Dark Prism

by Cherry Adair

  PIA: Sara’s assistant, Pia: a stunning pocket Venus, petite brunette, creamy olive skin, black eyes. Lightly accented voice, born in Mexico City, raised in El Paso, Sara’s right hand for a ½ dozen years.

  RACHEL THOMASON: Went to school with Jack Jr., Taught Jack the nuances of French kissing

  SARULU: A snake, 200 feet long, 6 or 7 feet wide, Red, blue, green and yellow, Yellow eyes the size of platters, Scales each bigger across than a dinner plate long, Three pronged rainbow colored tongue about 10 feet long.

  SILAS: Silas: ½ wizard

  THE BOOK: Aequitas Book of Answers, Chose/decreed who and when it would be transferred, Only the rightful owner can retrieve it from its invisible psionic safe, A 23 inch square, the safe was an intricately carved, clear block of ice with a slightly convex top. A faint, pulsing, green light inside. Had been in the Slater family, passed from father to son for thousands of years. A mark of the family’s leadership position within the wizard community.

  VALENTINA: Thin back, 15 years old, Long dark hair, Dull brown eyes, Local village girl, Soft cocoa colored skin

  WADI: Lizard man of mythical song lines

  WILLIAM ROE (DECEASED): Dimples, Persistent, Great smile, Smooth skin, Dressed well, Blunt fingers, Well groomed, Never married, Multimillionaire, Light brown hair, Same age as Jack, Grant’s other partner, Well manicured nails, William IS/AKA Grant, Warm brownish-topaz eyes, Mile British accented voice, Snake tattooed on his forearm, Been with Harry for 20 years, Boyish and trustworthy looks, Baltzer’s company project manager, Had given Sara her first French kiss, Pleasant in a stiff, British sort of way, Pale skin, turns very pink when annoyed, Grant’s business partner at Baltzer Enterprises, Constantly traveled and lived out of a suitcase most of the time.

  YUMI KIMURA: Grant’s assistant, A ½ wizard, Was sleeping with William

  NOTE: Surulu legend - For the Omnivatics to rule earth; each must amass untold power by transferring magic of powerful wizards to themselves, return to their nest as the comet passes overhead, and mate with a female Omnivatic in the crystal cave.

  Storyboard Images

  Wizard Council

  Edrige Family Coat of Arms

  As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Edrige has undergone many spelling variations including Edge, Edges, Edridge. Edrich, Edgerrin, Eldrige, Egge, Eadge, Eadges, Egg, Eage, Egges, Eggs and many more. First found in 9th century Scotland in the House of Alpin and the Kingdom of Alba where they held a family seat from ancient times. The original Edrige family would have lived on the edge of the sea, cliff, mountain side or hill and were described by the Saxon word “ecg” which meant “edge.” After the Norman invasion of England in 1066 the surname was usually spelled “Edge.”

  A baptismal name meaning ‘the son of Edrige’, is a name of great antiquity. The name, of Scottish descent, is found in many ancient manuscripts in Scotland. To make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time; names were recorded in ancient documents. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their feudatory (in the feudal system) a person was granted the use of land, in return for rendering homage, fealty, and military service or its equivalent to a lord or other superior.

  Thousands of years ago just the first name was used. The Normans introduced the original hereditary surnames derived from their French estates sometime around the 11th century. By the 15th century this naming convention spread throughout Europe. Surnames can be derived from place names and describe the individual who lived near a geographical feature such as a county, village, town, cliff or mountain. Character nicknames were derived from a physical feature such as clothing, flowers, animals, color, or even birds. Specialized occupations derived names for people from various trades. It was in these early years that the Coats of Arms were created. Knights were covered from head to toe with heavy armor and the only way of identification for their followers was the emblem on the shield and on the surcoat (A tunic worn in the Middle Ages by a knight over his armor). The surname for this coat of arms is from one of the very early protectors of land grants.

  Edge Settlers in the United States in the 17th Century

  Robert Edge who settled in Boston in 1635

  Thomas Edge who brought his wife and family to Virginia in 1637

  Tho Edge, who landed in Virginia in 1637

  Henry Edge, who arrived in Virginia in 1658

  Richard Edge, who landed in Maryland in 1660-1664

  Edge Settlers in the United States in the 18th Century

  Wm Edge, who landed in Virginia in 1705

  John Edge, who landed in America in 1765

  Edge Settlers in the United States in the 19th Century

  A Edge, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851

  C B Edge, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851

  W L D Edge, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851

  20th Century Surname Edge - United States

  Walter Evans Edge (1873-1956), American politician, two-time Governor of New Jersey

  Rosalie Barrow Edge (1877-1962), American environmentalist

  Claude “Butch” Lee Edge (b. 1956), American Major League Baseball player

  Andrew Edge (b. 1956), English guitarist and vocalist

  Graeme Charles Edge (b. 1941), English musician, drummer and a songwriter for the Moody Blues

  Lewis John Spencer Edge (b. 1987), English professional footballer

  John T. Edge, American food writer and commentator

  Carey May Edge (b. 1959), Irish retired long-distance runner

  Arabella Edge, English writer and novelist, 2001 Commonwealth Writers Prize winner

  Raymond Edge, British Geodesist and Army Officer

  Gabriel Edge, Montana, Scotland’s National Claymore Sword Champion, Founder of the Edge Foundation for exploring scientific, psychic and technology ideas. Best Selling Author of “Everybody’s Psychic Toolkit”.

  Edrige Castle

  Edrige Castle Plans

  CA.1009

  CA. 1032

  CA. 1689

  CA. 1868

  Edrige Chapel

  Edrige Chapel Late 17th Century. The Edrige family gather in this beautiful chapel. They are seated upon the pew’s directly in front of the alter; and behind the screen, the servants and staff are congregated – out of sight of their masters – but in the sight of God. Religion is an important part of life for all castle dwellers, no matter how meek or mighty. The ghost of Janet Edrige holds a silent vigil over the Edrige clan

  Family Gallery

  Edrige Castle Gardens

  Family Heirlooms

  Magic Lanterns c. 16th - 18th Centuries

  The earliest form of modern film and video projectors were Magic Lanterns. During the early 16th century, pictures were painted on glass and projected through a series of lenses to create larger images. The only sources of light at the time, other than sunlight, were candles and oil lamps. Initially only aristocrats and scholars could afford the novelty projectors. The projectors were initially known as “Laterna Magica”. By the early 18th century, traveling lantern operators became a common occurrence in towns and villages and brought this new form of entertainment to the general public.

  Wedding Dress June 25, 1811. Marrying in white was not yet customary at the time. Brides generally wore light blue, pale yellow, or pink gowns with or without a train.

  Lid painting attributed to Dirk Stoop (1650). Touch determines the dynamics of the clavichord, an instrument known in the 14th century. Clavichords were used at home and for teaching. By the 18th century concerts were given on larger instruments. The striking action and the case shape inspired the makers of the first square pianos.

  Edrige Hunting Lodge

  Edrige Knights

  Edrige Weapons

  The Claymore Sword, in Gaelic “Claidheam
h-mor”, was used around the 13th century.

  The sword had varing lengths with a standard overall reach of 60 inches. This made it extremely difficult for opponents to battle in close up combat. The flat area directly in front of the handle is called the RICASSO and did provide the weilder a defence against close quarter combat.

  Three popular weapons used by Scottish Highlanders were the Halberd, Dirk and Claymore. The Halberd was a long pole often called a pole-arm with an axe on the end. During the 1500′s the twisted wooden hilt was devised as a better way to maintain the grip during fierce and often long and bloody battles.

  Pole-arms

  Pole-arms were the weapons of foot soldiers. They were generally used for thrusting at opponents, although some pole-arms could also be used for striking or chopping. The hook on the back of a halberd’s axe could pull a rider off his horse. From the 13th century to the late 16th, lances, pikes, partisans and other forms of pole-arms were feared weapons on the battlefield. Pole-arms acquired a largely symbolic function by the late 16th century, emphasizing their bearer’s rank and authority. The blades of halberds were well suited to openwork decorations. This reduced their functional value as arms.

  Man catcher

  Man catchers were used for arresting criminals. A member of the castle guard would grab the arm of the offender between the weapons two blades. The barbs made it impossible for the criminal to escape from the catcher without seriously wounding himself.

  T-FLAC Interview

  Q: T-FLAC is a favorite series among your readers. I know it’s one of my favorites. How did the idea for T-FLAC come about?

  Cherry: I came up with the idea for T-FLAC on a verrrrry long flight home from a wonderful trip in Italy. I’d written 17 books - none of which sold, although I had a lot of bites, and had no intention of writing on the plane. But things conspired against me.

  First, I ran out of books several days before the flight. Only a fellow book-a-holic knows the panicky, freaked out feeling of being bookless – for an hour, let alone a dozen! I ended up buying a thick book at the airport by an author I loved, for $80.00! Of course I’d already read it, but I tried to make it last once buckled into my seat.

  In those days everyone still smoked on planes. I smoked, too, so I didn’t give it much thought. . .But OMG I was on a plane full of Europeans – and they LOVED to smoke, and talk, and gather in large, boisterous groups right near my seat! I finished the book in an hour, and was faced with eleven, long, boring, noisy, smoky hours to go without a lethal weapon or even a parachute… lol!

  In desperation, I started writing longhand in my notebook. Since I was feeling quite homicidal at that time, and since my subjects were within arm’s reach, I decided to kill them all on paper (less possibility of going to jail that way). And since I didn’t want to write about a serial killer, I had to come up with a way to kill a lot of people legally… lol!

  So I started with who the Bad Guys would be (eyes left – all those freaking men standing in a large group, the entire freaking flight, chain smoking, drinking, talking and getting on my last nerve). Check.

  I loved Italy. LOVED IT! So of course my story had to take place there. At that time, publishers weren’t buying books set outside the USA. (Can you see a pattern here?) But I didn’t care. This book was being written as a means of preventing my incarceration into a mental institution. (Killing the smokers + nothing to read = Murder/Insanity!)

  And T-FLAC was born. (And I gave up smoking cold turkey… lol!)I typed the book when I got home (my handwriting is almost completely illegible) and sent it in. The editor bought in within two weeks. WooHoo. That wrenched flight was so worth it .

  T-FLAC Background

  Terrorist Force Logistic Assault Command

  Vitute et Armis Fide Mea Semper Frater

  By courage and by arms. On my word of honor. Always brothers.

  As the Cold War fell to bits of rubble, top level government officials and those in the private sector saw a new breed of organization gain momentum. The major threats no longer hinged on the posturing of super powers. An even more dangerous enemy emerged – small, well funded guerilla groups began to drive fear into the lives of people all over the world. They were rich, connected, quiet, determined and often preferred killing to make their point.

  Governments paralyzed by the rule of law and international treaties and conventions required months to react. Because of this, a new industry was born – private anti-terrorist organizations. Premier among them is T-FLAC.

  Geoffrey Wright, Lucas Sullivan, and Katrina DeGlaure founded T-FLAC utilizing their connections – political, military and scientific. Headquartered at a sprawling complex in Montana, they recruited and trained the first operatives in the 1980s. T-FLAC specialized in difficult, sticky situations, often hired quietly by officials whose hands were otherwise tied.

  Every candidate faced a grueling test of ability, courage, ethics and loyalty. For the safety and integrity of the organization field operatives work in small teams. The identities of operatives is closely held information, shared only on a need-to-know basis. Operatives often go years, even their entire careers - without knowing the identities of the other T-FLAC agents in the organization.

  T-FLAC agents know their code by rote. Vitute et armis, Fide mea. Semper Frater. Courage and by arms. On my word of honor. Always brothers.

  Agents can be male or female. Young or old. They are your neighbors. Your friends. Your guardians. Protecting the innocent is a calling. Destroying terror wherever it breeds is a mandate.

  They are the men and women of T-FLAC.

  T-FLAC Mission Statement

  Vision: To be the world’s leading provider of strategic, logistical and technological solutions while retaining anonymity as individuals.

  Mission: Terrorist Force Logistical Assault Command (T-FLAC) effectively and efficiently integrates resources, technology and experience to provide top-level solutions to the most difficult situations. We exceed expectations where others fail. Guided by courage, ingenuity, innovation and a desire for a safer world, T-FLAC professionals utilize state-of-the-art training, innovative technology and logistical solutions to deliver results world-wide. T-FLAC recognizes that in this post-Cold War era, terrorism is the primary threat to democratic principles across the world. Our combat missions are directed at the base of global terror operations. T-FLAC’s mission is to eliminate all such threats by all, and any means at our disposal.

  T-FLAC Core ValuesEthics: For the ancient Greeks, the word meant “character.” For Aristotle, the study of ethics was the study of excellence or the virtues of character. It has come to mean the study and practice of the “good life,” the kind of life people ought to live.

  In our time, the concept of ethics has broadened to include not only the characteristics of the good person, but also the “best practices” in various professions, among them medicine, the law, the military. We are committed to serving, and expect the highest standards of ethical and professional behavior and adherence to a universally accepted core of values from all our employees

  Teamwork: There is no “I” in team, just as there is no “I” in T-FLAC. We function as a uniformly coordinated collection of experience and expertise, where all members of the company work to bring about innovation and solutions that serve our mission to the highest degree possible.

  Courage: Fear is only that which we have not overcome. In T-FLAC courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the determination that our mission is of more importance than the fear and the resulting strength and focus, which arises from that determination.

  Respect: Each member of the team is essential. We give, and expect in return, respect for others, their beliefs, and their unique perspectives and ideas. We realize that like technologically advanced piece of equipment, each element must work with precision, independently, but in unison, to produce precise results.

  Innovation: We encourage, appreciate, and seek out the best of the best superior performance in all
areas of operations. We recognize that there are always opportunities for improvement and we strive to elevate expectations and exceed in situations that others deem impossible.

  Counterterrorism Policy:1. NO negotiation, make no concessions to terrorists.2. Bring terrorists to justice for their crimes no matter who or where they are.3. Isolate and apply pressure on states that sponsor terrorism, forcing them to change their behavior either overtly or covertly.4. Bolster the counterterrorism capabilities of those countries friendly to the mandates of the U.S.5. Improve counterterrorism cooperation with foreign governments and participate in the development, coordination, and implementation of American counterterrorism policy in accordance with the policies of the United States Government.