#infrans series

[alvoskia]

I want to know why were the Infran powers that were chosen? (Life, Death, Water, the Moon, Fire, Knowledge, Time, and Blood) Also I think it’s cool that some contrast each other like life & death and fire & water. But some don’t like there’s moon but no sun? 🤔 Also why are there 8 Infran but only 7 protagonists?

There were a few different reasons that went into selecting the ones I wanted! I can't go into all of them because some would be spoilers for much later on in uh, the Series, but I'll tell you what I can and what I remember from when I was picking 'em (everything was like solidified by 2016 so it's been a while, as you can imagine)

I knew I didn't want something that was just elemental, hence moving away from more than just Water / Fire and like. I was also drawn to wanting to build concepts for unique power sets; I feel like so often 'nature' powers is just "person A can control plants and that's about it," so building the Infran of Life's powers off the idea of Connection was a lot more freeing to me, allowing for some cool stuff you maybe wouldn't necessarily expect to be on the table.

I also kind of developed stuff in the ideas of contrarian pairs to a degree (Life vs Death, Time erodes Knowledge, Moon vs Fire/Sun, Water vs Blood in terms of family dynamics, etc).

For example, I knew my main two characters -- Ally and Jamie, otherwise known as the twins -- were going to be Life and Death respectively, reflecting the way they're both very different and very similar simultaneously, but often have an argumentative and difficult time with each other in spite of how much they love each other.

Your question about Moon with no Sun is actually a long-ranging debate in-universe, as Infrans have had different names (I imagine there's been some Infrans of the Sun > Fire for example) in different periods in time / cultures / and languages. I'd imagine one of my northern peoples would call the Infran of Death the Infran of Mercy, for example, instead

And the Infran we're 'missing' from the main cast is the Infran of Blood. I won't say too much more (though his character tag is kicking around here for admittedly minimal perusal) but here's our first real mention of him from the story! (This is 14 pages in so it's not too spoilery, y'know?). He's currently a lot older than the rest of his Infran generation by close to 20 years, but we get into why later

“Since George and I just have dreams,” Rayan continued, scanning the next page. “That means—” “About four of us should have counsel for an even split?” Counsel was coveted, more sought after than dream memories because it was more direct. You could actually talk to your past lives rather than just deciphering cryptic clues from glimpses of eras gone by.  Rayan nodded. “Three of us,” he corrected. Because they were seven out of eight. Right.  Nobody knew what Glothic of Kilvoskia had; he’d left before the Order could Claim or train him. Maybe he was so twisted his past lives were ghosts, his dreams nightmares he revelled in. It was horrible, but she couldn’t quite tamp down the pang of envy that well—he had something. Anything.

[boasamishipper]

16. "“Why haven’t you kissed me yet?” + flamie of your choice

This takes place about a year after the events of Blackbird.

-

The war had taken the Infrans deep into Kilvoskia, where they were met by General Akiyama (and hadn’t that been a surprise, meeting the woman that she and Jezarah and the other Knights had always begrudgingly admired) and her troops, along with the Wolf Children and the Giant armies. And tomorrow morning, their combined armies would attack Serkdan, to try and take down Krios Karavan once and for all. Joseph and Rynn had insisted that they all get some sleep, but Ally and Enna both agreed that it was important to keep watch just in case of a surprise attack -- and of course, Ally had put Enna on the middle watch with Flames.

Not that either of them minded.

The moon was bright above them when Flames finally spoke, her voice barely audible over the crackling of the fire she’d created to keep them warm. “Are you cold?” she asked. “I can make the fire stronger if you’d like.”

“No.” Just Flames’s presence was enough to keep her warm, but she definitely wasn’t about to say that. Not when it had taken Enna the better part of six months to even get the courage to hold Flames’s hand. “No, I’m alright.”

Another pause, then, “Enna?”

“What?”

“Why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

Enna almost choked on her own tongue. “What?”

It was hard to tell, but Enna was pretty sure that Flames was blushing. “Well,” she said, almost careful, like each word was a step in a field full of landmines. “We’ve been...you know. Together, for a while. And I guess I was just wondering...why we hadn’t kissed yet.”

Enna’s face felt hotter than the fire blazing in front of them. “I...” She stopped, tried again when the rest of the words got stuck. “I thought...I didn’t know we had to.” Oh, Vita. She was awful with social cues, but even she knew that that was the wrong thing to say. “No, I -- I meant, I didn’t know you wanted to! Not that I don’t want to, I’ve been thinking about it a lot, but--” Quit while you’re still ahead, kid, she imagined Jezarah saying, and Enna cut to the chase. “I didn’t know you wanted to. That’s all.”

Flames looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh. “I’ve been trying to make a move for ages,” she said. “I literally tried kissing you when we were gathering up the maps in the war room today.”

Well, that certainly explained why Flames had been standing so close. “I didn’t know,” she said, now more embarrassed than ever. “I didn’t think...I don’t know what signs I’m supposed to be looking for. I’ve never done this before.”

Flames’s eyebrows rose slightly. “You’ve never kissed anyone before?”

“Oh, no. Nah, we kissed in the Academy all the time. I used to make out with my marks before I killed them.”

“Enna.”

She deflated. “No,” she admitted. “I haven’t kissed anybody before. I know how to, though,” she added hastily. “I’ve read books.”

“You’ve read books.”

“Yes. Well, they were Jezarah’s. She had a soft spot for romance novels, and I borrowed them a few times when I was bored, and...” Her explanation cut off when she noticed Flames was hiding a smile. “You’re making fun of me.”

“No, I’m not!” Flames at least sounded earnest, even through her laughter. “I think it’s cute. I never pegged you for a romantic.”

“I’m full of surprises.”

Now Flames’s smile was fond. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s for sure.” She turned to face Enna, who tried not to shiver now that the full force of Flames’s gaze was on her. “So what kind of a sign were you looking for?”

"I don't know," Enna said, feeling frustrated -- not only with Flames for wanting to have this conversation at two in the morning right before a battle, but with herself for not knowing what to do. Maybe it would have been better if Flames had just stayed with Misumi. Misumi would have known what to do here. "I guess -- I don't know, you saying outright that you wanted to kiss me."

She ducked her head, but Flames put a hand on Enna's knee, preventing her from blocking her out completely. "Enna Hatten," she said, slowly and clearly. Her eyes never left Enna's. "I want to kiss you."

Enna felt her entire brain short-circuit. "Okay," she said stupidly.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yes." The word came out almost before Flames was done speaking. "Yes. Okay. Yes."

And when Flames leaned in and kissed her, all thoughts of her embarrassment and insecurities and the battle they would be fighting tomorrow rapidly left Enna's mind, chased away by a blissful now.

[raayllum]

1 and 23!

1. Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

My current project is book five of a planned six book fantasy series! It focuses on the eight members of a group reincarnation cycle known as Infrans, and each member has different powers depending on what they’re bound to. My protagonist is the Infran of Life and her name is Ally. The main conflict of the series is a war between her country and another’s. Book Five is about her and the Infrans stepping into their powers and the war effort as fully fledged adults (she’s around 13 when the books start and is now 16+ which is of age in that world) in addition to finding a magical artefact with immense power known as the Heart of Vita. Each shard is bound to one Infran and appears where their own heart lies, changing locations depending upon the person and lifetime. 

Right now I’m still in the second chapter of the book and we’ve gotten to meet the free dragons for the first time, so that is very exciting. We’ve seen some other more humanoid peoples like elves, but the dragons are very distinctly non human and have a very different perspective from everyone else, especially when it comes to how they view Infrans. After all when you’re a dragon who can live for thousands of years, what’s a puny human lifetime to you, even if they do have the powers (more or less) of a god?

So I’m really enjoying the world building and mythic aspects as well as deeper character introspection, but honestly... books three and four were so depressing in very different ways (book three was about the lengths we’re willing to go to for survival + torture scenes; book four was who do you become on the other side of trauma) so I’m just glad I get to write something a bit more upbeat for once? It’s still about war and mental health and not everything works out, but not everything is an active, angsty mess in it right now, which is just very nice.

23. What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

The above. I had the basic idea of kids with powers and some of the character stuff and like - map geography in a way, strangely enough - for over 16ish years now. I started to take it more seriously 9 years ago, and this incarnation started 5 years ago. I really love it and it’s grown up with me, so it’s this weird mix of me and both like, a book child, in a way. When I was a tiny child, it was just a combination of whatever I thought was cool and wanted to explore. As an adult, it’s still that, but also what you kind of have to grapple with in being alive as a human, and my tastes have changed and expanded to include worldbuilding, ethical dilemmas, and much, much more. 

[shiroallura]

also just a reminder for anyone who’s leaving vld, my main @thethiefandtheairbender is mostly hp/atla with a dash of other fandoms, and for my writing, you can check out my original series on wattpad and follow the blog about it over at @infrans, it’s a fantasy war series that’s hella queer and diverse and won’t disappoint, even if it’s just draft one rn

[thethiefandtheairbender]

So it was Harry Potter that inspired you to become a writer? That is exactly what happened to me. This makes me wonder.. if you don't mind me asking, what is your story about?

No problem, ask away and I’m sorry this reply is late! The first draft of my story is actually over here on Wattpad in addition to a sideblog, if you’re interested in checking it out further, but basically it’s a war fantasy series centred on the reincarnations of eight people, known as Infrans. Each is a different type (life, death, water, fire, etc.) and has powers related to their element, only my protagonist hasn’t been able to access any of her powers and war is on the horizon.

My books have a wide range of POC and LGBTQ+ characters (most of my characters are both, actually) in addition to tried and true fantasy tropes—dragons, elves, what have you—but also tread new ground. Putting new twists on old concepts is one of my favourite things.

If you ever have any questions or want me to give me your thoughts on anything, I’d love to hear/answer them!! :D

[infrans]

what was dyas's predeccesor like? i just reread the series and i'm very curious about thomas marroway now.

sorry it took me a while to answer this, i had to get over the joy of someone rereading the series first, but as for your question…

Towards the end of his life, Thomas a very lonely, if bitter soul, at least before he met the subsequent reincarnation of his friends, but he always had a good heart. He loved photography and had a very simple life. His main contributions were helping in fundraising with his photographs, sponsoring an arts school (mostly for the photography program) and becoming a mentor to the new generation of Infrans (Nyasha, Harrow, Ben, Terra, etc.), an experience that was unusual, as he lived to a very old age.

I made an edit about him here that also includes a short biography, and some additional details as well. Hope you enjoy!

[meglovesocs]

alvoskia series: ally hatten

want one?

[boasamishipper]

blackbird ch2 “the aftermath” // blackbird ch4 “the recuperation”

[boasamishipper]

missing infrans scene

Ally: Oh my god, Flames, that armor looks great on you! And I bet it would look even better on Jamie's floor.

Flames: ...

Jamie: Are you hitting on Flames...for me?

[boasamishipper]

So I returned and didn't regret it to the end.

An edit from the final chapter of my fic blackbird, based on @thethiefandtheairbender‘s infrans series.

[boasamishipper]

Jezarah at some point: I've only known Enna for a day and a half, but if anything happened to her I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.

[boasamishipper]

she wrestles your demons for access to your heart / and she wins outright

@thethiefandtheairbender

[boasamishipper]

blackbird (3/4)

Krios Karavan gets the news that the Infrans are training in preparation for the upcoming war. In retaliation, he sends a soldier to assassinate the Infrans, a child prodigy named Enna…better known as Jamie Hatten. Little do either of them know that after this mission, nothing will ever be the same again.

Written for the perpetually lovely @thethiefandtheairbender, whose amazing series inspired this fic. Never stop being you, Dragons. I hope you enjoy!

Part I

Part II

Part III

[boasamishipper]

what made infrans so special was that they never really died. they could be killed, but they couldn’t die. they were simply reincarnated. their soul and spirit was born again as a different person, with a new life and, for the most part, no memories of any of their past lifetimes. they had to rediscover their powers, and learn how to control them, over and over again, in each and every lifetime.

@thethiefandtheairbender

[boasamishipper]

blackbird + favorite familial relationship: Enna and Ally Hatten

requested by @thethiefandtheairbender

[boasamishipper]

blackbird + favorite platonic relationship: Enna and Jezarah

requested by @thethiefandtheairbender