Nightmare in the Making: The Grand Apwor Karijin

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One night, before the tribe tore down the beautiful forest in front of my house and erected some sick looking houses with hideous yellow streetlights, I dreamed I was in the city four hours away. wanting desperately to get home, I went outside and found a kiderrin waiting for me.

A kiderrin is what Ilings use as steeds on Ilo. They're huge and fast. I climbed up on my kiderrin and it rushed home. It indeed feels like riding on a massive wave.

As I got further into mountains, everything grew misty and dark. When I finally turned into my street, there was a shadowy figure in a long cloak standing in front of my house. The thing's head reached the roof of the house. The air grew colder around this figure.

Jumping off the kiderrin, I raced to my front door, always keeping an eye on the eerie figure in the mist. It watched me, too. I sped into the house where there was light everywhere, and I slammed the door shut. I told everyone about the figure, but when we looked outside, it was gone.

Many years later, I decided that the Grand Apwor needed a bigger part other than a shadowy entity that seemed to be everywhere, directing unrealistic attacks on my main characters. Design time.

The word "Nri Kryne" existed, but it was something else entirely, and it too was more of a shadowy thing. In designing Karijin's powers, I asked what exactly was he. He was Zhin's opposite. So if Zhin is an Iskerkin, then what is the opposite of an Iskerkin? A fallen Iskerkin. Everything must have its opposite. What's a fallen Iskerkin called? Suddenly, "Nri Kryne" had a place. From there, the powers reared their ugly heads.

Now the next question, what should Karijin look like? After I got rid of the Berivors looking like bigfoots, I didn't know what to do with Karijin's appearance. He was creepy. So why shouldn't he stay creepy? The lights went on, Nri Krynes cursed themselves, so Karijin can stay looking like a hairy monster.

Thrilled to the bone, I began some major re-writes. The time for publication arrived and I began brainstorming a cover. At last, I hit on the Grand Apwor facing Vijeren beneath the Blue Moon. My sister drew the concept art and I translated it into paint. When I finished, I stared in shock at what I saw.

There was the creature in my nightmare.



"For a moment, both enemies connected, but the blood refused to be one. Zhin's body exploded in raging scarlet flames as the Apwor's burned with eerie blue and black. A blinding twister of red and blue fire rocketed from their frames into the air with a deafening BOOM!"
Pariahs, prt. 2, ch. 1, p. 136

Drawing by Nicomelia Benally
Concept cover art by Nicomelia Benally
Painting by Julia Benally

Paperback and kindle available on

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