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 organized in alphabetical sections for convenience. In each section, the entries are organized like a dictionary 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.
muse.
Duta charged with inspiration of other beings. A trademark of this kind of duta is gender indeterminate sattva, or shape-shifting.
Readers will encounter the muses of Trailokya throughout the series. In fact, our lead is part muse. But what does it mean? In classical literature and mythology, muses were lesser gods who inspired mankind, for better or for worse. You’ll hear artists (writers included) speaking about how their muse isn’t talking to them, and they’re finding it hard to create. This aspect does exist within the parameters of the beings that make up this class in the trilogy.
Muses are a class, or ethnicity, of duta. They’re known for their shape-shifting, which you will witness Maiel and her twin brother, Joel, do. Because they are only ethnically part muse, they can only change into one shape. Their powers in this area are simply not strong enough to achieve anything else. What that shape is is determined by something in the atman, which is not entirely understood. Likely, it has something to do with the duta’s psychology. The twins, for instance, are warriors, and would likely find comfort in becoming powerful lions. The added fact of their change coming about when they’re upset adds to this theory.
Muses exist in each race of duta, making it both a class and an ethnicity. Their talents are of great use to the atman that enter Otzar from the perpetual light. Not all muses are made to work in this way. As mentioned above, artists have claimed to know their presence for centuries. This pits them against dark forces who seek to inspire negative actions from the souls. Thus, the position of inspiring-angel can be quite dangerous. In this capacity, they are support staff for guardians, coming and going as needed.
Although Maiel and her brother are not strong shifters, the muse portion of their background lends them an added strength in their position as leaders in their Legion. It gives them the ability to inspire their soldiers and those they guard. Likely this also influences their success against danava. Unfortunately, in the case of Maiel, it has clearly made one of the fallen besotted.
Muses on the ethnic end of matters rise from duta to svarg, then from virtue to cherubim. Certainly there have been those who have defied this trajectory. It has had no detrimental effect upon their ascension. Those tracked in non-linear risings have been found to generally become a being of mixed ethnic background. Muses are more likely than any other group to defy linear risings. Their curious nature lends itself to such fluidity.
The muses enjoy many genders, like the rest of their brethren. Usually they are gender fluid, especially in later risings where gender becomes irrelevant. Dominic’s fear that his wife may choose life as a virtue when she rises to that point, is indicative of his desire to dominate her based on his primitive understanding of gender. It is mentioned in the narrative that they have incarnated as different genders, and dabbled in some fluidity in privacy, but it is under the parameters of a dubious sexual interaction.
Because muses could be anything at any time, they are often much slower in rising. They’re thorough in their exploration of being, driven by an innate curiosity. This is not a flaw. The atman drawn to this state of being are predisposed to being methodical. Very few muses became fallen.
Learn more about muses in The Trailokya Trilogy…
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