Nina Croft Week has come to end, but we’re not leaving you empty handed! You can prepare for the release of book six in the Dark Desires series, Flying Through Fire, by bringing yourself up to speed on what many of the unique terms used in the book mean. Check out the glossary below, and pre-order your copy of Flying Through Fire today (releases 11/07)!
Glossary of Terms
The Chosen Ones
One thousand years ago, when it became clear that the Earth was going to be destroyed, twenty-four ships were built, the Trakis One to Twenty-Four, to ensure the continuation of humanity and to take a selected few to a new life. Each ship carried ten thousand people, sleeping in cryo tubes, to be woken when they reached a planet able to sustain life. They were selected by a—some claim very dodgy—lottery system and were known as the Chosen Ones.
The Trakis System
Five hundred years after leaving Earth, the fleet eventually came upon a system capable of supporting life. They christened it the Trakis system after the ships that carried them to safety. Each individual planet was named after the ship which first landed there.
Trakis One
Trakis One was the first planet reached, an inhospitable place on the outer reaches of the system, and guarded by a black hole. The ship, the Trakis One, carrying the President of the Federation of Nations, the government in charge of the Earth at the time of the exodus, was promptly sucked into this black hole on arrival and never seen again. (At least, not for a very long time…)
Trakis One was later used as the high-security prison planet for the Collective, due to the fact that it was almost impossible to escape without being dragged into the black hole.
Trakis Two
Trakis Two doesn’t rotate, hence it has a dark side and a light side, and is also known as The Planet That Never Sleeps. It’s a den of iniquity, with every known vice available, and also the home of many “beings” who made it from Earth but were never officially part of the Chosen Ones.
When the Chosen ones were selected, certain groups were kept out of the lottery, mainly because most people didn’t know they existed. They included vampires, werewolves, demons, among others. Considering the system unfair, a few of them, led by the vampire Ricardo Sanchez, took it on themselves to bribe the captain of the Trakis Two with the promise of eternal life in exchange for dumping a few of his Chosen Ones and taking them onboard.
Trakis Four
The original Church headquarters was based here before moving to Trakis Five.
Trakis Five
Trakis Five is the most pleasant and Earthlike of the planets, and where the Collective made their home. The Church took over the planet after they had defeated the Collective.
Trakis Seven
Meridian, the source of immortality, was first discovered on this extremely unpleasant planet. At the time, no one was aware that Meridian was produced by an alien dragon-like organism trapped on the planet. Or that the dragon also produced a substance poisonous to humans, and only counteracted by dragon DNA from the Meridian. Anyone who visits Trakis Seven, and doesn’t “join” with Meridian dies, sometimes quickly, but usually slowly and extremely painfully. Prisoners were used on the planet to “mine” the Meridian. It was a prolonged death sentence due to Meridian poisoning. The Church blew up Trakis Seven to destroy the source of Meridian.
Trakis Twelve
Trakis Twelve is a pretty depressing place with not much happening.
Meridian
This mysterious substance was discovered when the Trakis Seven crash landed on its planetary namesake. The material was named after the captain of the Trakis Seven—Callum Meridian. At first it was thought to be a mineral, but was later found to be animal in nature. It combines with human DNA to form a hybrid creature, and it bestows certain characteristics, not all of which are completely understood, including: violet eyes, immortality, telepathy, super-strength, improved healing, and, about five hundred years after the change—wings.
The Collective
The Collective is made up of all the people who had taken the Meridian treatment before the sole source of Meridian in this universe was destroyed. Led by Callum Meridian, the Collective are telepathic, super-strong, and immortal. They form a sort of gestalt intelligence and were the ruling class for many centuries.
The Church of Everlasting Life
This religion came with the Chosen Ones from Earth. Religion had become a little out of favor, but with the discovery of Meridian it regained its popularity. Everyone wants to live forever, but very few can afford the exorbitant cost of Meridian and the Church offers a cheaper, if less reliable, road to eternity.
It quickly became the second most powerful organization in the universe. When the Collective was weakened by the disappearance of their leader, Callum Meridian, the leaders of the Church grabbed the opportunity and took over in a very bloody coup.
Genetically Modifieds
DNA from all species was carried on board the Trakis ships. When the planets were colonized, many scientists believed that the best way to survive in the harsh and sometimes alien conditions was to combine the DNA of humans with that of any species which might give them an advantage.
The Rebel Coalition
The Church of Everlasting Life does not like genetically modified beings and refers to them as abominations. The Church came to an agreement with the Collective that GMs should be downgraded to non-human status, allowing them to be hunted down and destroyed. Many of the GMs were understandably not too happy with this decision and formed the Rebel Coalition with the purpose of returning the favor and destroying the Church. They were led by Devlin Starke, the most-wanted man in the universe, and a late addition to the crew of the Blood Hunter.
Time-mancer
A female with dragon DNA, capable of creating and controlling wormholes and therefore able to travel vast distances of time and space.
The crew of the original Blood Hunter (El Cazador de la Sangre) at the beginning of Break Out:
- Tannis – Captain, part snake, part human, all bitch
- Ricardo Sanchez – Owner, pilot, and vampire
- Daisy – Copilot and plant GM
- Janey – Tech expert and human
- Tristan Starke, aka The Trog – Engineer and jaguar GM
- Al – Cabin…boy?
The crew of the Blood Hunter 2 at the beginning of Flying Through Fire:
- Tannis – Captain, Snake GM, and Collective
- Callum Meridian – Captain’s consort and Collective
- Rico – Pilot and vampire
- Skylar – Security officer and Collective
- Daisy – Copilot, plant GM, and vampire
- Fergal – Tech expert and cyborg
- Devlin Starke – Engineer, jaguar GM, and Collective.
- Saffira – Time-mancer
- Jon and Alex – Werewolves, on hiatus
About Flying Through Fire:
Thorne’s willpower has been honed over ten thousand years. He might want Candy, but the last thing he needs is an infatuation with a young, impetuous werewolf. Candy makes him lose control, and that could have disastrous consequences.
As the threat escalates and they become separated by time and space, Candy must find a way back to him, because while Thorne alone has the power to defeat the dragons, only together can they finally bring peace to the universe.
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Don’t miss the rest of the Dark Desires series! (Note: each book in the Dark Desires series is a standalone, full-length story that can be enjoyed out of order.)
Break Out (Book #1), FREE for a limited time only, Break Out Bonus Scene
Deadly Pursuit (Book #2), 99¢ for a limited time only, Deadly Pursuit Bonus Scene
Death Defying (Book #3), $1.99 for a limited time only, Death Defying Bonus Scene
Temporal Shift (Book #4), $1.99 for a limited time only, Temporal Shift Bonus Content
Blood and Metal (Book #5), $1.99 for a limited time only!
Did you notice? The Dark Desires series has a new look! Let us know what you think!
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