An Iklis Sniper’s Longbow that he has named “Angela” is Grond the halfogre’s favorite weapon.  An Iklis longbow looks like a technologically advanced version of a compound bow, with limbs that collapse into the body and can be extended with the flick of a wrist.  The bowstring itself is virtual, made of energy, and the weapon generates its own ammunition as it is fired.  The sniper’s variant features a lock-on mechanism that actually allows the archer to hit a target behind cover or around a corner.

How Grond obtained this rare and valuable weapon, and who precisely the “Iklis” are, is a story yet to be told.

My theme for this year’s A to Z challenge is my series The Benevolence Archives.  You can learn more about the series by going to the Amazon page for Volume 1 here or add it to a Goodreads shelf here.  

Previously: Khkk.

This is the second of my special Sunday posts.  The regular K post will come later in the usual order.

Khkk (pronounced by clearing your throat) is a planet technically on the far reaches of ogrespace, but far enough out that the ogres have made only the most cursory attempt to colonize or name it, although the planet does have a few built cities populated by the known races.  It is technically a terrestrial moon of a gas giant, but is the sole inhabited rock in its system.  Khkk is primarily rocky and desert, with few large bodies of water and only moderate biodiversity.

Khkk’s native race are an insectoid species simply known as the Khkks.  They are unable to communicate other than in their own language, which is a combination of sound, gesture, and pheromone smells, making them very difficult for outsiders to understand without specialized training.

Khkk is one of the main planetary settings for The Sanctum of the Sphere.

My theme for this year’s A to Z challenge is my series The Benevolence Archives.  You can learn more about the series by going to the Amazon page for Volume 1 here or add it to a Goodreads shelf here.  

Previously: Haakoro.

Haakoro is a supporting character in The Sanctum of the Sphere.  One of the few humans to have a role in the series so far, Haakoro encounters Brazel and Grond while tracking a signal emitted by a device that they have been contracted to steal.

Haakoro is in his early twenties, with olive skin and straight black hair that reaches his shoulders.  Little has been stated about his past or background, and he operates on his own, without benefit of affiliation with any organization.  While humans typically have a surname, Haakoro either does not have one or is not interested in revealing it.

Haakoro is brash, impatient, and occasionally rather rude, and Brazel and Grond are not terribly fond of him.  He is also either exceptionally talented, incredibly lucky, or both, and appears to benefit from coincidence more often than anyone ought to, a fact that has not escaped the other main characters in the series.  Whether this represents random chance or some sort of talent on his part is yet to be revealed.

My theme for this year’s A to Z challenge is my series The Benevolence Archives.  You can learn more about the series by going to the Amazon page for Volume 1 here or add it to a Goodreads shelf here.  

Previously: Grond.

Grond is one of the three main characters of the Benevolence Archives series.  Grond is Brazel’s partner and the co-pilot of the Nameless.  He is Rhundi Tavh’re’muil’s most valued employee, and in fact was working for her before either of them met Brazel.

Grond is a halfogre, standing fully 2.4 meters tall, and has the massive build and powerful musculature typical of halfogres.   A lifetime’s experience as a warrior and pitfighter has left his skin covered in scars, and much of what is not scarred is tattooed.  He is skilled with a wide variety of melee and projectile weapons, but his favorite is an Iklis sniper’s longbow he has named “Angela.”

Despite his appearance, Grond is much more of an intellectual than Brazel, having used his spare time during his employment with Rhundi to catch up on the education he lacked as a child.  He enjoys playing chess and loves reading to a degree that is occasionally distracting.  He has a pair of entirely unnecessary reading glasses that he wears as an affectation.

In the inevitable Benevolence Archives movie, Grond will be played by Nathan Jones, who played Rictus Erectus in Mad Max: Fury Road.  Seriously, make this guy taller, tinge his skin yellow, and slap some tattoos on him and that’s exactly what Grond looks like:

My theme for this year’s A to Z challenge is my series The Benevolence Archives.  You can learn more about the series by going to the Amazon page for Volume 1 here or add it to a Goodreads shelf here.  

Previously: Fahrhad.