Zeah Korlann is one of the main characters in the Senta and the Steel Dragon story, and plays a prominent part in Book 0: Brechalon. When we first meet Zeah, he is the head butler for the Dechantagne family, having served in that position since he was a young man. His father and grandfather also worked for the Dechantagnes, as does his daughter Yuah.
Zeah is a member of the minority Zaeri religion and this defines him. He also, at least in the early books, has a pronounced stammer. This speech impediment is exacerbated by proximity to his employer Iolanthe Dechantagne. Zeah is one of the few genuinely decent and nice people in the story and he makes a great foil to play off many of the others– Iolanthe, Terrence, and even his own daughter.
This is the beginning of a story that I may never get to. The idea was to create my own Conan-like character and set him thousands of years before the events in The Voyage of the Minotaur, but in the world of Senta and the Steel Dragon. I might write it someday, but it won’t be for a long time, if at all. So I thought I would post it here.
Senta’s immediate family appears in Book 0: Brechalon and Book 1: The Voyage of the Minotaur. Some of them make appearances later in the series.
Granny (Admeta Mae Goose): I didn’t use Granny’s name until book 5. I just liked that her name was Granny Goose. Granny loves kids and has cobbled together a family of her own grandchildren and the children of a couple of neices and nephews. All the kids in the household are related, but not necessarily siblings.
Iolanthe Dechantagne (pronounced Yo-lon-thee Day-shan-tane) is one of my favorite characters in the series. She is a strong woman and can be a real bitch. I hinted that there was something in her past that drove her to be what she was, and in Brechalon, we see in flashback what that was. This is also something that is resolved in Book 5: The Two Dragons. Iolanthe really is the main character in Book 0: Brechalon and Book 1: The Voyage of the Minotaur. She drives the action and events, and in book 1, we see the beginnings of her growth as a person. This continues in Book 2: The Dark and Forbidding Land. She can be ruthless and mean, and at least in Book 0, cares nothing for anyone except her older brother Terrence.
In Brechalon, Senta is only seven years old. Had she not been the title character of the series, I would have left her out, since the story takes place before she does anything of importance. I’m glad that I put her in, because it gives me a chance to show a little of her world. Senta lives with her Granny and five of her cousins in a tenenment apartment. We see that even though she had no magical capabilities, she does have an affinity for magic and can sense it even at a distance.
Senta is described as an orphan in all the other books, but in Brechalon we get the hint that she may not be one in actuality. It is possible that her parents simply abandoned her. We find out the ultimate truth of this in Book 5: The Two Dragons.
There are quite a few characters who do not appear in the story of Senta and the Steel Dragon, but are only referenced. Here are three big ones:
Magnus the Great: Magnus was king of the Zur two thousand years before the events in the story. He was a conqueror who carried on his father’s conquest of the continent of Sumir, more or less unifying the culture of mankind. He occupies a place in history much like our own Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great. At the end of his reign, his empire fell apart, partially due to the antics of his daughter Zurfina, though no one has described the exact details. Zurfina the sorceress is the namesake of Magnus’s daughter.
Kafira Kristos: Probably the most important minor character in the book is Kafira Kristos. She occupies the place in the world of Senta and the Steel Dragon that Jesus Christ does in ours. Her life and martydom just after the time of Magnus the Great creates the divide between the two religions in the story–Kafirites and Zaeri.
The idea for Kafira came from a theological paper I once read. It wondered, assuming that life existed on countless planets of the universe, would Jesus have lived and died on each one of them, or would they have had their own savior. I decided that for the story, this world similar but not quite our own, would have its own, and further decided that she would be female.
Kafira is also the basis for a great deal of blasphemous cussing in the story. Kafira! Kafira Kriston! Kafira’s Cross! Kafira’s Tits! Kafira in a Hand Basket! and worst of all, Kafira’s Bloody Twat!
Kazia Garstone: There are many books and writers referenced in the story, because several characters are either writers, devoted readers, or book collectors. I have a whole list of authors and their works, some of whom I never used. Kazia Garstone is referenced more than any of them. She was a muck-raker as well as an author and is considered quite scandelous in polite society. Many consider her a socialist, but her books are widely read and early editions are very valuable.
I think all my character discussions for Senta and the Steel Dragon will have to carry a spoiler alert. So much happens to all of them over the course of the series that, though I try not to, I might inadvertantly spill some secrets about one or two of them. So, read this at your own risk.
Brechalon is a prequel. I wrote it long after I had written books 1, 3, and 5, so it provides a look at some of the events of the past that are only hinted at in the other books. I don’t know whether to recommend that you read it first or last.
Terrence Dechantagne is one of the major characters of the series. As he appears in Brechalon, he is in the army, serving in the cavalry. During the course of the story, he takes a furlough to spend time at home. Terrence is a drug addict, addicted to the “See Spice,” white opthalium, a magical drug that transports him to a world where his troubles are all soothed away. The ultimate cause of this addiction is his eyewitnessing the murder of his mother by his father when he was twelve. Add to this, the generally unpleasant life that he has led since.
Terrence is a thoughtful man, a collector of rare books, but has been thrust into the position of a man of action and violence by the expectations of others. His general self-loathing extends to anyone who cares about him. In book 0, he is at his low point, spending most of his time under the influence.
I’ve covered the characters in Blood Trade, Women of Power, Astrid Maxxim, His Robot Girlfriend, and His Robot Wife. Now it’s time to look at the Senta and the Steel Dragon series. This will be fun, because there are literally hundreds of characters in the six books. I’ll give a full entry to the main characters and group minor characters into a single post, but I’m going to present them in the order they appear in each of the books.
I’m looking forward to this because I get to read the books again. I really feel like Senta and the Steel Dragon is my best writing, my best story, and my best characters. Stay tuned tomorrow as we start with Book 0: Brechalon.
City of Amathar 