Chapter 1 - Prodigies FAQ

Q: Okay, so we're all wondering...what exactly is this series of yours about, hm?

A: Well, I'll be completely honest, there's no specific, main plot. Prodigies isn't a story where the characters set a goal and go off to do it, or have to go kill a bad guy and bring about eternal peace or anything like that. It's basically the story of the characters' lives. It sounds strange and perhaps plain, but lemme explain; through there may not be just one, outstanding plot, there are many within. A good example of what I'm talking about would be a sitcom or some other TV show: there's no major, big plot, but there are different stories within it.


Q: Really? How strange.

A: Indeed. I'm sorry, it's a bit hard to explain with words.


Q: Why is the series called Prodigies?

A: Well, for one because I'm bad at naming things. Two, because each of the main characters are prodigies in their own ways.


Q: Okay fine... What theme would you say Prodigies is?

A: That's like the plot question; there's no solid answer. There are many genres for all the different parts. There's adventure, comedy, horror, tragedy, romance...just all of the factors we all feel in real life.


Q: Could you be a bit more specific?

A: Well, alright. There’s a bit of fantasy in it, if you couldn’t tell. There’s also a lot of thriller moments along with comedy, from sarcasm to just plain painful humor. XD Important issues are also discussed, and, I admit, there’s also quite a bit of tragedy.


Q: What if you had to rate it?

A: Hoo boy... Once again...no solid response. It ranges from G/PG moments to PG-13/R.


Q: Yikes... What the hell can get it up to that?

A: Well, there are "sensitive" issues that are discussed and shown within the series.


Q: Like what, pray tell?

A: Well...racism, prejudice, rape, a tiny bit of religion, suicide, homosexuality, murder, war... Those type of things.


Q: Ugh... That's in your series, so you must be into that crap.

A: Sorry, but no. I'm not really racist, and I try not to judge anyone by their appearance, religion, or whatever.


Q: Why the hell is it in your series then!?

A: Because, they're issues in real life. Though my series has elements in it that are "impossible" or magic-related, if you will, I want to keep the feel of it real, so people can relate to and enjoy it more. You can hate it if you want, but I'm not changing it for your personal preferences.


Q: Moving on... Who are these characters you keep talking about?

A: Well, the main characters of the series are James, Gallows, Duke, Bakura, Seth, Ivan, Nara, Taru, Jessie, and Elaina.


Q: That's a lot of main characters!

A: I know... Believe me I know. *Has to draw all of them*


Q: So what the heck do these guys do?

A: Okay, this is the fun part. Y'see, Seth is a bounty hunter, but he does more than just catching criminals and performing exterminations. People can actually enlist him to do various jobs or tasks for pay. Due to his excellent work, experience, and world-wide reputation, this is his literal job and he is able to survive completely off of it. When the other characters come along and they all become a group and live together, they take in Seth's trade, becoming his "employees," if you will. A good chunk of the series are the missions they go on which range from comically strange to blood-pumpingly dangerous.


Q: Now THIS I can enjoy! H- Wait... You say they live together?

A: Yes they do. At Seth's house with his family to be exact.


Q: Why?

A: Well, some of them have nowhere else to go. Jessie, James, Duke, and Bakura are all examples. James didn't know his family and the others' parents are deceased.


Q: What about the rest of them?

A: Gallows obviously can and does go back to visit his original home quite often. However, being in the group makes him happy, plus it enables him to be with Elaina, who can also go home by her own free will, along with Nara, Taru, and Ivan. Everyone just feels comfortable together; they become like a family basically.


Q: Seth may be okay with that...they kinda work for him...but what about his wife!?

A: ...she's the one who insisted they all move in. *laughs*


Q: Must be cramped.

A: It is, but isn't at the same time. Thankfully Ivan, Nara, and Taru don't actually live there like Elaina (who does have her own home) does. They just visit/sleepover so often that it feels like they live there.


Q: How long do they live together?

A: For about ten years. From when they first banded up to when everyone decides to start their own families. It's pretty sad at first actually. The funny part is when everyone realizes that they moved pretty much next to each other. *laughs*


Q: So, how does this series start?

A: It starts with Jessie being lost in a forest that houses dangerous spirits that have been sealed away in stone for thousands of years, one of them being James. After an encounter with his spirit, she runs into and meets Gallows. Later that night, after he offers to get her out of the forest in the morning, a wyvern who was previously sealed away escapes and attacks. The chase leads to a clearing with a sword that Jessie draws, releasing James' body from his stone prison. James fights the wyvern off, and part one ends there. The next morning, they run into Seth, who was traveling by in search of a village, which happened to be Gallows' home, to deliver something. He kindly asks Gallows to guide him there, and despite being reluctant, Gallows eventually agrees. To make matters worse, Seth requests Gallows to introduce him to a certain resident that happens to be his own grandmother. After an amusing scene of Gallows being scolded by her upon return, everyone settles down and begins to converse. Being already late in the evening, they decided to spend the night, waking up the next morning to hear that a little girl was taken away by a creature to its lair. Jessie, James, Seth, and Gallows offer to go and rescue the girl (James only went because the creature stole the sword he was bound to.) Once the girl was rescued, the quartet travel to a nearby town, have lunch, and say their goodbyes. Jessie, having been traveling alone for so long and enjoying the company, brings up the idea for being a team, using their succession against the monster as an example that they would work well together. After some thought, everyone agrees, and that's what got the ball rolling in the series. The others characters join up as it progresses.


Q: Wow... Where do you come up with this stuff?

A: Honestly? I fantasize a lot and just a simple thought can expand into a wild story in my head. I get most of my ideas in the shower or doing dishes. o_O


Q: ...wow.

A: Yeah, I know...


Q: Okay then... How did you come up with the characters?

A: Well, Elaina, Ivan, Nara, Taru, and Ivan belong to my real life partner Elaina, so I can't take credit for them. All of my characters are parts of me, which I will explain more thoroughly within their own FAQ's.


Q: Elaina's a real person?

A: Yep. She's my best friend, editor, and co-writer <3 If it weren't for her, I never would've thought to actually get this story out into the world.


Q: What do you mean?

A: I would write/draw little short stories with the characters back then, but always kept them to myself, because I thought no one would like them. In seventh grade, reading class, Elaina saw me drawing one day and inquired me about it. I told her a bit about the characters, and she really got sucked in. I was surprised because she wanted to know more, a lot more. It made me so happy and I got really inspired. That was how we "officially" met, because we had always known about one another, but never really talked. I will never forget that day... *Giggles* One of her first questions was, "Who's Gallows?" Now...Nowadays she can tell anyone all about him.


Q: So the characters Elaina and Jessie are you guys?

A: In a way, yes and no. We identify them as Kuberugi and Raiden (their last names) because while they are us, there are differences that are totally separating.


Q: What are the Guardians?

A: Okay, in the series, when the earth was still very young, there were these supernatural beings, like angels, called Guardians. Each guardian was assigned an element and a creature to protect and control. For instance, there was Mour-Gault, the Dragon Guardian of Fire, Lupin, the Wolf Guardian of Desire, Rafina, the Dove Guardian of Love, Solus Emsu, the Raven Guardian of the Soul, etc. There were thousands of them. Each guardian would basically govern their creature and element to benefit, or destroy the world.


Q: Destroy?

A: Yes, there were "evil" or fallen guardians who ruled over the darker elements and allowed themselves to become corrupted. The conflict between these guardians and the others started the Guardian Wars, or the beginning of their end.


Q: What could these guardians do?

A: They could control their elements however they pleased, so long as it didn't break the natural balance. They were basically its master. They could also transform into the creature they ruled over. Guardians were immortal to age, but could be slain by another guardian.


Q: What happened?

A: They were wiped out by one another. The wars were the main responsibility for it, but another force was what completely killed them off. It was a single guardian who was driven mad by the murder of his wife and, being a guardian lord (the strongest type of guardian who helped govern the guardians themselves), it was an easy task. He was finally stopped by his own brother, and they ended up slaying one another in a final fight.


Q: Yikes... There's the guardians...so what are the reincarnations?

A: The reincarnations are, well, reincarnations of the guardians. While they're nowhere near as powerful, they can generate and control the element that their guardian ruled over. This depends on the person, however, because the element or power to control it is generated by spiritual energy. Different elements take different amounts of spiritual energy to control. Some people can go their whole lives not knowing they're a reincarnation.


Q: What happens if they "overdo" it with this element controlling?

A: They die, or fall within an inch of death. Spirit energy is your life energy after all. On average, a person is not able to even use their powers until preteen/teenager years.


Q: Geez... So, can the reincarnations do anything else?

A: Yes. Like their former guardians, they can change into and communicate with the creature their guardian ruled over. They also gain certain abilities that their creature has, like the reincarnation of the dog would get enhanced smell, or the reincarnation of the ox would have great strength. The reincarnations tend to take a physical resemblance to their guardian and creature.


Q: How do people find out they're reincarnations?

A: That varies quite a bit. The most common is when they suddenly turn into their animal. You see, that can occur in two ways. The first is shape-shifting into it by your own free will. The second is by...surprise. What I mean by that is sometimes, when a reincarnation becomes overwhelmed with an emotion of sudden surprise/shock, they transform. The only real difference between that and the first form of transformation is that it's unknown when they'll turn back into a human. Because they had no free will changing into an animal, they have no free will changing back into a human (but they'll normally change back within a few minutes). For the more talented reincarnations, they'll sometimes begin to control their element without even knowing it. This normally occurs when the reincarnation is under extreme stress or fear, because then their body will naturally react, activating the element.


Q: Is it easy to tell when someone's a reincarnation?

A: That varies also. Some people are extremely obvious to those who already are. Others not so much. Like I've stated before, some people go their whole lives not knowing. Others who do know that they, themselves, are sometimes want to keep it secret for fear of being rejected by others.


Q: So, are the main characters reincarnations?

A: Yes. They're not the only ones. In the story, they run into all sorts of reincarnations in their missions.


Q: Okay, so we got plot and we got characters… What about the setting?

A: That’s a good question. Through the years I’ve been writing this, I’ve heavily debated about making this series take place on Earth or another world. After a discussion with Elaina, we agreed that it would probably be best to create another world. Thankfully, it wasn’t a real problem because, like I had said before, I had always theorized creating another world. The world the characters live on is called Zandria.


Q: What’s this world like?

A: It’s very much like our own. It's got oceans, seas, mountains, deserts, forests, air... Zandria is split into five continents called Afiagul, Okrushi'et, Phas'ue, Sra'ch'ne, and Tsey'ica. While some regions are like Earth today (all modernized), others are a bit more secluded and still in-tuned with the supernatural.





Q: Where in the world do the characters live?

A: Well, like I mentioned before, they live with Seth for about ten years. Seth lives in a small town called Istan that's located in Sra'ch'ne. All of the characters come from different regions; Elaina, Ivan, Nara, and Taru come from Tsey'ica; Duke and Bakura's mother came from Okrushi'et, while their father came from Afiagul; and Gallows' mother came from Phas'ue, while his father's family originated in Sra'ch'ne.


Q: What are the cultures like?

A: The cultures and countries in this world are heavily based off of the ones here on Earth. Tsey'ica would be like Earth's Asia, while Okrushi'et is like Africa. Afiagul would be a combination of Australia and Europe, and Phas'ue is like Russia/the Soviet Union. Lastly, Sra'ch'ne is Zandria's version of the Americas. While there are great similarities, there are also key differences.


Q: Will we ever get to read this?

A: Of course you will! I'm actually thinking about turning it into a web-comic! From there, I'll start to plan on getting it into print.


Q: Can I ask any more questions?

A: Feel free. Just leave one in the comments below and I'll add them to the FAQ right away. <3

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