The story, the whole story and nothing but the story.

gday dear reader/s

The story - as opposed to what I started:

But first the plot: The AI goddess, Severne in the orbiting station, has predicted a civilization  destroying asteroid on a collision course with the planet. To avert this, it needs to become embodied and wake the stations hibernating colonists. (the world below is back to pre industrial after the Day of Fire civil war)  It begins breeding and genetically manipulating the locals to produce a suitable host.


Now a little background on the tests candidates undergo  to become her host:  "Reason" implants a device that lets the AI goddess, Severne exchange thoughts with the candidate. Failures become Servers in her Towers. Successes take "Faith" which attempts to download  Severne's personality to the implant (creating the Face of the Goddess) Failures who get only a partial download become her Restoration Warriors. No one passes until Rowena.

Book 1: The Breaking of Civilization (Break)

Those who know the work or have read this blog before might notice the subtle change in the title from "Break" to "Breaking" made as I was writing this synopsis.

Pt 1: Test of Reason: Candidate Willard loves Kezia but Severne plans to mate him to her sister Averil.  The three separate. Averil meets Feral general Sumner and nemesis Stone Ethyl, Kezia becomes famous, pregnant and Severne takes the child. Willard is manipulated into the saviour role Severne bred him for and passing the Test of Reason has his mind linked to Severne's.  
Pt 2: Test of Faith: embark on separate journeys to the Wall that keeps out their uncivilized enemy, the Ferals who also want Willard  The Wall falls. Willard and Averil (now warrior) retreat to Carrier Point  for a last stand.Kezia joins them. Averil bargains Willard  to the Ferals. Willard, to save Kezia, submits to the Test of Faith but fails. The Ferals overrun Preservation Island, the Breaking of Civilization is done.

Book 2: The Face of the Goddess (Face)

Pt 1: Guilt of Sanctuary: Years pass. Carrier Point is an Uplander sanctuary in the Fedral (Feral) occupied Island. Rowena daughter of Willard and Averil surrogated on Kezia rescues Roden (Kezia's stolen son) which leads to the deaths of Kezia and Sumner (married to Averil).
Pt 2: Innocence of Face: With Sumner gone his son Hyatt, half brother to Rowena the lets Stone Ethel loose to massacre Carrier Point. Rowena and Roden escape. A recaptured Roden is force tested by the vengeful Hyatt, The test destroys his mind. Hyatt on a whim forces Rowena to the test. She passes, becomes the Face of the Goddess but fakes a destroyed mind to escape.

Book 3: The Arch of Restoration (Arch)

Pt 1: Waking of Sleepers: Rowena, the hosted AI goddess, and her Restoration Warrior brethren repair the shuttle that brought colonists Hedley & Jorgena to Nuaith,  Severne wants to return to the orbiting station and wake the rest of the sleeping colonists to save their world from a catastrophe. (Her orbiting iteration is damaged - her ground based version, in control from the start, is known only to Hedley & Jorgena.) 

This is where I'm at - from here on, it is mostly conjecture about what I plan to happen

Pt 2: Design of Ancients: Waking the sleepers rouses a deadly opponent, Willard's biological  father. Rowena activates the giant portal the Arch of Restoration to avert Severne's predicted catastrophe.

Bear this in mind when I post on the creation of book three. I can already see the part titles no longer match the action "Waking of Sleepers" would fit better as part 2's title. This is a good example of how the story detail has developed away from the broad brush outline.

One final note in an already long post  - the above is ultra brief - the whole story will be over half a million words.

ooroo