The writer gives life to a story, the reader keeps it alive.
Jarad walks with Alexand, as she leads her troops towards the borders of Tibet. (If you would like to donate to the Nepal Earthquake Appeal please visit the Red Cross Website or the DEC Website. Thank you.)
Alex attempts to disguise her illness from her troops, as she leads them towards Tibet.
Heyem sits on a bench, holding tightly to her stomach as the cable car swings away from its dock.
After the mountain becomes too hazardous for the horses, the group have to walk on foot towards the next checkpoint.
Alexand and her agents travel north east towards Nepal. The borders aren’t as closely monitored in the mountains, and they have to leave no trace of themselves at military checkpoints. The Amanojuko have spies in the army, and they can’t risk exposing themselves to capture. They blend into crowds, breaking into small groups, and meeting up again in less populated places.
Alex and Katherine spend their final night together, in Jarad’s spare bedroom. CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
After leaving the army, Jarad has made a life for himself as a translator. He waves goodbye to another of his rich students, and attempts to settle down by the fire with a nice cold beer and a book. CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
The Guild Master’s General takes Abouna Panak forward in time to the year 4002, where Alexand has discharged herself from the military due to alcoholism, and is heading for Goa to lead a healthier lifestyle, along with her husband, Jarad and their three children, Samuel, Ancille and Anastasia. To make money, Alexand plays in music bars, along the way. The Guild Master’s General has taken Abouna Panak into a crowded nightclub; Alexand is playing. CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
Samuel Merevija is tempted to escape from The House of Plenitude and Mirth, along with Eldenath Balsara, but they are both afraid of what could happen in the world outside. (CLICK HERE for next chronological story)
Baio-Yujia Sun had been accidentally killed in a crash. (See issue 25: Baio-Yujia Sun) Her three surviving friends Alexand, Heyem and Jarad were found responsible for her death and sentenced to military correction. (See issue 26: There’s No Place Like Home) Three years have passed, and Alexand Merek still has vivid nightmares about Baio-Yujia’s death. Things have escalated and Alexand now sees her dead friend’s shadow at night, when she’s alone in her room. Next chronological story here.
After being given the option to take a pill which stops ageing, the group of Abouna Panak’s rebels decide whether or not to take the life altering drug, SIR2HX. (Thank you so much to Pamela Spiro Wagner, a very talented poet and artist, who inspired and encouraged me to finally complete a series of stories rather than tease the reader into gouging out their (and or my) eyes. This is dedicated to you, Pam.) (CLICK HERE for next chronological story)
Toreth Rek-cho has been offered eternal youth, by the mysterious Field Marshal Panak. She has also been shown a bleak future, and has ten minutes to decide her own fate. (CLICK HERE for next chronological story)
After breaking into a high security room onboard the Floating Asylum, (see The Other Side Parts One and Two) Abouna Panak and Heyem Merek, race to retrieve proof of an Amanojuko takeover plan. (Note: Back on Christmas Island, the resistance includes (Alexand Merek) Inajda Rekaya, Juba Apfvarzian, Jarad Vijay, Anesidor Sumian and Toreth Rek-cho.) (CLICK HERE for next chronological story)
(HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!) Alexand Merek has been unable to return to the army, due to her asylum record. She spends most of her time very isolated and alone, as her husband, Jarad teaches English to rich Indian families and often spends day’s away working. She is not accepted in her community and cannot get a job teaching music because of her conviction. Her son Samuel is unable to go to school, due to the stigma attached to her imprisonment. Alexand spends a lot of time teaching him at home, but is sinking deeper into depression and alcoholism. One day a knock at the door changes her family’s prospects. (Note: The ‘writer’ is a transportation and storage device common amongst the resistance, and was created by Anesidor Sumian.) CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
Alexand and Katherine have travelled to Alexand’s home village to get married. (As Alexand has a very large family, who couldn’t afford to travel to India, and none of Katherine’s family replied to the invitations) Alexand’s younger brother, Farokh is one of the guests. Heyem is Alexand’s “best Woman,” much to her delight. Even Alexand’s mother Inajda has managed to find time from her very busy military schedule to be there. Unfortunately Farokh sees through what should be a happy occasion to things disintegrating beneath. (From left to right: Inajda Rekaya, Jarad Vijay, Farokh Merek, Katherine De Somme, Alexand Merek and Heyem Merek.) CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
Octavia Vijay’s husband cheated on her and left her to raise her two sons, Jarad and Jove on her own. Feeling bitter and cheated, Octavia grows angrier. Isolated and resentful, she lashes out at her younger son, Jarad, who reminds her of her husband. (Also featuring Alexand and Heyem Merek) CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
Anastasia Merevija has been a concubine of Lord Ichitumbu Jalhavi since the age of twelve. Anastasia believes she was abandoned by her parents (Jarad Vijay and Alexand Merek) and rescued by the Amanojuko as a child. She has been given the most honourable task of making ‘what could be’ (an immortal child) out of ‘what isn’t.’ Unfortunately, the couple have had to spend their lives moving from Amanojuko castle to castle, running from Anastasia’s aunt Heyem and mother Alexand Merek. CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
Falling asleep at night is hard for Alexand Merek. She’s desperately trying to function as she did before The Floating Asylum. However, she’s changed, and this is having a devastating affect on her husband, Jarad, who is trying his best to help her adjust back into family life. CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
After waking from a catatonic state, (due to her imprisonment in The Floating Asylum) Alexand is recovering at home with her family. Unfortunately for Alexand, her identical twin sister, Heyem has arrived, eager to ‘help’ Alexand recover from her trauma. CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
After her daughter, Alexand was released from a Floating Asylum, Inajda spent six months helping Alexand’s husband, Jarad to care for Alexand. Alexand returned in a catatonic and emaciated state, but eventually woke up. A month after Alex woke, Inajda is trying to help her daughter come to terms with what has happened to her. Unfortunately Inajda wasn’t there for most of Alexand’s childhood, but is trying her best to make up for the missing years. CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
Five years have passed since Alexand Merek was sentenced to serve ten years in a military correction facility, for accidentally killing her friend, Baio-Yujia Sun. (See issue 25 and issue 26) When Alexand was seventeen she was selected to work for Dr. Katherine De Somme, a micro biologist and has worked in her laboratory for the past three years. However, Alexand was up late, playing piano in the entertainment bar, celebrating the release of her sister, Heyem and friend Jarad, and has turned up uncharacteristically late to work. Despite this, a friendship and trust has formed between them, allowing Katherine to share a terrible secret with her young cadet, when she eventually arrives. CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
After accidentally killing their friend, Baio-Yujia Sun, (see issue # 25) Heyem, Alexand and Jarad must face the consequences. Heyem and Jarad have been sentenced to five years each and Alexand ten years in military correction. (The same institution Katherine De Somme, Inajda Rekaya and Abouna Panak are resident.) This story is set from Alexand’s perspective, for the first time since issue # 1: Alexand Merek. It marks the anniversary of Heyem and Alexand’s birth (on 2nd December.) The 2nd December holds significance to me and my family, which is why I’ve chosen to release two stories consecutively. (This is for you Dad.) CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
Alexand Merek, Jarad Vijay, Heyem Merek and Baio-Yujia Sun are all fifteen and are close friends. They left their home in China, to look for Inajda Rekaya, (Alexand and Heyem’s mother) in the hope she could give them some money for food, as there is a famine in their village. (Inajda sends her family most of her wages, but it isn’t enough) In order to get to India, (where Inajda’s military base is) the children stole an army tank. On the journey they did some bad things, and got a little distracted from their task. These events change their lives forever. (This is the first in a double release. Issue # 26 follows on the 2nd December, to mark some birth and death days.) CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
Jarad Vijay has spent the past four years, bringing up his son alone, after his wife, Alexand, was taken and placed in an asylum for crimes against the military. Once released she woke from a catatonic state. Six months have passed since she woke. Jarad hoped her recovery would enable him to rebuild their lives as a family. Unfortunately, things aren’t that simple. (Jarad and Alexand grew up together as children. They were forced into the military at a young age. Jarad left, but Alexand remained a soldier. Their lives drifted apart until a series of events brought them back together. They were married after Alexand was widowed. Jarad believes she is still grieving for her dead wife, Katherine De Somme. He is very much in love with her, but this further separation in the form of Alexand’s imprisonment, has done little for their relationship. Alexand is very traumatised by her ordeal inside the asylum and Jarad doesn’t know if he can help her recover from it.) Trivia: Why has Alexand got metal fingers? Answer: Her fingers were severed by a samurai sword, during a mission as a young woman. (See issue 9:) The sword bearer was a man dressed in a black balaclava. He appears throughout time and place. People come to know him as The Guild Master’s General, but know little about him. (A Spanish translation is now available, by Hernán Jara Droguett.) CLICK HERE for next chronological story.
