Graeme Rodaughan's Blog: Writing The Metaframe War Series - Posts Tagged "the-metaframe-war"

Herein is a guide to the world of The Metaframe War.

Glossary:

The Metaframe: An interface to the fundamental fabric of reality. Anyone who successfully accesses the Metaframe is able to shape reality permanently to their will. Care must be taken as the underpinings of reality are complex beyond measure.

The Ramp: An epigenetic phenomenon whereby a complex of genes already present in the human genome is switched on, transforming the physical and mental capabilites of the Ramp master. The result is massively increased strength, speed, reflexes, agility, learning and healing capabilities.

The Vampire Dominion: The organisation of vampires under the rule of King Cornelius Crane and his five generals. Established during the 1860s it has ruled the world in secret ever since.

The Red Empire: An army of Ramp master ninja assassins who have battled the Vampire Dominion since the 3rd century BC after they split from the Order of Thoth.

The Order of Thoth: A loose organisation of Ramp masters formed into independent teams that co-operate with each other under a firmly established set of traditions to battle the vampires. Established immediately after the creation of vampires by Hakron the Scribe.

The Key of Ahknaton: A pebble-like piece of obsidian whose surface writhes with the appearance of galaxies, enables 'safe' access to the Metaframe.

The Papyrus of Hakron the Scribe: A scroll that details the origin of the vampires and the use of key of Ahknaton to access the Metaframe. Written in a special code - it reads as gibberish.

The Interpretive Codex: Instructions on how to decipher the code used to encrypt the Papyrus of Hakron the Scribe.

The Metaframe Artifacts: The three items above, the Key, the Papyrus and the Codex. Whomever possesses all three has the ability to access the very fabric of reality and twist it to their will.

The Red Ghost, aka Shabbah al Ahmar: The title of the leader of the Red Empire. Currently held by Dalien Morte.

The Praetorians: The warrior elite of the Vampire Dominion hand-picked by Cornelius Crane - typically from the near dead on the battle field.

Shadowstone: A modern, very well equipped and organised paramilitary force embedded within and above national intelligence and security services. They have one primary aim: keep the existence of vampires secret. They primarily report to the general with responsibility for the territory they are operating in, but ultimately report directly to Cornelius Crane.

The Risk, Intelligence, Security, Consultants corporation, aka R.I.S.C Enterprises: A corporation owned and run by Cornelius Crane. One of many front companies organised to further the aims of Cornelius Crane and the Vampire Dominion.

The Binding Curse: A curse provided by Jean Philippe Allemande based on limited access to the Metaframe that Cornelius Crane uses to forbid his generals from harming him on pain of death.

A force team: A group of Order of Thoth Ramp masters (4 to 9) led by a force leader, typically also include a loremaster.

Order loremaster: A Ramp master who has developed eidetic memory and mind palace skills. Typically equiped with a direct neural interface to the internet via an implant.

The Panopticon: A near AI device established on quantum processes and used to filter, search and predict events and people for the Shadowstone and Vampire Dominion. Interconnected to all available IT infrastructure from mobile phones to military satellites.

A 'Fist' team: An elite Red Empire squad, typically 3 to 5 members, a notch above the regular Red Empire troops in combat ability.

Spectrum Team: Basic organisational unit of the US arm of Shadowstone. 16 operatives organised into 4 squads of 4.

Sanctuary: A declaration of extreme protection (within the Order) whereby any attack on the person given sanctuary is deemed to be an attack on the person giving sanctuary.

Order Conclave: A meeting of the leaders of the Order and their close associates where novices are elevated to full membership, force leaders confirmed, heads of the order confirmed, and if necessary, any disciplinary actions are carried out.

The Dragon Swords: 5 katana swords constructed from meteoric iron by a genius japanese swordsmith in the 17th C. The most powerful swords in existence.

Order Traveler: Ramp master gifted with the ability to detect deception. Spy catchers.

Netmaster Order cyberwarfare expert.

Test of the Olgoi Khorkhoi Red Empire test for Fist leadership and to rise to the highest ranks of the Red Empire. Confrontation and survival vs multiple adult Mongolian Death Worms in a maze.

Characters:

The Vampires:

Cornelius Crane: King of the Vampire Dominion. Ex member of the Order of Thoth, 12th C, French baron, converted to a vampire by Mekra during the 1st Crusade.

Chloe Armitage: 19th C, English aristocrat converted to a vampire at the age of 17 by Cornelius Crane, ex member of the Order of Thoth. The youngest on record to become a confirmed member of the Order of Thoth at 16. Last of the generals to be created, first in rank.

Haras Mosule: 19th C, former Red Empire leader, 2nd in line to the Red Ghost. Converted to vampire by Cornelius Crane. Second in rank.

Clayton Maze, Shen Zhen & Dieter Franz. The other generals (3rd, 4th and 5th in rank respectively).

Mekra: The first vampire, beloved wife of Ahknaton, first prince of the southern realm of Egypt.

Jean Philippe Allemande: Haitian voodoo sorceror (bokor), with the ability to make limited access to the Metaframe. Provides the binding curse and a special ability to Cornelius Crane.

The Ramp Masters:

The Red Empire:

The Red Ghost: aka Shabbah al Ahmar: aka Dalien Morte: The head of the Red Empire and holder of the Interpretive Codex.

The Raven: aka Al Ghurab: The Red Ghost's number one agent within the Order of Thoth.

Taipan: aka The Great Serpent: aka Thueban Kabir: 2nd in command of the Red Empire and the Raven's chief instructor before the Raven was inserted into the Order of Thoth. The premier warrior of the Red Empire.

Nasr al Dam, aka Blood Eagle, and Tamsah al Ramil, aka Sand Crocodile are 'Fist' leaders.

The Order of Thoth:

Arthur Slayne: Order weapons Grandmaster. Exiled and under a warrant of death. Operating as a lone wolf. Speed talent.

Willliam Slayne: Arthur's son, in hiding under an assumed identity. Father of Anton Slayne.

Anna Slayne: William's wife, and Anton's mother.

Anton Slayne: Novice member of the Order of Thoth (not yet confirmed at an Order Conclave).

Gang Wu: Order weapons Grandmaster. Father of Li Wu. Inactive member of the Arthur Slayne force team. Instructed by Arthur Slayne.

Li Wu: Novice member of the Order of Thoth (not yet confirmed at an Order Conclave).

James Madison: Former head of the Order of Thoth. Deemed to have been murdered in his sleep by Arthur Slayne.

Mary Creeley: Lover of James Madison and Order weapons master. Mother of Jay Creeley. Deemed to have been murdered in her sleep by Arthur Slayne.

Francis Mirovar. Senior force leader and 'ex-member' of the Arthur Slayne force team. Instructed by Arthur Slayne.

Juliette Mirovar: Order Loremaster, netmaster & wife of Francis Mirovar.

Jay Creeley: Full member of the Mirovar force team. Premier warrior.

Yvette Mirovar: Full member of the Mirovar force team.

Peter Lamb: Full member of the Mirovar force team. Strength talent. Strength equal to a vampire.

Chiara Romano: Full member of the Mirovar force team.

Justin Blake: Force leader of the Blake force team covering the south west quarter of the US. Strength talent. Strength equal to a vampire.

Ramin Kain: Head of the Order of Thoth.

Samuel Luther: Head of staff for Ramin Kain. Skilled warrior, loyal to Ramin Kain.

Deon Lamar: Order Traveler, loyal to Ramin Kain.

Shadowstone:

James Haley: Head of the US arm of Shadowstone.

Louise Wesson: Spectrum team leader and a direct report to James Haley.

The ancient Egyptians

Ahknaton: High priest of the Order of Thoth, and first prince of the southern realm.

Hakron: Master scribe of the Order of Thoth and second prince of the southern realm. Ahknaton's younger fraternal twin brother.

Feel free to ask questions below.

To quote Juliette Mirovar.

“The mind palace relies on two interlocking factors. The fundamental mind palace discipline, and the use of the implant-laptop-Internet cloud to access massive data. The first is personal training and discipline, and the second is technology. The human-machine interface has a quirk. There is no way you can physically access the raw data and comprehend it. The technology creates a gestalt experience, essentially a vivid, lucid dream, where the information is presented in metaphorical imagery. A talented, and skilled loremaster can guide and interpret the dream to establish an augmented view of reality that approaches precognition.” - Juliette Mirovar, loremaster

The Temple of Thoth is the scene of the Prologue for A Subtle Agency, it was designed by Ahknaton and constructed over a twenty year timeframe.

Key Points.

[1] The entrance to the lower levels is via an archway into an antechamber within the body of the main temple.

[2] A descending hall leads from the antechamber to the first landing.

[3] Another descending hall (a switchback) leads from the first landing to the second landing.

[4] The second landing gives access to a descending spiral staircase to the Halls of the Gods.

[5] The Halls of the Gods, is a terrifying maze of horrific and lethal traps - you need ramp abilities and knowledge to navigate the maze safely.

[6] A descending hall leads from the exit of the Halls of the Gods to the third landing.

[7] The third landing has a secret and locked door in the floor, to open it you need to press a series of flagstones in the correct sequence. Only Ahknaton knew the sequence and the door resets after a set period of time (also unknown).

[8] The third landing secret door provides access to a spiral staircase leading to the Chamber of Worlds.

[9] The Chamber of Worlds is an inverted, empty, pyramid, with some specific properties.

[9.1] It is coated with a substance that induces vertigo. Only Ramp capable people or vampires (as it turns out) are able to control the vertigo.

[9.2] There are a series of levels on the inside of the pyramid approx ten feet wide, ten feet high each and descending down to the inverted apex of the pyramid.

[10] At the bottom of the Chamber of Worlds is an open doorway into a descending, curving hall that leads to Anknaton's tomb chamber.

[11] Ahknaton's tomb chamber has a secret door that is only opened by "Ahknaton's Key," the same device that is used to provide full access to the Metaframe.

[12] The secret door leads along a flat corridor to the Chamber of the Metaframe - which is located directly beneath the inverted pyramid.

I hope this helps readers visualise the events in the prologue.

‘I’m sitting with Anton Slayne at Patrick O’Malleys Irish pub just off the Boston CBD. Anton’s recently landed a gig as the main character of a new series of books, beginning with A Subtle Agency and has agreed to give an interview for my Blog.’

‘So let’s begin Anton, how did you get the gig?’

‘Well, I saw an advertisement in the Boston Mercury for a main character for an upcoming novel, they said they were looking for someone who could play a star hockey player and Boston University freshman, so I brushed up my CV and sent it in.’

‘So what happened then?’

‘Well, there was a couple of rounds of interviews, and everything seemed to be going really good. I thought, solid, I’ve got it, my first major role - no more bit parts for me.’

‘Sounds like something unexpected happened.’

‘Yeah, they asked me if I wanted to be a vampire, and I can tell you, alarm bells started ringing straight away, and I thought to myself, well there’s a big red flag. I mean, what the hell - vampires? Really?’

‘Vampires?’

‘Yeah, what I thought too. Anyway, so the old geezer who’s running the show, he said he was toying with the idea that I might be better placed as one of the vampires.’

‘Shocking.’

‘Too right, so I said to him, that no way whatsoever, I was gonna play a damn vampire. And he ruminates on my response for minutes … so I’m waiting for the old fart to make up his mind, and then he comes out and says, it will all be okay, you don’t have to be a vampire.’

‘You would have been a relieved.’

‘Sure, but I’m going, what the hell in my mind, as I thought it was a sports story, and so what is all this talk about vampires. I just didn’t get it.’

‘So, did he do anything to clarify the situation?’

‘Well, he gave me an outline of the novel, and I read it. I’m still thinking this is a sports story, right, and I’m a freshman at Boston U, right. Yeah right, so I’m looking for a hockey tournament, with me as a star player. I’m looking for a championship game with me scoring the winning goal. I’m looking for hot cheerleaders and lots of them. I’m looking for drunken frat parties and pranks and laughs and fun. …’

‘But it wasn’t anything like that was it?’

‘No, nothing like it. It was a real downer, I was some guy who’s mother get’s murdered in our living room, and who’s father is abducted by really tough vampires. Not only that, I’ve been living in some weird witness protection and basically I’ve got enemies everywhere just looking to put me in an early grave. I nearly get killed half a dozen times in the first book, and then I see in the second book that I get shot, thrown off a cliff, and then hooded, gagged, bound and buried alive and that’s only in the first three chapters.’

‘That’s a tough gig.’

‘Even worse, my number one enemy, Chloe Armitage, who kills my mother and abducts my father, wants to use me in some plot of her own. And get this, her time on page is almost the same as mine. Hey, I thought I was gonna be the main character. What’s up with that?’

‘So what convinced you to take the job?’

‘Well, a guy has got to eat, and I was sick of playing bit parts in online computer games.’

‘It’s that simple?’

‘Yep, it’s that simple.’

‘Well, thank you Anton, its been wonderful to get some real insight into the inner workings of the job market for main characters.’

‘Sure, no problem.’

‘Thanks again.’

‘Cheers, hey, and thanks for the beer.’

‘It’s all good.’

Hi Everyone,

Book #6 in The Metaframe War series is available for Preorder on Amazon



On Good Reads at






A Thrilling Dark Fantasy Action Adventure

Hunters and vampires are fighting a secret war for control of the fabric of reality. Whoever acquires mastery of the reality shifting powers of the Metaframe will become the new gods of the universe.

"Imagine if you could change the rules of the game, what rules would you choose?"

THE MIROVAR FORCE TEAM HAS BEEN SHATTERED!

Anton Slayne and his friends travel to the fabled fortress of Matahat al Diydan to seek sanctuary at the hand of an old enemy - the Red Ghost - ruler of the Red Empire.

Cornelius Crane and his rebellious general, Chloe Armitage, confront the horror of Mekra’s machinations on the blood-soaked streets of Romania. He carries the mystical Key of Ahknaton upon his person. The Metaframe waits to be used, its reality shifting powers both feared and desired by all who know of it.

The Key can open any door and give birth to any reality. Whoever uses it first could win or lose everything - only one thing is certain.

CHAOS WILL RISE

"Like Underworld on speed, it's got all the adrenaline and action-packing shots of entertainment you could want, wrapped up in a no-nonsense narrative." - Adam Smith, Cultured Vultures

Be prepared to be blown away by a high-octane, dark fantasy, action adventure thriller, that would be at home in a summer movie blockbuster.