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For the next month or two, I'm going to upload a lot more information about my latest story, House of Cards, Island of Dreams!
Each week I'll upload a picture of some of the characters thematically connected, as well as a short story about one of the characters that week. Most of these short stories will be scenes from the House of Cards, Island of Dreams novel, but retold from a different perspective. Other scenes will be completely unique, but will elaborate on scenes from the novels.
The Areoi are the indigenous people of the island of Areoi. Their language is also called Areoi. The Areoi had absolutely no contact with the outside world until Meadow Ace was established on the uninhabited side of the island. Likewise, the people of Meadow Ace had no idea the Areoi were there until their home was already built. Over the ten years since Meadow Ace was built, the two groups of people have come to rely on each other and have become allies. That said, while Areoi is something of a utopia, things don't always go perfectly for either group...
They inhabit the village on the opposite side of the island of Meadow Ace. Its population is relatively small (more than 100 and less than 1,000), though they still greatly outnumber Meadow Ace. The villagers live in huts on stilts above the water, and they use the land for farming, relaxing and recreation. The village is pleasantly quaint and primeval. The villagers live by the traditions and practices they have carried on for centuries, with little to no influence from the outside world other than material goods gained through trading or payment from Meadow Ace. Some Areoi enjoy the influx of new things from their neighbors at Meadow Ace, while others are resistant to the change. They like to live simply and have simple views of the world. For this reason, they are very peaceful and relaxed, taking things as they come, but they sometimes come across as provincial and ignorant.
The Areoi fall into a few categories: those that are neutral towards their new neighbors at Meadow Ace, accepting them but not having any real interest in them (the vast majority of the population); those that hate Meadow Ace and don't want anyone on the island other than the Areoi (a small percentage), those that are fascinated by Meadow Ace and want to know more about it, but don't actively try to do this (a small percentage); and those that make an effort to get to know their new neighbors better, usually by offering to work at Meadow Ace in exchange for goods and information from the outside world (an even smaller percentage.)
These are the major Areoi characters that appear in the first book. In another few weeks, I'll post pictures of the major Areoi characters from the second book (although technically they all appear in Book 1, they play much larger roles in Book 2).
Week 1: For a Meadow Ace Servant...
Week 2: ...This Should Be No Problem
Week 3: The Village Inhabitants
Week 4: A Blue Ribbon Bunny and a Blue Harbinger
Week 5: New Help and Old Rumors
Week 6: Something Will Come From the Water
Week 7: One Wacky Island
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(from left to right)
Rapa'ooma (Ooma): (Green heart) Hina’huero's mother and Ua’taiao’s wife. She’s a little more mature and patient than Hina, but their similarities are very apparent. Like Hina she is touchy-feely, sentimental and prone to emotional reactions. She has always been tolerant of Hina’s constant slip-ups around the village, and it greatly pleases her that Hina has found tasks she can do well at Meadow Ace. Ooma is very much a family woman, and her family is the most important thing in her life.
Trivia: Hina’s mother is considered one of the prettiest women in the village. The Areoi find fatness attractive; the fatter, the better. Conversely, they find Arava’ruma rather plain and Arava herself believes so.
Ua’taiao (Taiao): (Rain at daybreak) Hina’huero's father and Rapa’ooma’s husband. He has a kind and laid-back personality. Sometimes he is a little exasperated with his wife’s sentimentality and enthusiasm. Like Ooma, Taiao is neutral on Meadow Ace’s presence on the other half of the island.
Trivia: He and Rapa’ooma have five children: Rau’aute (first daughter, and the eldest of Taiao and Ooma’s children by many years), Hina’huero (the second oldest daughter), Uhu’poa (tweenage, oldest son), Iho’aauri (youngest son, twin brother of Pooreho’poe) and Pooreho’poe (youngest daughter, twin sister of Iho’aauri).
Raatira Arava’ruma (Arava): (Lemon shark under the evening sky) The Arii’s daughter and his second-in-command (Raatira). Arava is roughly the same age as the Three Masters. She acts defensive towards Maximilian for reasons unknown to anyone except her. Arava is on speaking terms with Jackson and Rhiannon. Like her namesake, she manages to be both fierce and evasive. Unlike her father, she has been cautiously accepting of Meadow Ace from the beginning, though she doesn’t like it when they do what she perceives as overstepping their bounds.
Trivia: Arava’ruma has a husband (Tatia’heiva) and a young son (Veo’tii). There is an obscure rumor that Veo’tii was not fathered by her husband, but Arava refuses to discuss the matter. While it is acceptable for married Areoi women to have extramarital relationships, she would prefer for some things to stay secret.
Arii Fetu’mataara (Fetu): (Star watcher) The ruler (Arii) of the Areoi. Though he appears to be a withered old man, he is in fairly good health, though it has begun to fade. He is a fair but strict man who always has the best interests of his village at heart. At first he heavily distrusts his new neighbors at Meadow Ace, because he worries that their actions will cause harm to his people and because he doesn’t want them threatening his power. Over time he opens up to Meadow Ace, but he is still a little wary. While he sometimes comes across as surly and stubborn, he is very honorable and always true to his word. He sees himself and the Raatira as the rulers of the island, and the Three Masters as his subordinates. Jackson, Rhiannon and Maximilian see it the opposite way. Nonetheless, they are friends, or rather, friendly rivals.
Trivia: The Arii has the most mana, life force as a spiritual energy, of any person on the island (Aizapal has more mana than him, being an island spirit and not technically a person.) Fetu can use it for incantations, but these don’t always go as planned. An incantation to understand the Three Masters better ended up switching their bodies with each other.
