Only the Open
Page 44
Universal and other Languages of the Exodus
There’s no discussing the languages of the Alliance without mentioning Universal, which is not just the lingua franca of the Alliance but the native tongue for those Pelted races that rejected the need to create their own language to sever themselves from their origins. Universal began as American English, with the Seersa as its stewards—but putting the Seersa in charge of any language project inevitably involves its expansion, since they are the Alliance’s premiere linguists. There are many, many loanwords into Universal from not just the Seersan tongue, but from all the languages the Seersa made for other Pelted races (including languages that were adopted and instantly abandoned, like the Glaseah’s). For the most part I’ve spared you those loanwords, save for the most common (like arii and alet)... but it is apparent to everyone in the Alliance that Universal is “sticky” and keeps rolling around in other cultures and coming back with new words clinging to it. This is one of its charms: it reflects the overarching Pelted culture, with its big tent philosophy.
Arii and alet, interestingly enough, are not loanwords from the Seersan tongue, but from Meredan, the Exodus language. This was a pidgin that began formation on Earth, where it was used by the Pelted (before they were called the Pelted) to communicate with each other without being understood by their owners. Meredan did not become a full language until after the Exodus, and its heyday was brief—it was spoken on-ship and then fell out of use in favor of Universal not long after the first settlements. The reason for that abandonment is still hotly debated today; you will find many academic dissertations on the topic if you browse a Pelted library in the historical linguistics section. The most popular theory is that its association with victimhood and powerlessness made it less popular than Universal, with its implication that the Pelted were free to use the language of their oppressors without fear of retribution. But no one’s sure why Meredan use dwindled, and to this day its study remains an eccentricity particular to scholars. The few words that have survived in the Universal lexicon are assumed by laymen to have been borrowed from Seersan.
Art and Extras
This section keeps getting bigger! First, for those of you who enjoy music, I've been putting together playlists for several books now. This is not supposed to be a soundtrack; it's more like "these are songs that gave me feelings I was riding to write this particular story." If you'd like to see Only the Open's, I found most of the songs on Youtube and made a playlist there. Check it out! At https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAesBVjXvh-An6Yq4VhjfuC1UsbLrTo1. (You can also see other novel playlists on that channel, if you want to skip around.)
Next, art. It's typical for me to do sketches while writing, a sort of mental doodling as I work out events and character arcs. These sketches are not intended to be the final word on what the characters look like! In fact, I usually have trouble pinning down people's looks. I just keep at it anyway! This time around a lot of the work is digital, fluff sketches I did while testing a drawing tablet.
1. Sediryl: Oddly I have a lot of pictures of Sediryl but none of them quite captured her face as this super quick sketch of her with the solidigraphic glitterhorse her artist-lover made for her to use in lieu of an ATV on the Starbase Ana agricultural sphere's fields.
2. Liolesa: I think in the last book I included a sketch of young Liolesa. Here's present-day Liolesa. I spent a lot of time on this one making sure she shared some facial features with Hirianthial (in their case, the chin/jaw line). But the determined expression is all her.
3. Sediryl, Dragon and Unicorn Style: I am continuing to do these abstracted editions of the events in the book, because they're fun and because they sell as soon as I put them on my Etsy store (authors need chocolate! Chocolate costs money!). This is Sediryl, the more delicate unicorn, meeting Jahir (unicorn) and Lisinthir (dragon). Lest you think her helpless, I point out that her horn is realllly long....
4. The Slave Queen: A wallpaper I did for Kickstarter backers of the Slave Queen, quiet, demure, and strong.
5. The Emperor, Before: This was a good depiction of him before the crucible.
6. The Emperor, Now: The feeling is right, though he informs me the horns are wrong. But in the most respectful of ways.
7. The Chatcaava of Apex-East: This one I did while considering the "head shapes" of the Chatcaava, which have names (we heard some of them in the book, like 'axe-head'). Different head shapes are supposed to be suggestive of personality. Manufactory-East's was the most interesting case, because the ridge over the eyes is considered attractive as long as it's not too high, at which point it becomes extremely unattractive. (He and the Emperor share that feature, but the Emperor has the attractive version.)
8. Na'er, Laniis and the Knife: A doodle done during a SFWA Board meeting. Na'er's nose isn't quite long enough, but I thought the bottom, of Laniis looking at the Knife in his Seersa form, was spot on.
Finally, jokes! Yes, I think we're far enough along in the series that I can add some of the joke doodles I did in response to some people's reactions to the Chatcaava of Book 3, particularly the Knife, Uuvek, and the Mother.
1. The Knife's Fan Club. I couldn't resist this doodle in response to some readers' desire to start a Knife Fan Club after the events of Amulet Rampant. Uuvek makes a fantastic straight man. (Straight dragon?)
2. The T-Shirt. Because every fan club needs one. This one attracts females.
3. It Works. Of course it does! Because the Mother thinks the Knife is cute... and apparently so does everyone else...
If you'd like to be in on the jokes, then I invite you to the final extra, which is the reader discussion we have on the book launch post. I started this with Amulet Rampant and readers had fun talking with one another as they read, so if you like the book club feeling (and want a chance to see the ridiculous jokes as they're inspired), then keep an eye on my blog at haikujaguar.livejournal.com.
Acknowledgments and Last Thoughts
Once again, my valiant first readers have leaped into the fray and made this a better book, a service for which I cannot thank them enough. I am exceedingly grateful that their fondness for the characters doesn't get in their way of their skepticism over things that need fixing. There are many points of potential confusion that you have been spared because they went over this manuscript with a fine-toothed comb, and several of them more than once. Once again, then, my thanks to Sarah, Lola (McCrary), Bertha, Jennifer, Phil (Olynyk), and Anastasia. You are all golden, and I am grateful to you!
This time around I'd also like to thank friend and fellow author L. Rowyn, author of the (excellent!) A Rational Arrangement. (Go check it out if you like Regency-style romance set in a secondary world with magic). We both started novels on the same day and raced each other playfully all the way to the last word. I don't even know who won because we had so much fun. It made the solitary work of writing far more communal. I'm ready for our next contest, arii! (And I highly recommend you keep an eye out for the book she wrote during our competition; it's called The Moon Etherium and it involves elves and satyrs and romance and high adventure and all that is awesome.)
Thank you also to the fans who tell me that they like my brand of mixing intimacy, philosophy, and conflict in a single story. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, so every time someone sends me a note, leaves me a Livejournal comment, or writes me a review saying ‘more like this’, it matters. Your interactions on my social media with me and each other delight me every day. I have a fantastic community and I'm so glad y'all came.
As to the next installation in the saga of the Chatcaavan war... I was pretty certain I could wrap up this series with only one more book. Phil was the first one who said, 'I... don't think so.' I think he's right! We'll all find out together. In the meantime, I hope you pick up A Rose Point Holiday in November, the unexpected Book 4 in the Her Instruments series. Reese returns for her first Eldritch holiday as lady of Laisrathera! If you want to see some of where the Pelted universe is going in the f
uture, that's your next stop this year. An entire novel full of presents, banter, horses, and obdurate Eldritch! What could possibly go wrong!
I'll catch you all soon. Be well until then, aletsen!
—M
About the Author
Daughter of two Cuban political exiles, M.C.A. Hogarth was born a foreigner in the American melting pot and has had a fascination for the gaps in cultures and the bridges that span them ever since. She has been many things—web database architect, product manager, technical writer and massage therapist—but is currently a full-time parent, artist, writer and anthropologist to aliens, both human and otherwise. She is the author of over 50 titles in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, humor and romance.
The Princes' Game series is only one of the many stories set in the Paradox Pelted universe; more information is available on the author’s website. You can also sign up for the author’s quarterly newsletter to be notified of new releases.
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