What are Flames in FLAME OF SURRENDER?
The flames are pure energy. They were forged from the original dust of the lands and are therefore some of the most complex organisms in the known lands.
My ideas for the flames derived from Eastern Mythology and the Violet Flame of transmutation and karma. In mythology, the Violet Flame is an energy that can erase karma and help a person live a better life. It was considered a thing that was carried with Saint Germaine, and then associated with both Archangel Zadkiel and the goddess Kwan Yin.
The Violet Flame has always been a thing, like a talisman or an amulet.
And I thought, what if the Violet Flame was an entity? What if it was alive inside the lantern Saint Germaine carried it around in? What if it had a voice but it couldn’t speak? What if it was really like a genie trapped in a lamp? What if the Violet Flame was a possession, a slave, one that was bound to its master?
What if there were others? Other flames? Maybe not Violet in color, but Orange, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Pink, and Black? What if each of them were individuals with their own abilities, but what if they all originated from that same idea that they were a possessions?
And then what if they could be used as weapons?
I’ve always been a big believer in “absolute power can corrupt absolutely” and if the flames were anything like The Violet Flame which can basically erase karma and heal any ailment, well that’s pretty powerful. What happens when someone reaches absolute power? They become corrupted. So the flames became these all powerful possessions that could both heal and destroy on a monumental scale.
I began to think about what scale that would be and all I kept thinking was it would have to be nuclear. You know you can’t do anything half assed right? If a character is going to be lethal it’s going to build and build and it’s going to become like a nuclear bomb.
I decided to stay away from colors because of the obvious awkward looks I might get from the spiritual community to be writing a story about the Violet Flame as a dangerous thing. The people who believe in the Violet Flame and do the mantras aren’t interested in my creativity I’m sure, it’ll probably just rub them wrong. Instead I decided to go with crystals, and I stuck to colored crystals like the Indigo Flame became the Iolite Flame, and the abilities that the Iolite Flame has, have nothing to do with what Iolite represents metaphysically. (Still with me? Because people do crystal therapy and different crystals do different things, FYI)
Similarly, the Violet Flame became the Amethyst Flame, and the others fell in line, Ruby, Emerald, Carnelian, Azurite, Obsidian, Quartz, Citrine and Iolite.
And from there the personalities and the abilities grew on their own, each of them being as different as I could make them, though believe me, while traipsing the Metaphysical world there are things that are considered impossible that are not considered impossible in the Fictional world. I have to say that put a damper on things for me, because someone being telekinetic in the Metaphysical community is actually monumental where as telekinesis in the Fictional community is overused. So I’ve had to get more creative with it.
What the Flames have in common:
They are individuals.
They are thought of as a thing, not as a person.
They are able to destroy or repair.
They are conscious with or without a body.
They can possess a body.
They can be merged together to create the ultimate weapon.
To go into further details on the last two points, when Krishani finds Tiki in FLAME OF JUSTICE (the second book in the series) she’s in a lantern and he can talk to her telepathically. The Flames still retain consciousness even when they are separated from the body. They can also be fitted into any inanimate object, an orb, a crystal, a talisman, a pocket watch, a latern, a rock, whatever really, but whatever they are trapped in, they are still alive. Imagine being paralyzed inside your own body and being able to feel, see and hear, but not be able to move or control the things you do. THAT is what it’s like to be a flame inside an inanimate object. All a flame can hope for is that their captor is a good person.
In some instances, Flames can possess a body. If someone is still alive, the flame can enter the body and go into dormant state. This means that they are present, but the original host still has control of the body. If the original host ever dies, the flame would awaken and take over. In some cases the Flame awakens and subconsciously influences the host, which allows the host to then use the Flame’s natural abilities, though free will is still in the hands of the host. So the host can use the flames abilities for good as well as evil. If a body is born without a soul, such as a stillborn, or a sudden death, the flame can enter and take control before rigor mortis sets in. The flame then becomes the host of the body.
All of the above happens a lot in The Ferryman and The Flame series.
And then there’s that ultimate weapon bit. If a master or a captor were to collect ALL of the flames, they would be able to fit them together like puzzle pieces so that they would merge and become one. This is why the Valtanyana are trying to acquire the flames; they want to merge them so that they can control the known lands, and destroy anything that stands in their way. Nothing would be able to stop them if they had the flames.
With the flames being so dangerous on their own, you can only imagine what would happen if they were merged. Total apocalypse, basically, take the universe as a whole and implode it, end of life altogether, billions of years to recreate, etc. etc. It would be the ultimate end of all things.
And that’s what makes the Flames interesting and different. They’re nothing like vampires, werewolves, faeries, mediums, healers, psychics, shapeshifters, or witches. They’re a completely different species that aren’t like anything else in the universe.
About the Author
Rhi was never a normal girl. She tried, but she couldn’t get rid of the visions, the voices in her head, and the hallucinations. When she was on the edge of crazy someone pulled her back and explained it all. She wasn’t insane. She was psychic, really psychic, too psychic. Her life was an urban fantasy wrapped in a paranormal romance and served with a side of horror. To escape her everyday weirdness she began writing fantasy. She frequents twitter and facebook, but if you really want to get to know her you should visit her site: www.rhiannonpaille.com
Her book FLAME OF SURRENDER (The Ferryman and The Flame #1) Comes out November 1st, 2011. Check it out on Goodreads and be sure to add it to your TBR!
Her book FLAME OF SURRENDER (The Ferryman and The Flame #1) Comes out November 1st, 2011. Check it out on Goodreads and be sure to add it to your TBR!
The Book
The boy who follows death meets the girl who could cause the apocalypse.
Krishani thinks he’s doomed until he meets Kaliel, the one girl on the island of Avristar who isn’t afraid of him. She’s unlike the other girls, she swims with merfolk, talks to trees and blooms flowers with her touch. What he doesn’t know is that she’s a flame, one of nine individually hand crafted weapons, hidden in the body of a seemingly harmless girl.
Nobody has fallen in love with a flame until now. She becomes Krishani’s refuge from the dreams of death and the weather abilities he can’t control. Striking down thousand year old trees with lightning isn’t something he tries to do, it just happens. When the Ferryman dies, Krishani knows that he’s the next and that a lifetime of following death is his destiny.
And Kaliel can’t come with him. The Valtanyana are hunting the flames, the safest place for her is Avristar. Krishani can’t bear to leave her, and one innocent mistake grants the Valtanyana access to their mystical island. They’re coming for Kaliel, and they won’t stop until every last living creature on Avristar is dead. She has to choose, hide, face them, or awaken the flame and potentially destroy herself.
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