HtraEartH: The Unseen Purity

HtraEartH: The Unseen Purity is the first novella in a series of stories written by M.E. Gerke.

Plot
Htrae is a world generated by the creative powers of the cumulative human consciousness. The main character, a Dreamweaver named Bodoran, is on a journey to find the source of the mysterious Un, which withers everything out of existence. During this quest, he is tricked into confrontation by magical energies that take control; and transforms a new acquaintance into a Darcrata. Bodoran learns that the horrible magic he has uncovered is strung from Nimjora, Darklord of the Darklands. Bodoran must then use his awesome magical skills and abilities to fight for his survival. When Bodoran is on his death-bed, his inner self is unleashed, and all Hell breaks loose.

Characters

 * Gem: Gem is a mystical being. He is able to go meta (refers to his or herself) in ways other characters cannot.  He sends a message to humanity in general in the introduction (namely, to the reader,) and informs that the world of Htrae is a mirror world of Earth that has been created by "the collective of all human imagination."  Therein, he further signifies the power struggle on Htrae and how it is having a direct connection through his nightmares.  More on, Gem warns of the dangers that are going to happen when the danger that lurks in our subconscious mind comes out and into reality.


 * Bodoran: The hero. Bodoran belongs to a class of warriors called Dreamweavers.  This Dreamweaver is a guardian of Htrae.  He was trained to use Magjikce (all magics of all kind combined).  He has been sent to find the Un, and stop it from draining the Essence (the life force material of pure imagination) from Htrae.


 * Darklord Nimjora: Darklord of the Darklands. He has set himself up determined to defeat Bodoran, and use the darkest aspects of Bodoran's subconscious to generate a new reality of horror.


 * Darcrata ("Dark Creatures"): Creatures of the Darklands. One is created by Darklord Nimjora to battle Bodoran.  (At one point, Bodoran makes a new acquaintance only to have a spell of his sabotaged by Nimjora; thus turning his new acquaintance into a Darcrata.)


 * The Un: A mysterious, invisible and undetected energy that is slowly draining away the Essence of Htrae. As it does, all life on Htrae is withered (like roses wither and die) until that life disappears into nothingness.  The Un must be stopped, and Bodoran is must find the source of it.  Bodoran is determined to stop the source and bring peace to Htrae - even at the expense of his own life.

Inspiration
The author first wrote the book with the intent to blend together themes from various different genres; including dream fantasy, horror, and realism. The true inspiration comes from movies, music, table-top role playing games, collectable card games, fantasy and science fiction novels.

Publication
Mark published his first edition in March of 2012 through Ferris State University's services. He created, edited, designed and printed HtraEartH The Unseen Purity as a final project for his Associates in Applied Science Degree in Printing and Digital Graphic Imaging Technology.

On February 12th and 13th of 2012, Mark alerted fans on his HtraEartH Facebook fan page that he suspected the book would be completed in April. Construction of the book folds neared completion on February 18th, with some work being done in Adobe Illustrator on the front cover designs. On March 10th, Mark suggested that the version being released was only a first edition. He would not rule out revising the story to make it longer in the future.

The book was announced "finished" off the presses on March 22nd of 2012. The book's copyright notices were updated slightly on March 18th, to allow for future series installments. Finally on May 17th, the book was converted to e-book format and uploaded to Amazon. A link to the Amazon download was added to the Facebook page around 4:17 PM EST on Thursday, May 17th of 2012. The following Saturday around 10:15 AM, Mark updated his Wordpress account to acknowledge the book's availability.

Mark perfect-bound (paperback) his first book, but was limited by FSU policies in the number of copies he could print. He later resolved to publish through Amazon Digital Services to avoid accruing publishing expenses too quickly. The book was made available for the Kindle Fire as of May 2012, in a 103-KB download. The story itself is available in paperback format for those wishing to purchase a physical copy.

Mark has announced that he intends to produce a sequel to Unseen Purity, vowing: "HtraEartH is a series that is continuing. As early as 2013, the next book will be out." He stated at the time that he had yet to decide on a subtitle for the upcoming sequel.