The idea for this novel came from "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court" by Mark Twain. A 19th century American is somehow transported to 6th century England. The people are less scientifically advanced and superstitious, allowing individuals like Merlin (according to Twain, mostly a charlatan rather than an actual wizard) to acquire and maintain power. The protagonist uses his knowledge to thwart Merlin and recruit England’s youth into modernizing Camelot. I won’t spoil the ending to that story. Go read it for yourself! My novel grew out of a single thought: what if Merlin hadn’t been pretending? What if he used his magic to oppose the technology and reforms? From this premise, "The Gunpowder Plot" was hatched!

About the Story

Our Hero:

Anna is a young woman who was raised in a small village. While closer to the magical traditions of Neficium, the village is closest geographically to the city of Mentalis. Anna is an enigma to the villagers: she has an innate gift for magic, but is more interested in the sciences. Her goal is to somehow combine her magic-oriented upbringing with her new scientific knowledge. An action sure to be disapproved of by both sides. Little does she know that she is about to become entangled in a conspiracy with dire consequences...and a prophecy that could shatter the world.

Magic:

Magic in this world is more akin to alchemy than more familiar, "traditional" fantasy magic. The Dominicans classify magic as two types: “Corpsori” (World Magic) and “Animas” (Soul Magic). Corpsori involves manipulating the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air) as manifested in the planet. This can be accomplished by transmuting Animas or (more commonly) binding an elemental creature to the practitioner. Animas is the most mysterious and dangerous magic. Animas includes a fifth element: aether. It is the very essence of the human soul…what gives mankind reason and free will. Animas uses aether to perform elemental magic, using "humors" (parts of the human body). Each magic practitioner is attuned to a specific humor and element based on the circumstances of their birth. No one, not even the Church of Dominic, knows exactly why. This does not limit a person to a single element, but they must intake food, drink, potions, or some other substance to balance their internal humors to whichever elemental spell he or she wishes to cast. Since Animas depends on humors inside the body, a practitioner must take care not to use up all their energy (similar to how a soldier ingests additional calories to perform more intensive physical activity).

Creation (according to the Dominicans):

In the beginning, there was the Magic. Formless, chaotic, but filled with infinite capacity for creation. Suddenly, the Magic "awoke" and was conscious. From the arcane energy, the Magic made the archangels (or "greater angels"). These four beings concluded that they were meant to bring the Magic to order, creating magical weapons to divide the Magic into four realms: the Cup of Gabriel (Water), the Coin of Uriel (Earth), the Wand of Michael (Fire), and the Dagger of Raphael (Air). They created four races of elementals to inhabit each plane of existence. The elementals each chose a monarch to rule over themselves, and the archangels entrusted their relics to each ruler: Queen Nichsa of the sirens, King Ghob of the gnomes, King Djin of the salamanders, and King Aral of the sylphs. However, one race was not happy with the separation: the sylphs. The sylphs were created in the image of the archangels, and essentially "lesser angels". King Aral, leader of the sylphs, decided to steal the relic of Fire. Air and Fire made him hungry for power, and he led the sylphs in a war against Water and Earth. The archangels intervened and began the “War of the Winds”, and Aral was defeated. The archangels sealed him away in Earth, far from his native Air. However, the Fire that Aral stole still burns hot, melting some of the Earth around him into magma. The sylphs chose Paralda as their new king. Seeing that the elements would never be satisfied with being separate, the archangels combined them into the World. To oversee this World, the archangels created Man. Their bodies had an organ from each element: brains and lungs from Water, gallbladders from Earth, spleens from Fire, and livers from Air. To give these “automatons” a soul (and therefore, life), the archangels created a fifth element: Aether (derived from the very heavenly light and celestial “air” of the archangels themselves). The archangels tasked the first Man, Dominic, with governing the four elementals, christening Him king and giving Him their gift of Magic, so He might bind the elementals to His will. To make the elementals more subservient to Man, the archangels wiped their memories.

Elementals:

The elementals are semi-sentient animals that inhabit the world. Each one embodies a different element: sylphs control Air, salamanders control Fire, sirens control Water, and gnomes control Earth. The most intelligent elementals deny the Dominican version of Creation. They claim that elementals always were, then one day mankind "crawled out of the mud, stood upright, and started flinging spells around like children". The church claims that Dominic had the elementals’ minds wiped, while scientists cite it as proof that religion’s explanations are flawed.

Aral:

To call Aral a "devil" would actually be a compliment. He is a corrupted sylph that had become warped and twisted by trying to use two elements at once. Today, the Dominicans use him as a cautionary tale for trying to bind multiple humors or elementals at once. However, they do not truly understand the threat that Aral once posed to humanity...that he still poses.

Science:

Not everyone is capable or willing to study magic. A new trend among the youngest generation is a deviation from magic and its religious supporters to empiricism and scientific reasoning. Though humanity in this world has never really needed to depend on technological alternatives to magic, an Industrial Revolution has begun. Scientific curiosity began as a sort of youth counterculture, rebelling against adults and the norms of society. Having avoided the indoctrination of the church, these youngsters began an earnest and more serious investigation into science. When the Scientific Revolution began almost a millennium ago, the youth were already designing Leonardo-like inventions. Now, technology has evolved to dynamite-like explosives, electricity, and rapid-fire machine guns. After centuries of being oppressed by the reigning monarch, the Lux made the stunning announcement to embrace the new technologies...a move not at all popular with the nobility or the church.

The Imperial Guard:

The Praetos of the Imperial Guard is part-cabinet of advisors and part-bodyguards: the Lux listens to their advice, and each Praeto swears to defend their monarch. Magic use by the nobility is passed down through powerful hereditary lineages. Magic is inherited from the mother, so the Imperial Guard is a de facto matriarchy. In addition to having a position in the Imperial Guard, each Praeto is a noble who rules over a city as viceroy to the Lux.

The Church of Dominic:

The Dominicans are named for the near-mythical first human and first mage. The church is spiritualistic and pantheistic, with Magic itself as the deity. Dominic is not quite a deity himself, but still revered as the first individual to access and manipulate the divine energy. Each Dominican temple is ruled by a "Lord", called such for the quote from the Testament of Dominic ("He who follows Me shall follow Magic. The Magic shall make you Masters of the Soul and Lords of the World."). Dominicans heavily support magic, as it is involved in every religious ceremony in some way. Unlike the Imperial Guard, magic is not as widespread in their organization. Thus, the Dominicans must draw support from the common people to achieve their goal of stopping the anti-magic, pro-science movement. The church does not forbid homosexuality. Men and women are free to have sexual intercourse with either gender. However, the church only recognizes heterosexual marriages, because of the reasoning that they can reproduce. Thus, ensuring magical talent will be passed on to the next generation.

The Confut ("The Silence"):

The Confut is a doctrine of ecclesiastical Dominican law. It takes advantage of the church’s relationship with the monarchy to force a public denouncement and suppression of any mention of a subject deemed "unrighteous to the Faith". While a Confut was declared against multiple scientific subjects, supporters have taken advantage of the fact that the Confut specifically refers to the *teaching* of science. Thus, though the sciences are no longer a recognized academic subject at the University, scientists are free to experiment and invent.

Neficium:

Literally translated as "Magic City", it is the holy city for magic users. According to Dominican myth, it is where Dominic first learned to use magic. As such, it is the site for the Temple of Dominic (headquarters of the Church of Dominic) and the University. The University is a center for learning not just magic, but also the fine arts like poetry and art. The Dominicans have put stricter oversight over the institution recently, to avoid the "heresy" of science being taught there.

The Lux:

Half-king and half-emperor, the Lux embraces the new scientific movement to deny authority to the Imperial Guard and centralize power around himself. Though still beholden to the Church of Dominic (the royal bloodline claims to be descended from Dominic), the Lux tries to control both the Praetos and the Dominicans to his own benefit.

Mentalis:

A recently-constructed and much more modern city than anywhere else in the world. The founders named it Mentalis ("Mind Magic") to present science as a third force equal to the two types of magic. The city was founded on a royal charter, so it is technically ruled directly by the Lux. However, in practice, the city has no ruling Praeto, and is instead ruled by the Emeritus Council. The council is more of an oligarchy than a democracy, but still discomforts the Praetos, as the council is appointed based on merit and intelligence, rather than bloodline or tradition. There are rumors that a few Councilors have become more than just antagonistic to the magic-users. There’s talk of expanding their influence to other cities...whispers of revolution.

The Inventor’s Faire:

Publicly, the Inventor’s Faire is a citywide festival in Mentalis, celebrating the achievements of ordinary citizens through science. Privately, it is a way to introduce the masses and inquisitive young minds to science...without actually teaching them in violation of the Confut.

If you want to read more about the world of "The Gunpowder Plot", you’ll just have to pre-order! Thank you everyone for your support and interest!