Welcome to 'Caliban's End: The Blog'! Your first question about this may well be "What on earth is 'Caliban's End'"? Well, to be truthful, Caliban's End isn't on earth. It's a place in a land called Terra which doesn't exist anywhere you've been. Caliban's End is also the title of Melbourne-based writer Paul Francis Stewart's first novel. In case you're wondering who Paul Francis Stewart is, that's an easy matter to settle - he's me! And before you start thinking "What sort of tosser includes his middle name in a blog?" I must categorically state, there are mitigating circumstances. There is already at least one published writer using the name Paul Stewart. In fact, I think there may be more. It's hardly surprising - it's such a ubiquitous coupling of words.
Moving on. This blog will chart developments in the novel Caliban's End. Although the book is far from complete, it is already over 500 pages. Future postings will discuss the details of the book, the characters, elements of the plot and theme and anything else that arouses interest in the novel, including the occasional extract. Of course, I won't be giving everything away, as I do want people to actually buy the book when it comes out. If it comes out.
If you have any queries or thoughts on this project, you can either post them here, or email me directly at: calibans.end@gmail.com .
Cheers, Paul
Bookmarks and Feeds
Birren Brand
Lara swung her arms upwards with all her might and hurled her child into the trees above, hoping beyond all hope that Birren had the strength and instinct to hold onto a branch. The child’s prehensile tail thrashed about in the air as it flew upwards and upon finding a slender branch, whipped around it instinctively. Lara could see her baby’s silhouette merge with the dark shadows of the canopy above and when she did not fall, a feeling of intense relief fell upon her like rain.
Central Tower, Sarras
This tower, simply called Central, was much taller than all the towers through which he had passed on his high-speed journey to Sarras. His line was one of three adjoining the tower. His slider slowed down as his line leveled off. Tagtug could see a similar cable coming in from the east. His view of the southern line was obstructed by the colossal tower which, like every other transit tower, had its metal outer shell removed. Tagtug slid to a halt and gingerly stepped off the slider, his muscles taut and aching from hours and hours of concentrated effort.
Adzoba Aethelflaed
He scrutinized the Scorian, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the knight’s pristine golden armour and helm. The bright read plume that ran down the centre of Sir Edgar’s helm received a particularly scornful look. “You look too pretty to be much good to us,” he said gruffly as the knight made his way towards him, leading his timorous snorse gently by the reins as he came. “Are they all so clean and shiny back in Pelinore?”
Abaddon
The creature’s name was Abaddon and it was one of the most unusual looking members of the Cabal. It had no limbs, no head, no tail. It was simply a large gelatinous sphere with one distinctive feature - in the centre of the transparent blubber, a solitary eye twisted and turned frenetically, scanning the mire beneath it and the fog-filled sky above.
Peg'ii
And the last thing she saw was a pair of peg'ii flying across the fields of the sky to the cloudy pastures beyond.
The Crouching Mountain
Taking a large gulp of air that caused the wind to change direction, Kyuukyuu walked across the floor of the sea, past pods of great leviatha and herds of nep'gii. After walking for many days, holding his breath all the while, he noticed that the sea floor began to rise. Soon he found himself on the shores of Kompira. His eyes widened when he saw the beautiful land before him, but despite the loveliness of the forests and the arousing scent of the purple mists, he found he was exhausted and had to lie down. So he cleared a spot of forest not far from the golden shoreline and lay down to rest. His exhaustion was so great that he fell into the deepest sleep, a sleep from which he is still yet to wake.
Bith Brand
Bith Brand sang a sad tune and the long plaintive notes floated up through the leaves and hung upon the branches. Lara closed her eyes and listened to her mother’s song. It was a ballad about a woman whose love had gone across the sea. The woman was heart-broken and was setting off across the water to find the one she had lost. Lara didn’t really understand the song – she had never even seen the sea – but the doleful melody was strangely soothing and Lara could feel herself getting drowsy as she listened to it. Underneath her lace top Lara’s heart glowed, and the intricate white filigree of her shirt was suffused with a gentle blue light.
Arrowfish
Suddenly, an Arion arrowfish shot high into the air. The mother bellycan opened her wings to steady herself as she leaned back slightly, and positioned herself directly under the arrowfish as it reached the apogee of its brief flight into the air. The fish plummeted back down and the bellycan extended a large pouch that had been hidden under the feathers covering the bird’s stomach. The arrowfish plopped straight into the bellycan’s pouch which then closed instantly, storing the catch for the family meal that evening. Although books had been written on the subject, no-one truly understood the reasons for the arrowfish’s perplexing suicidal flight.
The Worldpool
Five leagues from the churning vortex, translucent ice floes could be found, stretching out across the pale blue surface of the lake. Any ships that came within two leagues of the Worldpool risked being battered by crystalline icebergs that roamed the lake’s centre like silent predators, waiting for a vessel that had strayed too close. The waters closer to the Worldpool were wrapped in mystery as no vessel had ever returned from wandering so close to the maw. Nothing escaped. It was believed that even time itself was disturbed so close to the malevolent sinkhole. The lake’s centre was a living contradiction, a turbulent place where frozen waters were roused into violent motion, where waters made white by the freezing heart of the lake succumbed to its darkness and disappeared to a forgotten realm below. And yet, inexplicably, from dawn to dusk, the sun always shone on the Worldpool. It was if the clouds were too scared to venture so close to the glaciated maelstrom. It was a black hole, reaching out and sucking in all it could under eternally sunny skies.
Flummox
Kali heard a tiny growling sound at his feet. In the dirt before him, a twin-headed flummox sat with a round kor-kor nut in its small, pudgy hands. Although diminutive in size, being no larger than Kali's foot, the flummox was as irascible and pugnacious a beast as one could find on Terra. The flummox's two heads were facing each other, two pairs of bulbous green eyes staring at each other in a confrontation that was typical amongst the two-headed rodents that infested the Kolpian hills. Suddenly, the left head tilted right back, the mouth opening to an impossible wide degree. As the mouth opened, the flummox lifted this head up high on its neck. The head on the right cowered but the creature would not lift a hand in defence for fear of losing possession of the kor-kor nut. With a ferocity that would make a marrok squirm, the flummox's left head swooped down on the right, enveloping it entirely. Sharp incisors sheared through the right head's neck and in one of the world's most obscene animal behaviours, the flummox swallowed its own head. The violence of self-decapitation done, the flummox then spent the next few minutes yelping as the pain from its self-inflicted wound ripped through its entire body. A few minutes more and it collapsed to the ground dead, the trauma of the wound and the accompanying loss of blood too much for the little animal to bear.
Arinna Brine
Arinna Brine hung from the wide branch of the watercherry tree. In her head hundreds of voices cried aloud, tried to drown each other out.
Adzoba Aethelflaed
Juliet yelped with fright and skidded to a halt. Before them stood a man taller than any Edgar had ever seen before. He was at least eight foot tall, even taller if one counted the massive horn that grew from the man’s forehead. The distinctive keratin projection rising two feet from the man’s skull marked him as a Kheperan, a race that lived in the deserts to the south of Lake Erras. Edgar had never met a Kheperan before, but he knew of them – their reputation for having short tempers and an endless supply of stubbornness preceded them.
Morgai: Gabriel
A few strands of red hair amongst the grey hinted at the vibrant locks Gabriel had in her youth, but that was centuries ago in a distant land.
The Endless
It was a sound that Lara had not heard in months. Somewhere in the crimson glow ahead a baby could be heard crying. Lara’s heart skipped a beat and the glowing light from her chest shone so brightly, it pierced the fabric of her cloak.
Jehenna Canna
Aloof, raven-haired and stately, Jehenna carried herself with cool dignity, as if her pride were a coat of arms. She raised the crossbow mounted on her forearm and dispatched a bolt, stealing the sugarapple from Ross' hand and nailing it to the beam behind him. The Tethran was so stunned by her reaction, his mouth was still open and his hand cupped as if he still held the apple.
Palia
The manifesto listed two passengers: Wade Grayson and his twin brother, a leper by the name of Caliban. The latter was particularly memorable. The day he arrived in Palia, he was placed in the quarantine station where all lepers destined for Sanctuary were kept until the boat taking them across the treacherous waters was ready to depart. Caliban had been brought into the station kicking and screaming. He pleaded with the locals to release him and when the Palians refused, he swore he would have the bloodiest of revenges upon the world and that the sleepy hamlet of Palia would be first to bleed.
The Morrigu
But it was no bird. Its name was the Morrigu and it had somehow risen from centuries of imprisonment beneath the mountains. The fiend was terrible sight. Long, black oily feathers covered a body over fifty feet from head to tail. Its face was a mockery of a man’s, expressive, cunning and cruel. A dark serrated beak was fixed in a maniacal grin above which eyes as dark as a starless night flickered and twitched ceaselessly.
The Marid
The Marid stretched before them like an open wound, red, raw and full of pain. “Well, what are we waiting for?” said Gerriod. “If we’re going to do this thing, we better get going now."
Sulis
The triplet moons shone down on Sulis. Pylos walked out onto his balcony to take in the evening air. Below him the city streets spread out in intricate patterns, bathed in the silvery light raining down from the night sky. All over the city, the amber light of lanterns flickered outside the houses on the main streets. The comforting drone of sandcadas reverberated across the city. Above this gentle hum, the General could hear snippets of conversation float up from the café on the street below.
Claudia Kallady
She could have chosen to spend a life of luxury living a pampered existence surrounded by wealth few Terrans could dream of, but Claudia Kallady's brains simply would not allow it. In order to pursue her research with the sort of dedication only geniuses understood, she removed herself from the Imperial Palace in Elidor and lived a lonely yet satisfying life on the far side of the known world.
Nilfheim, Sessymir
Adding to the gathering darkness, plumes of black smoke poured out of countless foundries and smelter houses, staining the low lying clouds with their filth. The snow which fell on the tightly-packed metropolis was anything but pristine; it dropped in grey lumps, sullied by the pollution the mines spewed into the skies.
The Sedomo
“Sir, if today is the day that you deem to be loquacious, perhaps you could adopt a less fractious tone. The Sedomo are a race of savages bereft of any appreciation of tone or hue. Their attack upon me was typical of their barbarous, recusant ways.”
SUMI KIMURA
As he rose, Sumi swung her left leg around, sweeping her husband clear off his feet. His face would have hit the wooden floor hard if it were not for the plate of overly ripe berries between it and the deck. When Trojamu regained his feet, Sumi was delighted by the gorseberry juice that had stained his face purple.
Mag Mel
Edgar could make out the tortured shapes of leafless trees on either side of the boardwalk. The ground at the base of the trees was hidden under a thick carpet of mist. The knight wondered if there was any solid ground in Mag Mel. As far as he could tell, the entire swamp was just a bubbling cauldron of cold, mucilaginous mud. The boardwalk just stretched on before him, occasionally lit up by lanterns that illuminated the dank tendrils of fog that curled about in the air.
Discovery
Suddenly the white, guilded sides fell away from the ship and swung forward, turning as they did so. These fins then gently swept backward stroking through the water in a magnificent arc. Modelled on the giant white turtla of the Arion Ocean, Discovery’s anthropomorphic body floated in the deep blue harbour, her limbs gently pushing through the water causing concentric circles to radiate from her hull.
Pylos Castalia
The General stared at the bloodied ground whilst he toyed with a rock at his feet. "Why? I'm surprised you asked," Pylos said quietly. "Look at me. I'm a monster."
Scoriath
On the first day, the party had moved through pretty fields and farms where dull-eyed grizzums grazed on the flowerfall, and sky-filling flocks of larida owned the heavens. But as the rode north farms gave way to fen and fen to bog. The green and gold of the grass faded and the land and sky met in a grey embrace.
JONAS KALLADY
He was rather rotund for an Acoran and his fair skin was burnt under the harsh sun of the Helyan coast. His bald head was graced by a few defiant strands of long, blonde hair.
Marroks
These beasts, the marroks, were indigenous to Morae and had for centuries regarded themselves to be the natural predators of the Pryderi; it spoke volumes of their evil nature that they had allowed themselves to be trained by the Ghul. Evil it seemed could recognize itself in other species and the marrok quickly found that the Ghul could supply them with enough Pryderi meat to satisfy their ravenous appetites.
Lilith Cortese
"I must warn you of the road you are about to walk upon. It is paved in contradictions and ironies. You seek the future and that is hidden from you for a reason.”
Grisandole
The Isle of Grisandole lay directly ahead. The isle itself thrust up from the dark depths of the ocean to the equally brooding depths of the sky. Grisandole was even more barren and depressing than Lara had imagined. No trees or plants clung to the steep mountainside of the island. No beach encircled it. No seabirds flew above it. It was a place as lifeless as Terra’s distant moons. All was rock upon which nothing moved, save for the endlessly buffeting wind and waves. The peak of the conical isle was crowned with tall black towers and battlements devoid of flags or any other sign of habitation. On its own, the Morgai citadel seemed immense but in the context of the empty, lonely landscape surrounding it, it seemed insignificant. Its crumbling columns ineffectually pricked the thick skin of the sky.
The Sapphyrro
The Sapphyrro were unusual looking by most races’ standards. They stood five foot tall on average, with no significant difference between males and females. Sympathetic brown eyes as large as soup bowls peered out from benign faces of grey-blue. Hair as white as foam flowed from the back of the head onto a carapace encasing a sinewy body covered in gossamer thin velvety fur. The shell surrounding the torso formed a natural suit of armour, and yet the civilized, peaceful natives of Skyfall Town had no known predators (other than Time and even its immutable will had softened in regards to the Sapphyrro who lived well beyond the years of all the other races of Terra; death took them tenderly, like a gentle wave on the shores of a quiet lake). Stout, muscular legs and long arms ending in large, three fingered hands sprung from openings in the shell.
Cate Audrey
Her hand brushed his as she took from him the large wooden box filled with coins. Oblivious to the effect she had on him, and on all males with whom she came into contact, Cate turned and skipped over to the snorse tethered to the statue at the centre of the courtyard.
Sessymir
"Okay. So we’ve got razor sharp rocks, bottomless drops, and crazed beasts. What else?"
Caliban's End: The Film
Grace Park, Patrick Stewart, Samuel L Jackson, Viggo Mortenson, Katie Sackhoff and Jewel Stait
Wade Grayson
"I am Morgai. I know what is in the hearts of men."
The Cabal
“I think we can say with a certain indefatigability that the Cabal will seek to dispose of us in ways so unsavoury, it would be prudent not to dwell upon them.”
Maeldune Canna
The Acoran reached down and swept up the knobbly bone staff. For a second, he weighed it in his hands and then in a motion that was as unexpected as it was fluid, he swung the staff around and slammed it across Samuel Melkin’s skull. The crack of bone on bone reverberated around the cavern and Melkin dropped to the stone floor with a sickening thud.
Lara Brand
"I'm not brave, Arinna. Just desperate. There's a difference."
The Skyfall
The ridge ran up the centre of the overhang, resembling the bumps and deviations of the spine of a gargantuan beast arching its back.
Caliban Grayson
"Only emptiness is pure, Wade, and if that's true, then I have the purest heart of all."
Trypp Elan
In the common tongue the overhang was known as Climber’s Despair, though few had ever laid eyes on it.
Susano
Spriggans were usually frugal in most transactions, but Kappo was unlike most Spriggans. He had given up a life of travelling the world selling Kobold goods, preferring instead the quiet life he had discovered in Susano.
Bannick Landen
The Ambassador quietly nodded to the gathering, but the brash Bannick stood up and bowed, enjoying the show. The eyes of every female in the chamber lingered on him and he knew it.
Khepera
The hammer of the sun crashed down upon the fervid anvil beneath the fisherman's feet. Gerriod could feel his tender skin burning through the thin leather soles of his boots but limped on, desperately hoping that the city of El Khadir would soon come into view.
The Endless
The fisherman was in a vast cavern. The rock had a phosphorescent quality and emanated the most delicate red glow. High, high above the cascading waters of the Worldpool were gently tinged with the supernal glow of night seeping in from the world above, giving a softness to the dreadful surge that crashed into the Endless with deafening ferocity. The ethereal illumination of the stony surrounds revealed a dark, ulterior lake into which the blue waters of Lake Erras were poured and mixed until they became black.
Rama Ta
A gentleman perhaps, but not one without his failings. The blind man seemed to be a narcoleptic and had slept for most of the journey, a situation exacerbated by the fact that he was a frequent snorer. Not the quiet, gentle snorting that could almost be considered endearing. No, Rama indulged in an impossibly loud, basket-rattling snore that seemed to put his very life in danger.
The Fortitude
She was one of the finest vessels in the Acoran navy. The ship was called The Fortitude . She was a clipper, only two weeks old. She was testimony to the Acora’s obsession with maritime speed, the fastest, most elegant sailing vessel Terra had ever seen – long and lean with a prow as sharp as a sword. Above the deck a great cumulus of sails billowed in the northerly breeze.
Lokasenna Hagen
"Oh I know you only too well Lokasenna Hagen. I know the hate you harbour in your heart. I know how you have been treated. I am well aware of how Sessymirians deal with their bastard children."
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