“The Forest Kingdom of Drisnia” is a highly marketable adult epic fantasy series designed to appear in six volumes, and which chronicles the inter-generational saga of a royal family and its closest intimates.
Created by the author: Ira Aron Rosenblum; It is a pervasively visceral tale set in a hypothetical alternative history which introduces a large ensemble cast of characters, who, through their navigation of a series of internal and external conflicts are tested and eventually overcome adversity and evolve into heroic archetypes. Highlighted by a series of harrowing adventures, historically accurate incidences of martial arts in the western tradition, naval warfare, tragic losses, uneasy alliances and written in a style laced with alliterative prose and psychological nuance, the high literature aspect of the collection stands reminiscent of such genre classics as Virgil’s Aeneid, and Mallory’s L’Morte D’Arthur, and is strongly influenced by the poetry of Joyce and W.B. Yeats.
In the first novel: “The Spell of Forgetting”; the primary heroic journey belongs to that of the character of the Prince, in tandem with his newly intended bride-to-be; the Princess, who functions in the “fish out-of-water” observer role…although her strong feminine role foreshadows many future events of later installments in the series. With their Kingdom beset by an amorphous being referred to as “The Effluvium”, a form of amnesia is imparted to all of those that it comes into peripheral contact with.Symbolically representative of the denial psychology and unresolved issues of the main character, it spurs the story into action by the destruction that it causes. Concurrently, the Prince has held a flong estering hatred for the leader of a nation bordering the Forest Kingdom...a “Wizard”, that he holds responsible for the death of his mother. In result he orders his remaining men to violate the border of the Land of Doren to seek out the origin of the blight. Eventually the party comes into direct conflict with their self-ascribed enemy, where the Prince finds that his assumedly deceased mother is actually alive and bigamously married to the Wizard.Set on “rescuing” his mother and adopted step-sister, the ensemble confront not only the master Alterer, but his son; the Prince’s sociopathological half-brother, and a captive mythic creature of terrifying proportions and destructive capabilities known as the Gémerka-Telazihal.
"The Forest Kingdom of Drisnia; Book One: The Spell of Forgetting" Sales and Solicitation "One-Sheet"
The first companion: "The Song of Umeztad" is a narrative text sequentially set immediatedly after the conlusion of "The Spell of Forgetting" and chronicles the internal dilemma of a featured player in that manuscript. Related to the rest of the series in similar standing to Gawain & The Green Knight's relationship within the Arthurian family it is a romantic and poetic work mired in heroic iconography, as the young protagonist confronts his inner demons in a foreign woodland inhabited by a stoic forester, his lone prisoner: an alluring young woman, and a mysterious creature she lives in fear of.
In the second book; “The Dowry Voyage”, the focus shifts from the heroic journey of the Prince and Umeztad to that of the Princess; who gains a mentor and grows from the passive heroine and fish-out-of-water to a mature woman. Set at sea, it serves mainly as a "naval journey" tale and is influenced strongly by classics in that genre such as the works of E.M. Forester. As in most archetypal mythos, her mentor pre-deceases prior to the end of the novel, yet his influence guides her through the rest of her journey.
The second companion: "The Polychronicon of the Eastern and Western Lands" is an illustrated compendium of the world that appears in the narrative and features a wide range of commentary regarding the minutae of the societies presented in the six novels, as well as maps, charts and other artwork.
The third book: “The Lost Books” returns to the limited ensemble cast and is set shortly after the Prince and Princess’ marriage.Three intertwined heroic tales tell of the passage of the Princess, Prince and the Aldapian Guardsman Umeztad on separate missions charged by mysterious otherworldly beings to solve an ancient riddle of sacred geometry that will facilitate the alignment of the cosmos in accord with the best interests of both dimensions, and to likewise prepare for a forthcoming upheaval.
While the first three books in the series are more or less sequential, and closely so, the storyline of the fourth installment; “The Anointed” begins some seventeen years after the conclusion of the prior book.Familiar characters return, more seasoned and advanced in their careers and social setting.The focus shifts to that of the children of the main characters, in particular, the two children of the Prince and Princess…now King and Queen, the mature step-sister of the King nee Prince (Yentak) and the illegitimate son of Umeztad among others.With disaster at the gates, these characters rise to the occasion, and begin to fulfill their destinies as the leaders of a new generation.
Book five: “The Tagmazi Conundrum” explores the fragile peace that has taken root in the aftermath of the foiled three-front assault of the Gioruzhak partisans of Tagmazia, hauntingly reminiscent of the three individual tales of the third book in the series.Some months have since passed, and the lull in the conflict is in a state of tense attrition due mainly to the massing of forces on both sides and the onset of a bitter winter.Perhaps the most “talky” novel of the series, this installment contains little actual combat, and is more politically oriented with few overt incidences of the occult.
In the final outing of the series, “The Unified Lands”, the groundwork lain in the previous book bares fruit, and a series of both military and mystically oriented conflicts commence, drawing the main characters of the first three installments and their offspring into a web of variegated, often contradictory desires, motivations and principals of individual characters, which in turn leads in the end to a total restructuring of the world in which they live in and rule over.
In addition to the central manuscripts, there are six novella sized companions that may be issued separately or as back-matter appendixes.
The first companion: "The Song of Umeztad" is a narrative text sequentially set immediatedly after the conlusion of "The Spell of Forgetting" and chronicles the internal dilemma of a featured player in that manuscript. Related to the rest of the series in similar standing to Gawain & The Green Knight's relationship within the Arthurian family it is a romantic and poetic work mired in heroic iconography, as the young protagonist confronts his inner demons in a foreign woodland inhabited by a stoic forester, his lone prisoner: an alluring young woman, and a mysterious creature she lives in fear of.
The second companion: "The Polychronicon of the Eastern and Western Lands" is an illustrated compendium of the world that appears in the narrative and features a wide range of commentary regarding the minutae of the societies presented in the six novels, as well as maps, charts and other artwork.
The third companion: "The Ueauhium" is a lengthy epic-poem suggested and referred to in dialogue throughout the series. Set in far antiquity, the evocative verses capture a long removed age of heroes, revered for their valor and ideals.
Companion Book Four: is a tangential narrative entitled "Tales of the Gioruzhak Wars" and will feature previously unheard of, or mentioned characters caught in the bloody circumstances of the fourth book in the series.
The fifth companion is a parrallel to the "Polychronicon" in that it will present other "archival" material, but in this case mainly ancient documents. The collection features a Sistrilian religious ode known as the Laghkon and is titled "The Laghkon & Other Antiquities.
The final companion is pure cream for the most ardent readers and completists. "A Maisatic Lexicon and Primer" will lead the most dedicated through a dialectical disection of the languages and dialects found in the reality of the world of the Forest Kingdom and it's neighbors.
