Time for another Writing Journal. I really need to come up with a clever title for these posts. I’m normally very good at that. I guess things change. To the task at hand. Let’s delve deeper into my Untitled Story.




In this installment I’ll be talking about the Great Forest or the Greens, as I  decided to call it at the end of the last post. Mainly I’ll be talking about some of what lives amongst those trees. Actually, this is just a list of things Token will encounter in the first book. So let’s get to it.

I wanted to do some sort of anthropomorphic beings. I had the idea of doing a prey species and a predator species, with  the two being at war. My first task was to decide on what the prey species would be. I was always intending on the predators to be wolf based unless the prey species dictated otherwise.

For instance if the prey species was mice than the predators would be owls. If they were rabbits than we’d have foxes. And so on.

I ran though many different possibilities. Aside from those I already listed I thought about squirrels, robins, possums, and even monkeys. Then it hit me. Deer. What better prey species for a group of Wolf People to hunt than Deer?

Full disclosure, I had another concern while coming up with the prey species. While I’m writing this as a young adult book, I know that many adults read those books. This caused a bit of a concern. Well, maybe concern isn’t the right word.

The issue was just how human to make these species. That is to say, where would they fall on the furry spectrum and just how sexy could people make them out to be? I wanted these two groups to be cute and noble, but I know that people can turn things sexual in a second.

If I make them very animalistic the furries will be all over them, if I make them more human than they can be sexualized by a greater amount of people. This is no win situation. It’s also a stupid thing to be worried about. The chances that this story will ever be read by any group large enough for this to become an issue is slim to none. And yet my mind went there and this was something I had to deal with. I decided to skew more towards human but to keep certain animal traits. So these creatures are less Bugs Bunny and more classic Satyrs.

The prey species, the deer people, are called the Veni-Kin. Get it? I’ll talk about them first.

When we first meet the Veni-Kin they are cautious of Token. While he isn’t there normal enemy he is something they don’t trust. Even though they are not as skittish or easily startled as normal deer they are very wary and slow to wave off danger.

The Veni-Kin are taller than most people. They are thin and athletically built with cloven feet and human hands. They are not completely covered in fur. They have hair on their legs, arms, and backs but their torsos and faces are bare. They don’t have the faces of deer but they do have flat wide noses and vaguely deer like ears. The Veni-Kin have antlers, smaller and less pronounced than actual deer, but still impressive none the less. Male Veni-Kin can grow beards and both sexes are usually brunette or have brownish red hair (they have hair on the heads not fur). They dress in smooth silk like clothes and are very elegant.

These people are incredible craftsman and are very intelligent. The adore beauty but are not frivolous or shallow. Nor are they incapable of protecting themselves. While the wolf people no longer actively hunt them there is a strong animosity there. These two groups are always one misunderstanding away from all out war.

Our first introduction to this group is a through a character called Bo. Bo is a young Veni-Kin boy who Token is hunting. Token is unaware that Bo is not your usual deer. When he realizes this he ends up saving Bo’s life. Bo leads Token to his village and  this leads to conflict.

The leader of the Veni-Kin or the Buck, is a female by the name of Lonay. She welcomes Token to the village and shows little fear of him. It’s almost as if she has had experience with his kind before. Bo and his sister Doe become friends and allies to Token.


The wolf people are called the Kindred. They are not evil. I want to make that clear. They are predators pure and simple.

The Kindred are more animal like than the Veni-Kin. Not only are they shorter and stockier but they also have thicker and rougher fur.  They have digitigrade legs, a similar fur pattern to the Veni-Kin, but have less delicate features. Their hands end in claws and they have large pointed teeth, with wolf like ears. The Kindred are rougher around the edges and have a more primal stance. They still have mostly human faces. These people dress very similar to Token wearing predominately animal skins.

They aren’t mean-spirited but they are very aggressive. I see the Kindred as being like Vikings without the Rape and Slaves.  They still work on a pack mentality with an Alpha. In this case a very large and cunning male named Sutter.

The Kindred are not craftsmen. They live simple lives and spend most of their time hunting and protecting their homes. Unlike the Veni-Kin they use tools only when they can find them.  The Kindred aren’t stupid by any stretch of the imagination. As nomadic hunters, who can hunt perfectly well with just their claws and teeth and live in found shelters like caves, they don’t need to create. They’d rather spend their time either exploring, looking for the next place to call home, or being with their families.

Since they are less removed from their animalistic beginnings the Kindred are more aware of nature. The Veni-Kin are closer to man that way. This is the one thing Token has in common with Kindred, that and the need to be free.  The Kindred hate being tied down.

That is one of the reasons that there has been something like peace between the two sides. The Kindred have been traveling deeper and deeper into the Greens looking for new hunting grounds. I like to picture the Kindred as being culinarians. They are always looking not just for their next meal but a new taste. This helps to explain why they stopped eating the Veni-Kin and why they are so nomadic. The Veni-Kin apparently taste terrible. This might be by design, but I’ll get to that in the story itself.

So now after all those years the Kindred are back and Token is stuck in the middle of this impending battle.  He has to become a warrior somehow. The only question is which side he will take.

Sure he meets Bo  and the Veni-Kin first, but then he meets Trys. Trys is a young female Kindred who attacks Token and attempts to eat him. They have a battle and after Token beats her she becomes his friend.

With friends on both sides, choosing one becomes much harder. Maybe there will be a way that he can prevent the battle all together.


There are more humanoid species in the Greens, all of whom are unknown to the Five Countries and vice versa.  I really want to stress the split between Civilization and the Greens. Imagine a forest that takes up 70 percent of the planet. The only way to reach it for four of the civilized countries is through either mountains,  deserts, jungles, or swamps. Just getting to the Greens for the majority of people is nigh impossible. The people of Sharlem don’t have that issue but even they don’t venture that far into the Greens. The only people who travel deep into the Greens are the Brotherhood and they don’t do much exploring. For them it’s point A to point B.

The intelligent species see no reason to leave the Greens and most have very little contact with people. So little that most of them either don’t know about people, or believe them to be a myth.


Before I move on there are a few other humanoid species to talk about.

One of the things I’ve been toying with is having another predator species. One that is more dangerous and even more animalistic than the Kindred. I like the idea having a common enemy. This species would hunt both Veni-Kin and Kindred alike.

I’m thinking about calling them Kugoars. These are very large feline based predators. There origins are completely different from that of the Veni-kin or Kindred. The Veni-Kin and Kindred have a shared origin that is mystical in nature. The Kugoars are a natural evolution. Imagine giant cougar/cavemen who eat anything. I’m not sure if they will appear in this story.


Speaking of things that may not appear in this story. Let’s talk Fairies and Elves. I‘m considering the idea of including them in this story, but I’m somewhat on the fence. I don’t want Token to go from one situation with dueling creatures to another. That would be a little repetitive. I’m sure I can make that work somehow, but I’m not sure if I should. Whether I do or don’t I still want to talk about the set up anyway.

Years ago, I was writing a fantasy story that sadly died with a faulty hard drive. I was so far along with that story that the idea of restarting it was unthinkable. Instead I just moved on. Some of the aspects of that story will probably find their way into this one. Such as this one. An ages old war between Fairies and Elves. In that book it was going to be a very serious racial war. Here it’s going to be a bit lighter but also very violent. The main differences are that this isn’t a war about race and the size of the combatants. In the lost story the Fairies and Elves were human size here they are tiny.  That change in size makes the bloody battles I have planned more acceptable.

So on one side you have the Fairies. They are more magically inclined and live in the Fair Land. These are pastel colored spiritual beings who believe they are above other creatures not just because of their wings. The Fairies are conceited and vain but also true believers in their religion. They believe that they are better than you and because of that they should help you. The only problem is that the Elves are constantly showing they are not only the Fairies equals, but in someways are actually better than them.

The Fairies can’t stand that. It is an affront to their beliefs.  Due to that the Fairies are constantly trying to best the Elves. Over the generations that impulse has gone from a simple rivalry to full on war. 


On the other side you have the Elves. These Elves run the gamut in skin color. They are not all fair skinned. They are, for lack of a better term, multi racial. The Elves live in Elf Gulch which is a town that is visually similar to an old west boom town. The elves are tinkerers and engineers. They use their mechanical and scientific know-how to build machines with which to fight the Faires.

The Elves also  have domesticated animals to help in their cause. They ride humming birds and mice into their battles alongside mechanized weapons of war.  The Elves are not conceited but they also don’t believe in helping others. The Elves believe in self empowerment. You have to help yourself. So when the Fairies tried to help them, while acting like their betters, the Elves were pissed off.

At first the Elves were powerless to do anything about the Fairies. For a long time they were forced to endure the Fairies butting into their lives and lording over them. That is until one Elf created the first Phyrearm. The Phyrearm is a projectile weapon that fires balls of fire.

I know that this seems like an overreaction. You  have to understand the ideological differences between  the two species. On the one hand you have the Fairies who think they are better than you and have a pathological and religious need to help you. On the other you have the Elves who don’t think anyone is better than anyone else and despise the idea of being helped.  The Elves are way too proud to not fight.

So where those Token fit into this?  Imagine you’re a Fairy wizard. You are searching ancient tomes for a way to finally beat you rivals. When you see Token. He is a giant of great skill. The only problem is that he would be too hard to control at that size. You immediately dismiss the plan but then you see just how skillful the giant is. You see how he moves and how he hunts. He has the look and skills of a warrior.  Maybe the giant could be of use if he was a more manageable size.  And that is how Token ‘fits’ in. Fits? Anyway. The Wizard shrinks Token and forces him to join the battle. 

Like I said I don’t know if this will actually happen, at least in the first book, so I’m not exactly sure how this all turns out but that is the general set up.


Let’s talk monsters. OR if you prefer mythological beings. What kind of weird and dangerous things lurk in the greens?

Dragons. How can you have a fantasy story without dragons? You can’t. I definitely wanted dragons in this world. But I didn’t want to go with just any dragons. The dragons in the land of the Five Countries are a mix between Asian and classic European dragons. This gives them a unique appearance. They can have feathers, fur, and even hair, while retaining a recognizable shape. These dragons are smart but they don’t speak. I wanted intelligent but enigmatic creatures. I also liked the idea of elemental dragons so I threw that in there as well.

All in all these dragons are a mix of all the coolest aspects of dragon-dom. They are intelligent, soulful, powerful, terrifying, beautiful, and deadly.


The one thing they aren’t is serpentine. I left that to the Drakes. I read, on a Magic the Gathering Card years ago, the perfect definition of a Drake. It was something like this “A drake pretends to be a dragon until the real Dragon shows up.” That is what I was going for with the Drakes. They are long, serpentine beasts that fly but are nowhere near as powerful or awe inspiring as Dragons. What they lack in those qualities they make up for with numbers and pure viciousness.


Dragons and drakes are cool by they are not my favorite mythical beast. That is the Griffin . In this story the Griffin is the wise, ageless creature that imparts wisdom. They are what most people would think the dragon would be.

These Griffins are not the largest or most powerful of beasts but they make up for that with intelligence and charisma. I like to think of the Griffin as being a roguish and endearing beast. The have the majestic quality of the lion with the grace of an eagle. How could they not have charisma?


I also wanted to create a few ‘original’ creatures.

Earlier, I mentioned a lost story. The Grears are another idea from that. A Grear is a bear that is a hundred feet tall.  They are ancient and powerful creatures that are the only beasts that can rival the Dragons in raw power. They are also elemental but in a more literal sense, while a Dragon can breathe fire a Grear will actually be alit.

Grears are the end boss of the monster spectrum. They are as powerful as the Dragons, as viscous as the Drakes, and as smart as the Griffins. The only reason they don’t rule the world is that there are only a few of them and they hate each other to much to get anything done.

Another idea I had for a creature was the Unicobra. The Unicobra is an immense, hypnotic snake, with a horn on it’s head. So a Unicorn Corbra basically. They can become invisible, are almost completely silent, and are keen hunters. Their hypnotic stare is almost impossible to resist. The horns on their heads are the hardest natural substance in the world. Weapons made from the horns are highly sought after and incredibly rare. Unicobras had been hunted for their horns and have since learned that the only good man is a dead one. They hate all two legged creatures because of that and kill them on pure principle.


The last ‘original’ beast I’m going to talk about here is the O’Wolf. The only thing that can make a Griffin cooler is if it was half wolf/half owl. Boom O’Wolf. What sets these awesome beasts apart from Griffins? Well, firstly the can change into people. Secondly they are known as being story tellers and keepers of great secrets. While a Griffin will tell you about life, an O’Wolf will tell you about treasure.

O’Wolfs aren’t necessarily trust worthy. They can be tricksters and are known to use people for their own gains. While Griffins are roguish O’Wolfs are actual rogues. They are thieves and spies. The O’Wolfs are always working to their own ends. This doesn’t mean they are evil or even bad just not trustworthy.


There sill be a lot more creatures in the Greens but those are the only ones I have a grip on at the moment. So let’s move on. What else is in the Greens? The better question is “Who else is in the Greens?” In the first part of the story Token is going to meet a man who will become a mentor/father to him.

Aspada, is much like Token. They have similar histories. I’m not going to go into too much detail at the moment about his history, but I will give a bit of general info on him. He is a man of Sharlem, he is older than Token, but his exact age is hard to determine. Living so far into the Greens has thrown of his natural aging. He is a great warrior and explorer who, for unexplained reason, is living a very simple life now.

Aspada is going to train Token but more importantly he is going to teach him. This is the part of the story where Token is going to learn about his people. The people of Sharlem have a long and dark history. One that has been hidden by the Brotherhood.

Token will also learn about the Brotherhood. About it’s secrets and it’s beginnings. How Aspada knows these things is something that will also come to light.

Aspada has been in the Greens long enough to know not only how to survive, but also how to thrive. He will teach Token to use the land to his advantage. He will also show him the ‘short cuts’ that will let Token travel to the great Tree and the outskirts of each of the Five Countries in considerable shorter time than should be possible.

All that is well and good but just what kind of person is Aspada? I see him as being jovial. Kind of like a Santa/Ghost of Christmas Past type of character. He will have a bit of an edge though. I don’t want him to come off like he pretending to be a jolly old soul when in fact he is this dark brooding character. No. He is a genuinely happy person, who has lived an amazing life, filled with fantastic adventures and great loves. Those experiences are tempered with tragic losses and indescribable pains.

The point is that those terrible moments didn’t destroy him or taint him. He is the kind of person that can overcome dark moments. That is what he will really be teaching Token.


That’s all I got for what lies in the Greens so far. Which means that’s it for this week. I’m not sure what I’ll talk about next week.

I guess that will be a surprise for all of us. My page total is up to 19. I did a bit writing this weekend.  I ended up with a big choice to make. I had one thing planned but the other option is looking rather tempting.

Actually. That’s what I’ll talk about next week. I’m at a crossroads. So next week I’ll go over the decision I have to make and how that will affect this story.

So much for a surprise. Oh well. See you then.