I am my own knight in armor - Tiina Yadav

Growing up on Ka Surya, my mother the queen once revealed to me in a moment of weakness, how she had fallen in love at sixteen, with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. She had loved him with all the passion of a first infatuation—it was clear she had never got over him. “Why did you not marry him?” I asked. She laughed “I had a duty to wed well and produce heirs for the throne....” her voice tapered off. Now with the threat of Shaitan’s invasion hanging over us, I wondered if she was thinking the same thing. Was the sacrifice really worth it when she could lose the very kingdom she had sacrificed so much for?  

Had loved you

 “I don’t regret it. If I had not followed my heart I would have never known how it was to love someone so much that..that.. when I left him, I was convinced I would die. It was real, the pain, and I had never felt more alive. Never felt that way since... well not counting giving birth” she smiled. I couldn’t understand what she meant at that time. Why fall in love with someone only to leave him? It seemed like an awfully painful way of discovering that you were real. “It’s better to have loved than not...” my mother explained somewhat unconvincingly. Ha! Here I was, twelve years later, in almost the same situation. Perhaps destiny like history does repeat itself? Except, nothing had stopped me from following my heart. Only myself. Rai had been right, I was my own worst enemy. I didn’t really know what I wanted, did I? “I love you” he had said. Those three words which every girl wants to hear. Did I? “Stay with me” he said. And I had run away from him, from everything I knew, from my life as it was. Because that life was not for me. Was it? Oh! I did love him alright, in my own way. But I couldn’t stay.  I knew what I didn’t want.  Maybe it was because somewhere deep inside I knew he would always love me. Ah! So, he would cheat on you, but he still loves you? It did sound strange when I said it aloud that way. 

I am my own knight in shining armor

But did I feel for him as much as I had felt for Egreog? I had known Egreog for but a few days. Yudi, I had known all my life. He was my first, the boy who made me feel a woman, when those strange innocent feelings shivered up my spine embracing my heart, before flowering my face.  The boy had been innocent, his heart on his sleeve, true feelings for me glowing in his eyes. The man he had become was tougher, harder, with a mean streak running through him. More like his father every day. I shivered in premonition and clutched my trusted sword where it lay in front of me next to the control panel of Artemis. The hard feel of the cold metal brought me back to the present. Best to move forward onward to my destination where the Seven Islands awaited.

Shaitan - the untold story

The most powerful being in the universe was created in lust and disowned at birth. Shaitan was a love child. His mother, Ira, seduced the supreme god Shiva, conceiving Shaitan in the divine equivalent of a one-night stand. When the moment of madness was over, Shiva regretted his lapse. When most needed, Shaitan’s powers would fail him, Shiva fumed at his yet unborn child. 

Shaitan: the untold story Shaitan next encountered Shiva as a teenager. By then he knew he was different from the rest. The son of a super life form that he was, there was never any doubt in his mind that he would one day become the ruler of the universe. Now he had a choice. He could do this step-by-step; the more traditional and more honest way. By following in the footsteps of the human conquerors before him, he could take one kingdom at a time, raze it to the ground, and rebuild it his way. An accelerated five seconds in the limelight leading to a celebrity career kind of method, perhaps. Shaitan simply stole Shiva’s weapon, the Trident, a device guaranteed to bestow absolute power on its owner.  Surely as the son of Shiva, he had claim to that which belonged to his father. But why take the long torturous route when there was a simpler path to glory? Cradling the Trident in his hands, he felt the strength flow right through him, uniting the skies above and the world below, with Shaitan at its centre. It grounded him, the radiant white energy, giving him the power to control everything. Shiva was furious. He cursed Shaitan to be killed by his firstborn. The journey of their lives was thus set in motion; the patterns passed on from father to child to father. This is Shaitan’s story and the story of all half lives, the half human, half alien race of the future. To read The Destiny of Shaitan go to http://tiny.cc/szqsew

Interview with Rai Ramachandran, Chosen One

Starting today we feature a series of profile pieces with the Chosen Ones who have been enlisted by Mimir the wise master, to save our universe from the evil Shaitan. First up is a conversation with Rai Ramachandran, inter-galaxy tour operator, alumni of Arkana - the prestigious Academy of Half Lives, Chosen One. 

Rai Ramachandran, Chosen One

Ray? What is the story behind your name? That's Rai with an 'i'. I was named Darich after Keane Richards, one of the most infamous rock stars in the galaxy. Though why my mother couldn’t just call me Richard I don’t know! You can call me Rai – short and simple, (with an i please!) 

Tell me more...After Shaitan killed my mother (who was his lover, so I think Shaitan is my father.... I don’t know for sure) I grew up in an orphanage on the streets of Bombay. I gotta say that Slumdog Millionaire was probably based on my life, except for the millionaire bit. Things just aren’t that simple in real life are they? 

What is your problem in life? Political? World Peace? Ah! It’s a little more personal than that. I am between two worlds in many ways. I am not ready to talk about it.... yet 

Who do you normally hang with? Yudi and Tiina are my best friends. They are childhood sweethearts too. First love and all that... sometimes I do feel like a third wheel, especially since I have a slight crush on Tiina (but don’t tell her as she is also my BFF)

Are you in a relationship? It’s complicated!

Anyone we know? Uh! no comment... but if you read The Destiny of Shaitan, you will find out more about my chequered past.

And who would you love to hate....? You mean Shaitan? (Shudder)....Darth Wader seems tame by comparison!

Any regrets then? If only I had met my mother. I wish I could have saved her from Shaitan. 

Any message for your fans? Can I tell you a secret? I am glad I am not like Yudi who always loses his confidence at the last minute. Or for that matter like Tiina! Is that girl ambitious, I tell you! Me? I believe you only have one life, even if it is a Half Life... so you gotto follow your heart and live every moment as if it is your last. 

Ok! I appreciate your honesty. Thank you for your time (By the way, I love your blue jump suit, who designed it?) 

Read more about Rai in The Destiny of Shaitan now on Amazon  http://tiny.cc/szqsew

Half lives are the future

The half lives are a cross breed between humans from Earth and non-human races from the other planets.

Half life expectancy decreases exponentially with time

The name comes from the term Half-life, abbreviated t_½, which is the scientific term used to denote the period of time it takes for the amount of a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. The name was originally used to describe a characteristic of unstable atoms (radioactive decay.) it may apply to any quantity which follows a set-rate decay. One of the key characteristics of half lives is that they age at a rate which is 50% faster than humans. In 3017 most half lives have a life expectancy of fifty years, while their human counterparts could easily live to be a hundred.

The Lion Man: Half human half lion

The first recorded half lives were born in 2100, by which time the distances between planets could be covered in weeks instead of years Earth time. Technological advancement and the discovery of wormholes between planets further shortened travel times so that by 2900, such space could be covered in days.