The Guardians--A Novel

At the time of this blog entry, I believe that the Guardians should be rough drafted in a week to two weeks. There will be a lot more work that will go into the next drafts, but I do believe that those who are my quality readers for this story will have something to read before Summer.

The Howkians are a salute to the Native American. On my grandmother’s deathbed, so the story goes as it occurred many years before I was born, it was revealed that there was Native American blood in my family. In today’s world that may not seem to be such a terrible secret. In her day, it was—in fact to point out the level of racism that existed at that time, being part Native American was considered to be worse than being part ANY OTHER minority. Note: My ancestor came off the reservation around the same time General Custer was killed.

While the exact nation that my heritage comes from is not known, I do have my guesses. As a child, when I first learned of this “great secret” I was inspired to explore that part of my heritage and I tried in vain to figure out which nation. That turns out to be a blessing as it allowed me to examine all (or nearly all) of the Native American cultures. It is unwise not to realize that there were/are many cultures in Native America and trying to categorize them as one is an error.

The Howkian is a race based on many of the Native American cultures including the Dakota, the Iroquois, the Cherokee, the Unami, and the Osage. I began to create the Howkian with a question: “What if the Native Americans when first encountered by the colonist had equal or better technology than the European?” Then placing this answer into a space age, faster than light, universe—and you have the Howkian.

The Howkians are physically pictured as tall bears. The bear in various Native American cultures is seen as a symbol of guardianship, power, and bravery. With those ideas, the culture of the Howkians is created. They are a philosophers, warriors, craftsmen and deeply loyal to those that they call friend. They are also a great ally to have in any fight.

The universe of the Guardians does not involve humanity conquering the Howkians, but rather the Howkians adopting the human race—as some nations did the early settlers in North America—and building a community based on common ground. While this may sound too much like utopia, believe me, it is. There is a hidden aspect to the relationship that will be exposed over time.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for updates to blogs, stories and poems I write.