Hannaria Series Book 2: Legacy

Guide to the Hannaria Series Part I: The Hannarians

2009-11-29T18:10:00.002-08:00

Hannarians are over a 99.99% genetic match to humans but have twelve genes that we don’t. Their bodies have a secondary bloodstream which carries a bioluminescent chemical that makes their eyes glow. This chemical has similar effects to adrenaline in humans but also serves as a fuel for various mental, strength, and healing abilities. Without it, Hannarian adolescents and adults are more vulnerable than humans and can die from a relatively minor injury or illness.

Hannaria itself is an environmentally stable but ancient planet much closer to its sun compared to Earth. It has one nearby colony planet in close orbit named Kydena that is mostly composed of farmland and forests. Since Hannaria relies on imports from Kydena and distant trade partners, diplomatic and ambassador positions are held in high regard and from a political standpoint are second only to the planet’s emperor and advisory council. Their overall social structure is based along family lineage and birth order, with ten percent of the population considered part of the royal bloodlines.

Despite their close appearance to humans bringing up fears from pop culture alien movies, most Hannarians were either favorable or indifferent toward Earth prior to humans discovering of their existence in 2113. The formation of an anti-Hannarian political and terrorist organization called the Earth Independence Party (EIP) in 2120 has led to the deaths of more humans than Hannarians but has put a major strain between the two planets. Unless something is salvaged by the year 2478 (the deadline for Jernard and Rhaynan to make their final reports), the project for bringing Earth in as a full trade partner will be abandoned—leaving it vulnerable to attack by several species that are much more hostile.

Character Profiles:

Jernard/Bardin
Rhaynan
Andrew
Rica Miller
Cryuse and Myla
Bren and Nian
Wynn
Alex Verin
Other Hannarian Characters (Jicah, Ashner, Fost, Yonus, and Lernada)

Character Profiles: Other Hannarian Characters

2009-11-29T18:02:00.000-08:00

Here are other recurring Hannarian characters in the series:

Jicah--Hannaria's Emperor and Rhaynan's cousin. He's about the same age as Rhaynan and Jernard and was mentored by Jernard's grandfather Cryuse.

Ashner—Jernard and Rhaynan’s Lead Security Officer.Put in charge of supervising Jernard when he was a child, Ashner and Jernard were in conflict with each other for decades—with Jernard trying to escape the palace and Ashner trying to keep him inside of it.
Fost--Jernard's uncle (Jernard grew up believing they were brothers). Pilot in the Hannarian border patrol.

Yonus—Lead physician and captain of the med fleet ship Covanias. He’s also Paronis and Ashner’s uncle and Wynn’s grandfather. Although he tends to get carried away with sedatives according to Adam Verin and Jernard, he’s one of the most experienced doctors from Hannaria.
Lernada--Lead pilot in Hannarian border patrol fleet protecting the area around Earth. She and Fost dated at one point.

Character Profile: Alex Verin

2009-11-29T17:56:00.000-08:00

Quick facts:

Adam and Stephanie Verin’s oldest son.
Born only ¼ Hannarian, Alex was accidentally exposed to a chemical created by an EIP geneticist named Dr. Ronald Kressler.After given the antidote, it was found that his own DNA had adapted and that he’ll be fully Hannarian for the rest of his life.

Alex has a unique ability to influence other Hannarians, something that caused Jernard to tell him a lot more information than he would have otherwise. Alex doesn’t want to use this in a manipulative way however and is now cautious about using it.

Alex and his family are caught in the middle of the conflict between the Hannarians and the Earth Independence Party. While his grandfather Nathan hates the Hannarians, his dad Adam was following along with everything for safety reasons. Alex is an independent thinker and finds himself questioning the reasons and motivations of both sides.

Character Profile: Wynn

2009-11-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

Quick facts:

Youngest member of Jernard and Rhaynan’s diplomatic team other than Andrew. Distant cousin to Ashner and Paronis.
Stephanie Verin's father and Alex Verin's grandfather

While on Earth, Wynn fell in love with a human girl named Allison Greer and confided in her what he was.During their relationship, he worked for a year on a formula he hoped would safely shut down his defense system—which in essence would have made him biologically human so he could age at Allison’s rate.After taking the formula and preparing to ask her to marry him, he received a phone call from Allison telling him she didn’t want to continue the relationship because he was Hannarian.

Emotionally devastated and suffering from the effects of reversing the process, Wynn went into a rage and threw a Jeep through a transport hanger—an event that got him sent back to Kydena when he refused to tell Jernard what was wrong with him.

What Wynn didn’t know was that Allison was pregnant, and she gave later birth to girl she named Stephanie. Twenty-two years later, Stephanie married EIP Representative Adam Verin—having no idea she had half-human and half-Hannarian DNA.

Character Profiles: Bren and Nian

2009-11-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

Quick facts:

Jernard and Rica’s biological parents.

After their mysterious disappearance, Bren and Nian were on their way back to Hannaria in 2290 (with then 4-year-old Rica) when they made the decision to stop at Earth—not wanting to wait on seeing their son again for the first time in over 2,500 years. Instead, their ship was tracked and shot down by an EIP missile. Although Bren was able to land the ship in the ocean, a secondary blast killed Nian and knocked him and Rica unconscious. They were taken to a lab operated by Dr. Ronald Kressler, who tortured and experimented on Bren and had intentions of doing the same to Rica when she got older.

Charlie Miller was able to rescue Rica but believed he killed Bren in the process. Unsure of the situation, Bren decided not to let Miller know otherwise—keeping watch over Rica at a distance almost ten years while waiting for the right opportunity to get her back safely. So far in the storyline, there is an indication that Bren had also been in communication with Paronis about Jernard, Rhaynan, and Andrew.

Character Profiles: Cryuse and Myla

2009-11-29T17:40:00.000-08:00

Quick facts:

Jernard’s biological grandparents who raised him as their youngest son.
Prior to Jernard being born, they were ambassadors to a planet called Aliond and advisors to the past three of Hannaria’s emperors.
Their oldest son Bren was originally going to be ambassador to Earth, but a series of events led him and his wife Nian to leave a then-infant Bardin (Jernard) in their care for his protection.

After Bren and Nian didn’t return from their mission, Cryuse and Myla moved the rest of their family back to Hannaria—telling no one that Jernard was their grandson due to the fact it put him closer in position to becoming Emperor.

Myla developed a mysterious illness when Jernard was seven years old which took her life less than a year later—her dying wish to Cryuse being that he still found the cure in the event someone else later developed the same disease. After spending over 2,300 years and the equivalent of billions of dollars, Cryuse’s efforts resulted in a medical scanner and related medications that could destroy the disease—the same leukemia that Andrew developed and would've died from as well if the technology hadn’t existed.

Due to Myla’s death and his belief Bren and Nian may have been murdered, Cryuse made his best effort to ignore Jernard compared to his biological children—not because he didn’t love him but because he was afraid someone would target him if he was shown special treatment. Instead, Cryuse enlisted the help of one of his former bodyguards on Aliond named Paronis to train and mentor Jernard but at the same time keep him from learning the truth.

Character Profile: Rica Miller

2009-11-29T17:29:00.000-08:00

Quick facts:

Adopted by humans Charlie and Rebecca Miller in 2290 after she was found abandoned in a Baltimore shopping mall around the age of three.
Biological parents are Bren and Nian

Since their second circulatory system is inactive as children, Rica was unaware she was Hannarian until she was twelve. At the onset of her abilities, she began to have severe headaches and felt overwhelmed from her senses. The situation reached the point where school on Earth was going to be impossible for her, so Charlie convinced Rebecca to move to Space Station Destiny.

On their way to the station, Rica and Rebecca run into Jernard—who is quick to realize that Rica is somehow related to him and that there’s more to the “coincidence” that his best friend of thirty years adopted her.

Rica is friendly and extremely curious--learning quickly how to use her abilities to eavesdrop. She's also been very sheltered and tends to look at things with a "fairy-tale" perspective.

Character Profile: Andrew

2009-11-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

Quick facts:

Jernard and Rhaynan’s son
201 years old during current story timeline.

Born on Earth in 2099, Andrew was named after the human doctor that delivered him. Aware of what he was the entire time, he still lived a very normal life even for a human until the age of thirteen. Right after the onset of his abilities, he was diagnosed with a type of leukemia that his body couldn’t fight and that existing Earth technology couldn’t treat.

Jernard and Rhaynan were forced to send a distress signal to Hannaria, leading to what appeared to be “first-contact” in September 2113. This was almost 400 years earlier than what was planned, which later led to lot of criticism of Jernard and Rhaynan by the Council for not waiting until humans were more ready. The Emperor came to their defense however, and the issue was dropped quickly.

Andrew’s hardest struggle has been that he relates more to humans than he does other Hannarians. He’s had to go through several generations of human friends “passing him up” since he’s still a young adolescent for a Hannarian (looks about thirteen with tinted contacts). From a personality standpoint, he’s more quiet than his father but shares his parents’ desire to help people.

Character Profile: Rhaynan

2009-11-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

Quick facts:

Jernard’s wife

2,512 years old during current story timeline.
Born on Kydena, Rhaynan’s family was the first of any Hannarian royalty to settle on another planet after her mother and father retired from advisory positions (this was due to her cousin Jicah becoming Emperor, since too many people from the same family can’t be in power at the same time).

Rhaynan was raised (Jernard would say spared) outside of typical Hannarian society, so when she and Jernard first met he had no idea about her family. (As brought up by Rica Miller, Jernard and Rhaynan are not blood-related—totally different family lines.)

While Jernard stays in the forefront on Earth as being Hannaria’s Ambassador (not so much to protect Rhaynan from media attention as much as to protect her from being shot at by EIP radicals), she officially carries the same title and knows how to handle situations when Jernard is incapacitated. She can learn new information at a very rapid rate, and from a physical standpoint she’s even stronger than Jernard. She can’t heal as fast however, which is why after several attempts on her and their son Andrew’s lives they moved their primary residence back to Kydena.

Character Profile: Jernard/Bardin

2009-11-29T17:16:00.001-08:00

Quick facts:

Hannaria’s Ambassador to Earth

2,514 years old during current story timeline (2300 A.D.) Compared to the human life cycle, he’s only around nineteen for a Hannarian—although he often tells people early twenties to make himself seem older.

Shortened Hannarian name is Bardin (roughly translates to “Protector”). He’s gone by various aliases on Earth but has stayed within a limited amount of names. This habit has gotten him into some trouble as far as being tracked.

Although in the beginning he didn’t want his position, over time Jernard and his family have developed an attachment for Earth and humans. Jernard is fiercely loyal to his family and friends of any species, and he’s willing to hang on and take risks when other people may see a situation as a lost cause. Mentored by a Hannarian military general named Paronis, he’s been trained how to use his youth and playful personality to his advantage. When pushed, he does become more serious and calculating but reverts back to his usual self when the danger has passed.

Having spent almost a third of his life on Earth (1478-2300 A.D.), even the thought of the EIP taking the planet over upsets Jernard. In some ways, he blames himself—wondering if he could have handled things differently either from the very beginning or in the staged first-contact event in 2113. Knowing he has a limited amount of time before he has to return to Hannaria, Jernard must make the decision whether telling the entire truth will now make things better with Earth or worse.

Prologue to Book 2: Legacy

2009-06-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

Introduction by Jernard

“Do you know the difference between a hero and a villain, Jernard?” Paronis asked as he took his boot and made a line in the wet sand between us.

Everything seemed real as I glanced around—the scent of saltwater, the waves breaking on the shore just before ebbing near my left foot. I even felt the sand squish between my toes as I took a step toward the line Paronis had made. Looking down, I realized I was barefoot—and that my feet were those of a child.

I knew that I was dreaming. Paronis had died almost a thousand years before Rhaynan and I left for Earth. Yet here I was looking up at him in his black Hannarian guard uniform, and my mind refused to allow me to wake up. Having no other choice, I decided to play things out.

“A hero has a solid moral line that guides him,” I replied, hesitating for a moment because my voice sounded childlike as well. “He can push himself to that line and get right to the edge of it—but if he crosses it, it will wreck the very core of his identity.”

“You’ve been listening for once,” Paronis laughed as he then took the flat part of his boot and smoothed the line in with the rest of the sand. “A villain however doesn’t need to worry about crossing a line he doesn’t have—that is unless he creates one by choice.”

He took several steps closer to the ocean and made another line in the sand. The waves overtook it within seconds, and he made another line. After he did this several times, I sighed and walked up to him.

“So what happened to you?” I asked, a feeling of anguish making me forget none of this was even real. “Was the wave that hit you too big, or did you just get tired of drawing that line over and over again?”

“It was both,” he replied as his eyebrows rose, and he turned his head away from me and looked out at the horizon. “I took for granted that because I was doing a lot of good that I didn’t have to maintain that line anymore. If the earthquake hadn’t happened, I might have found my way back. It was bad timing, but my choices were still—”

At that moment, he groaned in pain and grabbed his chest, collapsing face-first into the ocean. I rushed over to help him out of the water but stepped back as his body started to convulse and mutate.

“This isn’t real,” I said to myself, but my defense system wasn’t convinced as I felt a surge of energy hit my body. “Paronis is dead, and I’m on Earth. I have to wake up.”

“You stopped me,” Paronis growled as he rose up out of the water, now towering over me at almost nine feet tall. “The question now is can you stop yourself?”

The monster leaned over to where we were face-to-face, water dripping off its gold reptilian skin. Its exhale blew my hair backwards, and my heart pounded as I saw my adult reflection in its shiny black eyes. Its eyelids narrowed into a glare, and my own eyes glowed blue in terror. My best friend and mentor was gone—and replacing him was this evil creature that had killed at least a thousand of our people before I helped stop it.

“I am not you, Paronis!” I shouted at the monster’s face, angry at my own subconscious. “You hear me? I’m never going to be like you!”

The monster rose up, and for a moment it just looked down at me without making a sound. Then it smirked, and I realized it wasn’t Paronis inside it anymore.

The monster was me.

Introduction by Detective Matthew Verin

I’ve dealt with monsters before in my position, but they were always of the human variety. Last month, I met something that wasn’t human. It acted like one, and under other circumstances he probably would have fooled me just like he did everyone else.

I’ve tried to track him, but he’s learned how to cover his tracks now and destroyed all the previous evidence I had of his existence. This thing is intelligent—clever—and I have no idea what it really is or what it wants. All I know is that I have to try to stop it before it kills again, but if you’re reading this, it means I failed.

I hope one day you’ll forgive me and understand. I love you, Ashley, and I’m sorry my obsession over this has hurt you and the boys so much. That was never my intention.

Tyler and Will—I’m so proud of both of you, and I love you. Take care of your mother, and be careful who you trust. I don’t mean to scare you, but this thing may come back to Washington. After everything that’s happened, I’m sorry I’m not going to leave you both a better legacy than what’s going to seem like the rants of an insane man.

If you are someone who has the ability to do something about this, here is what I’ve learned over the past twenty-four days:

1) You are looking for what appears to be a white human male between the ages of 17-22. He uses the same first names often—Jernard, Jerry, and Simon. His last name always matches someone in the surrounding neighborhood that people know and trust. This gives him credibility as most people just assume they’re related.

2) Although he will act inept and vulnerable at times, he does this for a reason—so you will let your guard down. Don’t trust anything he tells you.

3) Bullets won’t kill him. Running him over with a truck won’t kill him. At this point, I don’t know if—

I have to go. It’s here.

Hand-written letter by Detective Matthew Verin, found in his abandoned car on October 14th, 1999—just under 114 years before the official contact date with the Hannarians. Verin was never found, and no body was ever recovered.