I can't believe we've reached the end! When I first planned the Age of the Immortals series, this story didn't exist. Rūta didn't exist. I eventually decided to give Grosvenor a little sister as a form of character development for him. None of my characters had siblings. When one of my friends saw her mentioned when she was reading about Grosvenor so she could draw him, she asked about this sister. I told her she didn't even have a name, but soon after a story for this sister hit me.
I eventually made the little sister his twin, which works so much better! She's still the younger twin as to not create a problem in Rise of Thera when she is referred to as Grosvenor's little sister. I wrote a ton of variations of the first chapter. I didn't really have a good idea for what happened to her outside of deciding to leave so she could explore the universe. My initial idea was to have her just be an explorer, but that didn't explain why she never returned.
Believe as you know it was born when my sister and fellow author--Madeline Walz--created the planet of Aneatanga for her upcoming book, Anathema. When I decided to incorporate Aneatanga into my own story (for the sake of crossover preparation), Believe was born.
Rūta will return in the Heart of Darkness crossover. My sister and I have already written some scenes, and oh boy you are in for a treat! You will be able to learn more about Aneatanga in Heart of Darkness 1: Anathema. None of my characters directly appear in this book, but keep an eye out for references to my series and species.
Thank you Wix for helping me create this site to publish this story on. Thank you, Madeline Walz for creating Aneatanga, because this story wouldn't exist without it. Thank you, Elizabeth for giving me the idea to give the sister a story. To everyone who read this story, thank you! Your reading encourage me to keep writing this story!
I will be taking down all of the chapters of Believe soon. I am going to format them and publish them as a book (Age of the Immortals 0.5). It will be identical to the blog version (unless any major errors are found), just formatted as a book. It will be available on Amazon as a paperback and as an eBook through various platforms. As always, I will be posting updates on my Instagram @chloe_walz_author.
Rūta and Grosvenor Fen-Rim
The name "Rūta" means "Rue" in Lithuanian. Rue is a bitter herb used in medicine. "Rūta" is also the Lithuanian version of "Ruth," which is from the Hebrew word for "friend."This name can refer to her bitterness about what happened to her and her planet, but it could also refer to her ability to make friends wherever she is.
"Set Iren Iach" comes from Ancient Egyptian (transliterated it could be "set ir-n iach"). It means "woman born of the moon." I actually had this name before the scene where she was taken under the full moon. I had her taken under the full moon because of this name.
"Grosvenor" means "great hunter" in Norman French. This name is supposed to reference his role as a soldier. I wanted him to be a fighter, but the name came before I decided to make him a soldier.
The Chinese version of "Fen" can mean "fragrance, aroma, perfume" or "strive, exert."
The Frisian version of "Fen" means "peace."
"Rim" means "white antelope" in Arabic.
Their last name could mean "fragrant white antelope," "striving white antelope" or "peaceful white antelope."
I did not have any of these meanings in mind when I came up with the last name "Fen-Rim." It was just a random combination of sounds.
Aroha and Wiremu
The name "Aroha" means "love" in Maori. Many Aneatangan names are from Maori. As you know, Aroha is very different from the rest of his species, so I wanted him to have a name that no Aneatangan would ever have.
"Wiremu" is the Maori form of "William," meaning "will helmet."
"Manuao" means "man-of-war" in Maori.
names and titles on Aneatanga
"Whakapono" means "believe" in Maori.
"Purari Manawa Ora" means "bloody hope" in Maori.
Together, "Whakapono" and "Purari Manawa Ora" reflect the mission of the Whakapono to cleanse Aneatanga with blood.
"Aneatanga"means "devastation, destruction, havoc, chaos, mayhem" in Maori.
"Whiro," the title of the ruler of Aneatanga, refers to the Maori deity of the same name. The god Whiro is a representation of evil. While it is a title, the ruler eventually adopts it as their name.
Characters
Rūta Fen-Rim (Set Iren Iach)
Theran-Egyptian
Grosvenor Fen-Rim
Theran-Egyptian
Aroha
Aneatangan-Aumāririan
Wiremu (Manuao Z)
Aneatangan
Sujay
Unknown
X
Aneatangan
learn more about the mythological Whiro here.
Aneatangan comes from Maori, find the dictionary we used here.