Potter series, but COS is not Harry Potter.

Time is marching on and I no longer think Jason could play the role of Nez, who, while older than the woman he covets, can't look that much older.  I may consider him for another role in the COS series.  I know whatever part he played, he would do it well.

Perhaps as time passes, Robert Downey Jr. won't be able to fill the role of Nez either.  I know he can play self-absorbed playboy. If you saw his performance as Iron Man you understand what I mean. The character Nez appears in all nine of the COS main series and they would have to be made in a remarkably short period of time so the actors would have to be really spot-on for the performance and endure well.

Just as all my good guys have at least one flaw, all my bad guys have one redeeming quality. For Nez, you'll have to wait for it because it is coming - even though he's not aware of it. Don't blink or you'll miss it.

Let's Discuss: Lyon Tybar

My first choice for Lyon was Michael Landon. 

Mostly, because I grew up watching Bonanza and, as an adult, Little House on the Prairie.  He had the full head of hair I wanted for Lyon - his lion's mane.  It was Michael's trademark.

With the advent of Nathan as Tasut, Gerard Butler became my version of Lyon. He has proven he is a man who can play many roles - everything from a dad (Nim's Island) to Gladiator (300). Also, he plays romance well and Lyon is romantic and a whole lot of other things.

Lyon (Lie-own) is a much deeper character than I originally thought. He comes from a long line of Assassins who have worked in Sogo for generations. While he is the best "Unknown" (secret assassin) at the time of his staged death, he never liked the work.

Lyon even admits he prefers creating jewelry to slitting throats.

His wife was his only failed assignment and he had no idea who she really was, but accepted her proposal immediately. This reformed assassin stays in the background for much of the book and his scenes are those of support - for his family and as a mentor-figure for Talon.

Let's Discuss: Marianna Ryn

I would love to find a Jane Seymour look-alike because I can't imagine anyone else playing the part.

Marianna, however, is stuck at 30 years old for the entire series of books.

Jane Seymour as Mari - the bi-colored eyes
that she inherited from her greatest grandmother
whose eyes were green and yellow
instead of brown and green.

Jane Seymour as Mari - pretending to be flower seller in Sogo

Jane Seymour as she appeared in Somewhere in Time
This kind of dress/style would have been for the richest of the rich in Sogo
during the time of the 5 creators

Mari (Mar-ee not Mary) is beautiful, very intelligent, and wears many hats throughout the book -

A wife - who is still in love with her husband, but she can't tell him the truth about her line of work - that of Hi-Sha of a network of spies known as Eyes.
A working mother - trying to raise their all-powerful daughter to use her power responsibly and keep her hidden at the same time.
A business owner - setting Eyes up in positions all over the world so she has contacts and the possibilities of recruits in each nation.

Her greatest fear is that of discovery and she feels time is against them. Her juggling and manipulation to save her family and their friends can only last so long - after that, it will be Brenna's job and Brenna isn't ready.

Let's Discuss: Hadasha Ryn

Found this picture online. I chose it because
of the cover of book #3 (Aftermath)
in which Haddy is walking down
a road wearing a red dress. Megan's
hair seemed to match the hair in the
picture. It doesn't get much better than
that. 

Megan Fox has the talent to pull off the role of the sassy, proud, woman-warrior Hadasha Ryn, but nothing's written in concrete.

This actress isn't the reason I'd change the person playing the role - if I had the power to choose the cast. 

Mostly, changes occur because I have a love-hate relationship with Haddy and hesitate to strap such a deceitful conniving role on anyone.

Haddy has been one of those characters that bring out a variety of emotions in the readers (and me) - frustration and even hatred are mixed among other non-flattering terms. Haddy's selfishness is so well understood by those in my home, that we've been known to say "That's so Haddy!" about someone who is behaving in a particularly annoying/foolish fashion.

It may come as a surprise to explain that Haddy was fun to write - most of the time. Course, I'd hate to be her. Her life is an eight-lane black-ice-covered highway of bad choices. Even when she thinks she's doing good, her impulsiveness lends stupidity to her actions - like what happens when she goes to buy Loni a birthday gift (an outwardly good deed) and Brenna nearly gets kidnapped while Haddy's making cow-eyes at the clerk!

Haddy is easy to relate to because she's based on the kind of people we all know that makes us want to tear our hair out. She seldom thinks things through, habitually chooses the wrong sort to 'fall in love' with, and seems to prefer to walk hand-in-hand with disaster. She's attractive, insecure, and judges others by outward appearance. She covets many things - including her handsome brother-in-law.

In a nutshell, Hadasha's actions have extreme consequences in a world where she's supposed to be a good guy and set a good example. One particular choice humbles her in such a way you'd think she'd learn her lesson. Sigh.

Haddy is a character that I tried to kill off many times - in fact, she was supposed to be the sister in the background, never more than a fixture.  Strong-willed and defiant to the end, it's so Haddy!

Let's discuss: Mee

Coconut Crab (Mee insisted)

I would have preferred a picture of Mee, but she insisted that there be a picture of a 'much big' crab first. 

This is not Mee, but a pregnant-looking squirrel
When Mee is expecting, she gets this large and larger.

Mee is a Shee, but not just any Shee. Mee is the Queen of ALL Shees and therefore what she says is law. Other Shees will not question her authority, orders, or doubt her words. She has the mind of a three-year-old because she was modified by Brenna who was three at the time.

I had to try and find bits and pieces
of other animals for Mee. This is more like her tail
but should be twice the size. 

Mee, for all of her self-absorption, will protect Brenna to the death; she frequently offers to bite anyone that she feels may be bothering her pet. In her mind, Mee owns Brenna as do other Shees who are bonded to humans. It's a terrible thing for a bonded Shee to lose their pet; often they die from the pain of separation.

White squirrels - the general size of Mee's body,
but, she assures me, her tail is MUCH MORE GOOD
than this. Her paws are more like raccoons.

Mee doesn't recognize that she is the most poisonous of Shees (this becomes very important in later books) but it wouldn't surprise her if she knew because Mee is the Queen and therefore the most beautiful, intelligent, and best of all Shees in every way.  Her subjects would not consider disagreeing.

Something like Nok - his ears should be longer with tufts on their tips,
his eyes more centered, and of course, 
he should have a robin-egg blue stripe from the middle of his head down his back and tail. When angry, Nok's eyes glow orange.
Sigh...Mee says this is NOT Nok, who is "Much right, good, hot of all mates."
However, I can't find something that will equal my imagination.

She doesn't feel like her obsession with Crab is irritating anymore than Brenna feels her obsession with Talon is. For her, crab is divine and by rights, it should be given to her several times a day.

Let's Discuss: The High Priestess Saro

UPDATE 2024: The books are now numbered in chronological order with Five the Power Rising as #1 and will end with the final book, Ties that Bind. 

Sacrifice of Souls is no longer Book Four, but #9.

Saro: High Priestess serving in the Temple of the Unknown God

Part of what entrances the bloodthirsty Sogoians is that Saro is different - including her clothing - which is shockingly modest compared to Dana Cline's, the woman that serves as the High Priestess serving at the Temple of Veesh.

High Priestess Saro is a powerful manipulative woman with her own agenda. It is well known in Sogo that she has Commander Tasut's protection and is therefore safe from the usual danger that slinks through the streets. No one in Sogo wants to annoy Tasut. Those that do, die.

She has a handful of women that serve her as handmaidens in the rebuilt Temple of the Unknown God. They live with her in the large and beautifully appointed villa that is close enough to the Temple she can walk to work every day.  Inside the villa, she hatches her plans; carefully spinning her web of deceit, casting diverse bread crumbs of disinformation among the depraved population, and all of it - including Tasut - are a means to an end.

People who have read the book(s) generally lump Saro into the same emotion-free category as Tasut. After all, she stands like an ice sculpture while innocents are sacrificed to the fires of the Unknown God. 

Saro is one of the most complicated (and fun) characters I've written for the series.  One of the reasons she was fun to write is the fact she isn't for the bad guys but, she isn't necessarily for the good guys either. 

Know this: Saro has her own agenda. There is little she will not do to achieve her goal and no one, not even Tasut, better stand in her way! 

Let's Discuss: Tryk

Christopher Lloyd  has a certain kind of intense manic energy that comes across as natural to...no one but him.  It makes him unique and it makes him spot-on to my story.

We know Christopher can do obsessed scientist.

One of the pre-readers surprised me by mentioning that Tryk seems expendable. He isn't.  In fact, he will continue into the sequels.



In Chest of Souls, he serves as the springboard from which historical lessons (and some off-the-wall humor) are launched.

Christopher Lloyd as
Uncle Fester

Christopher Lloyd

I created Tryk (Trykonius is his given name) because I got bored when Talon spent too much time with the Tybars. I wanted him to be with them just enough to understand how they worked together and have him pick up on the things Brenna didn't (or wouldn't) to set up further scenes.

He quickly became a favorite tool to use for setting up humor in adverse circumstances.

I needed a likable character that could teach Talon how to use his mind - an educated adult who understood what was really going on (past and present) and could give little snippets to help Talon and my readers comprehend how much more was going on than what a young boy could understand.

Hats off to Tryk - and to the talented Christopher.  One brings the other to life in my mind.

Let's Discuss: Loni Ryn

Emma Thompson as Loni

Tahloni (Tah-lawn-ee) a.k.a. Loni Ryn:

Loni is easy to love because she loves so easily and well. She was a pleasure to write because she is calming and more 'normal' than her sisters.

As oldest sister, she became surrogate mom to her siblings after their father was murdered. 

She is tall, plain (though Emma Thompson isn't), and the heart of the orphanages. The orphanages are where the Ryn family does their recruiting for the Eye organization.

Something in the book I don't really go into deep detail about is the fact Loni observes the orphan girls and deciphers which have the qualities they are looking for. She is the one that makes the recommendations to Mari, who then winnows out the best and trains them. Loni is a hard worker and the peacemaker between her sisters.

As I wrote her, Loni became a composite of the best of the women I've known - the mother figures in my life with an added dash of unexpected temper. Loni has the personality that buffers and supports, but will not accept threats to children within her sight or sound. Children are her drive, the spark that keeps her going in spite of her pain; both physical and emotional.

Her weakness and strength are her orphans and her goal is to have at least one orphanage set up in each country. While the many orphans look at her as a mother, the one she claims as the daughter of her heart is Wyn.

A younger Loni with the man she would have married - Dasan
(real people:  Emma Thompson with Alan Rickman)