The Trailokya Trilogy Companion is a continuing online manuscript that illustrates and explains some of the details of the story, helping readers to keep things straight while they travel through the series. Readers can view this live companion book on Wattpad (either using the website or an app for their phone) absolutely free.
The companion is alphabetical for reader convenience. In each section, the entries listed in dictionary form along with original artwork and excerpts from the Trailokya Friday blog posts. In the coming weeks and months the blog will feature specific entries, to give you a taste of what is available in the companion.
Maiel, Captain, Moon Order. (n.) Part muse, but strongly geared toward the warrior life, duta guardian. Her alternate sattva is a mountain lion.
Spoilers may lurk ahead…
The protagonist of the series deserves a greater entry in the companion than is currently present. With the release of the final book in the trilogy, we can safely delve into the complex details. There are a great many things to know about this Moon Order captain, than just the surface details. Her history is rich, and although the trilogy is at a close, this will likely not be the last we read of her.
Captain Maiel was born to svargaduta over five thousand years prior to our current moment. This age is considered young for that race, an equivalent of the early thirties in human chronology. Although they develop more slowly than their soul counterparts, duta experience a great deal more in their time. It is this that ages them, and what will eventually lead to their rising.
Captain Maiel’s parents, Alexandrael (svarg) and Gragrafel (principality), also have Maiel’s siblings: Joel (her twin brother) and Zacharius (her elder brother). The other remaining member of her family is Magiel (her aunt, and twin of her mother). Maiel grew up in the province of Arcadia in Zion, where the majority of duta reside. She and her twin attended the Ordo Priori. Upon graduation, the twins entered their respective orders, Maiel going to the Moon Order and her brother joining the Sun Order.
The twins claim a strain of muse in their lineage, which gives them the ability to morph their sattva into the shape of lions that resemble those from the samsaran planet of Earth, in the north western sector. Because the strain is so slight and the twins favor their warrior nature, the ability is not as controlled. Therefore, emotions often influence the change.
Both twins excelled in their positions as guardians. Prior to ascending to the rank of Captain, Maiel served as a milite (enlisted ranks). Officer posts come to legionae through promotions based on experience and skill. Officer positions require a clear ability to command and the atman’s readiness to lead. The stakes are far too high to buy and sell commissions.
During this period, Maiel forged alliances with another milite in the Order of Horus, Zaajah, and a young svarg from the Order of Fenrir, Gediel. These duta were her constant companions. Maiel learned a great deal to add to her practice from the latter. Gediel, as the master of the canids in the legions, gifted Maiel her first canid squad member, Argus, once the erela became a leader at her post.
At the same moment Gediel gifted her most important companion to the Captain, she discovered her ketu, introduced to her by her brother: Dominic Newlyn, a soul. At this point, Gediel, who was intent on professing his affection for Maiel, went into hiding believing he was grigori. The belief he held took root from the loss of his grandfather during the conflict for similar actions. Thus, the pair became unacquainted over the next several millennia. However, Zaajah and Argus remained her loyal friends.
Thus, she built her life, having several children with Dominic, and moving away to the vast reaches of Eden. Dominic retired from the orders to pursue art. The children thrived in the countryside, but Maiel drew more dim, as the isolation surrounded her; both frequent visits to her family home and her order apartments abandoned.
It is tragic that Maiel lost Gediel’s friendship. What came next could have been avoided if he were within her presence. His wisdom and skill would have provided the Zionites all the power they needed to rescue her far more quickly and wholly. Instead, Maiel languished in the prisons of Jahannam while others struggled to find the answers. Both her family and fellow legionae believed it was Dominic’s action to take, as part of his rising. However, he was largely unable to reach her.
The rare match between a soul and duta can be one of strength, but it can also threaten the solvency of both when it is unfounded. A ketu that naturally occurs between such a pair usually results in both their risings quite quickly, as it teaches them so much. However, once Maiel was imprisoned, it was already evident the match took its toll on both parties.
How Maiel became imprisoned was through a mission to Acheron, specifically, the Pit of Acheron, ruled over by the Baron Morgentus. The baron was the younger brother of an accomplished Moon Order guardian, who burned down prior to the Conflict. His crime was staking claim to a ruler’s wife on the planet Earth. The rape and adultery of Sabereh resulted in a nephilim, deepening his crimes. Rather than come forward to her husband with what had happened to her, she remained silent and protected the Baron.
Manipulations were the baron’s purview. Skilled in turning others to his side, he also boasted a cruel streak, one his brother recalled well, and had attempted to correct in him. Unable to do so, the baron eventually won himself the post on Earth that lead to Sabereh becoming jiangshi. Thousands of years later, he found himself in the presence of the Moon Order erela and became instantly smitten.
The desire to own Captain Maiel overtook the baron, and he imprisoned her, attempting to burn her down. The knowledge of her ketu and its strain on her atman became his focus. Resultant of this goal, he foresaw the destruction of Zion. Revenge of this proportion, he long desired, for during his casting out, his son was destroyed and he was left with a most miserable new bride.
Thus imprisoned, Maiel faced untold torture at the hands of danava, until the slow efforts of her husband and family released her. Gediel was not apprised of her state, because of his isolation, until after she returned. That this was hidden from him became a part of his shame, suspecting that the leadership suspected his flawed atman and sought to protect old friends from his decline. Further withdrawing to his compound in Elysion, he rarely even saw his family.
Maiel was not aware of her old friend’s trevails. She was now focused on healing from the darkness encountered. And that is the moment that The Shadow Soul begins to tell her most current tale.
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A: Dominic adjusts his body in the chair and for a moment there is a recognizable apprehension. He flashes that sideways, boyish grin I’m sure charms the pants off his wife. That’s uh-a loaded question. He laughs. Mai is a fantastic mom and she’s a dedicated guardian. We don’t always have as much time as I’d like, but when we do, it’s quality time. She likes to watch me paint and we cool out at the spring. It’s nice. Quiet. Real homey.
A: He becomes pensive, and sadness fringes his eyes. A lack of surety creates a false start. He snickers it off and finally responds. His jade eyes are a bit hard, and I’m sure I’ve stumbled on a contentious topic. I’ll be back with the guys, but I don’t have to give up painting. Unfortunately part of up-cycling is becoming a kid again. That’s gonna be weird, being the same age as my boys for a bit, and wanting to be with my wife. At least, I’ll have parents again and I hope this time they don’t leave me. Growing up at the barracks wasn’t exactly a dream. The guys in the order can be cold despite what—all that sun shit. Yeah, I’m gonna miss my wife, and I think that’s probably the bigger thing.
Q: You and your wife are both quite sure of yourselves. Maiel replied to one of my questions, and I quote: My contributions are on record, and I have been ordered a penance for my disobedience to rank by General Mikhael himself. One must also consider that I was able to return a fallen member of my order, something that was not accomplished in the two-thousand years he roamed Earth. I’d have expected a contingent to be deployed to Samsara sooner. My life is getting back on track and any doubts I once harbored in my commanders or the king are all resolved. When I pressed her, she simply nodded that everything is great again. Does it bother you that she went through this, and do you trust her efforts anymore on your behalf?
Q: The conflict?
