Aquarius - The Underwater Complex

Hello any and all! Welcome back to The Realm of the Blood Guard once more. Today's article covers one of the planets in the Alpha System and was the second planet to be created within The Realm. 

Aquarius, as the name suggests, is a water planet but with a solid core. This core is actually connected to the underwater complex which spans a great deal of the deeper ocean. The complex is anchored to the core but draws power from solar panels positioned in low orbit of the planet which channels energy directly into the very essence of the water, essentially creating a self-sustaining loop.

The complex is not the only thing of note on this planet. A great many creatures of aquatic nature are kept there, most swim freely but others must be contained within specific areas. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and sometimes some of them get loose and cause a bit of chaos but with all the water elementals around, along with anyone that can breathe underwater and have powers that work under deep pressure, they are eventually wrangled back to their original stomping grounds.

Now then, you're probably wondering why I'm doing an article on the second planet, Aquarius, as opposed to the first planet, Draconis. This actually has to do with Starsea for the next chapter of their origin story occurs in the underwater complex, but I won't be covering that just yet.

The architecture of the underwater complex was inspired by the Gungan's underwater city on the planet of Naboo from the movie, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Hey, don't knock it! That city was fucking badass as hell and works perfectly for The Realm! Why? The bubble technology used to hold the water back and the openess of the interiors. Not to mention that it allowed free access for the people to just float within. The only difference is that it actually removes all water that was not originally a part of them...basically they're dry instead of sopping wet.

Now some areas are more solid than others, mainly in part that many of the Guard live on Aquarius and is surprisingly the main hub for mass communication. You want to know something, go to Aquarius, because that place is gossip central. One of the reasons why it's so popular is because it is unlike anything anyone has ever seen.

Though to be perfectly honest, it's like a mall, an interstellar market, restaurants and entertainment of all sorts. It also serves as one of the main transit nodes, meaning that it connects to the other two galaxies within the Realm, along with all the systems within the first galaxy. I haven't named the galaxies yet but for now I'll end it here. You'll get a more in depth look when Silver takes Poseidon and Hook to The Realm. *sweat drops* That's when thing get a bit crazy.

Poseidon: Is that exactly a bit?

Artz: Ish.

Hook: What are you up to, wench?

Artz: Nothing in particular at the moment and that's kinda the point.

Light: Meaning?

King: Meaning that she has temporarily lost the passion that drives her and she's trying to find the wind up key.

Artz: I am not a doll nor am I jack-in-the-box but unfortunately is remarkably accurate. I just don't seem to have the oomph. I mean the knowledge is there, the imagination too, but every time I try to type up anything lately, it just seems so tedious.

Preacher: *walks in, hands in pockets with a lot cigarette in his mouth* That isn't what's really bothering you. Might as well get it out now.

Artz: *closes her eyes as she lets out a sigh of resignation* What's the point in doing all this if no one ever reads it? Sure, Ren and Hope and every once in a while, Anna, read but that's it.

I created The Realm for two very specific reasons; one is selfish and one is selfless. The first reason is what started it all; to act as a coping mechanism. My job has me spending a great deal of time on my own so I created Poseidon to keep me company but then Hook just popped then Light and Shadow and suddenly my head was so full.

I had a difficult time trying to hold onto it all because at the time, I simply viewed it as a story. It wasn't until I described what Jiggery Pokery is that it finally clicked. This wasn't just a single linear path but multiple paths crossing each other, weaving a pattern all its own. That's when The Realm of the Blood Guard truly came into being. It's an entirely different universe filled with countless people and their stories.

Instead of trying to map out everything like any normal writer would do, I decided to simply be there. To roam around The Realm, talk to all the people, make wonderful memories while breaking the fourth wall constantly *high dives Deadpool*, and then Anna and I reconnected after 2 years of silence. 

I realized then that I wanted people to see this amazing place within my mind, to be inspired to make their own realms, and not be afraid to branch out and try new things...so long as they have a legitimate reason for an established character deviating from their original portrayal. Otherwise every fan from here to Pluto would be flaming you to the point of being char broiled.

Poseidon: To be fair, love, you'd get a greater readership if you actually used socially media like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Not to mention learning the basics for coding.

Artz: *cloud of despair over her head*

Light: *blasts Poseidon away with an arc jump* Good grief. After all these years, he still hasn't changed.

Hook: The brat isn't known for subtlety nor does he know the definition of tact, but he has made valid points; however, my wench doesn't need to worry about that.

Artz: *looks up, her eyes curious*

King: For once we agree on something, Captain.

Light: I'm confused.

Artz: You ain't the only one, Light.

King: *smirks* I believe you said something along the lines of why keep doing this if no one is going to read it...well words to that effect anyways.

Artz: Yeah...

Hook: Ren...Hope...Anna...but most importantly...

Hook/King: You.

Light: *Light bulb goes off* Oh! Of course!

Artz: Wait, what? I'm still confused!

Preacher: You read your own blog and through it become inspired or driven or to simply claw your way out of emotional pitfall. In doing so, it allows you to connect with others when no one else will. 

You, most of all, know just how cruel life can be, how it can practically choke the life out of someone. You know how evil humans can be, how world suppresses those that do not adhere to the fabric of their self imposed reality.

The long and short of it, kid, is that you still have hope, even after all the shit the world has thrown at you. You haven't changed and you never will because you don't give up. No matter hard things got, you pulled through and stayed strong. The world pushed you down, isolated you, but that only made you that much more unique. Anyone else would have become jaded but not you...your loneliness made you kind, impossibly so.

They have unleashed a power far greater than anything they could ever hope to combat. Seriously, how do you fight kindness, especially when it's coming from a girl that befriends a guy a two in the morning who is drunk, high, has a twisted ankle, is carrying a crowbar and is about to break into someone's house to steal stuff to sell so he can give the money to his mother that was in the hospital with cancer?

Artz: He is not lying. That actually did happen. I convinced him not to do; that his mother doesn't money, she wants her son. I got a letter from him about a week later thanking me and that his mom sent her thanks too. About year after that, I got another letter but this time from his mother, telling me that she had been cured of cancer and she thanked me for it.

Weird, right? Well according to her, ever since her son came back to her, he was different. That the single encounter with me had altered him on some deep and profound level and that he got his life together and fast. He said that he wanted to make her proud but she knew the truth...he didn't want to betray the faith of a single person that chose to believe in him, to show him that there are always alternatives, but to also be true to one's heart. By the end of that letter, I was bawling because she said it was my kindness that saved him, saved them both.

Okay...I think I get it now. Even if no one else reads my blog, I do and it will push me to help others both literary and in life. This article was meant to be about Aquarius but I'll leave the title as is. Besides you should be used to me suddenly wandering off in a completely different direction. After all...follow the muse.