Blackstone Introduction

Blackstone is the story of the Dylosi family and their struggles to come to terms with their changing world. Each member, ultimately, confronts the grim reality of their civilization and must face the consequences of previous, past and future generations.

The distant planet Tyrell, a quasi-medieval world, is similar to Earth in many respects. A varied geography, stable atmosphere and calm environment have allowed life to flourish in all forms. Flora and faunae abound in as many regions and divisions like on our own world. Differences, however, exist between the two planets as would be expected. The most important distinction between the worlds is the presence of the sentient and dominant species.

Humans inhabit Earth as the sole species atop the natural hierarchy. Tyrell has two akin to us in that respect, sharing the top rung of the ecological ladder. Conflict and cooperation is common between them but more of the latter in the present. Perhaps because they realize that neither can totally dominate the other.

A similar environment as Earth's has led these two species along a comparable course of evolution, so they share some physical traits with us. The most notable is they have a bipedal humanoid form. They also differ from us, and each other, in another way though.

Ca is their shared name for the essence of life that binds everything together. Sentient to non-sentient, water to sky, horizon to horizon, ca is everywhere and in everything. The two species of Tyrell are unique in their ability to harness ca but in vastly different ways.

The Athel use of ca is called Concentration. They build up ca inside themselves until it solidifies a part of their body into something unnatural. The result is an Athel changing some ligament into a weapon, hardening and sharpening the skin as necessary. These transformations fall into four general classes: Impact (blunt weapons like maces and hammers), Strike (attached weapons like whips and flails), Slash (edged weapons like swords, spears and axes) and Project (ranged weapons like bows and chakrams). Each Athel can only use one class naturally, but that is not disadvantageous to them. Their body is physically superior to their Elyan counterparts in being taller, heavier and having an extra joint in each ligament. That enables them to wield their natural weapons as humans do.

The Elyan use of ca is called Manifestation. They build up ca inside themselves before releasing it outward to produce an effect. The effects are not changes to their bodies but of the environment. These manipulations fall into four general classes as well: Psychic (powers related to the mind like telekinesis), Elemental (powers related to the four classical elements), Natural (powers related to the fundamental forces such as gravity and time) and Runic (powers related to symbols and artifacts). Elyans are limited to using only one class of Manifestation. An Elyan is generally stronger on an individual basis against an Athel when using ca; however, they are physically frailer due to a smaller stature.  

The Athel and Elyan can crossbreed, so mixed offspring between them are no surprise after millennia of coexistence. These children, known collectively as Aladi, possess the ca abilities of their parents but to a weaker degree. That combination has made them shunned and controlled by the Athel and Elyan in charge. The passage of years, however, has made the Aladi population grow vast to the point where many of them consider it time to bring about change.

This is a glimpse of the world the Dylosi family finds confronting them. Numerous details exist beyond this brief introduction of alien species. Those will, of course, be explored later.