Danial, Caledon, Seldon
One of the first things Danial had to experience was how severe punishments can be, from fingernail pulling to extreme whippings.
Why are punishments so severe, and do you think they need to change in the new world your King is building for the Cubi people?
Caledon: Today is already lenient compared to where Seldon and I grew up. Physical punishment is…useful compared to locking people up. I can see how humans would think otherwise considering you’d be scarred from much of it.
Seldon: We do measure it to the individual. But yeah, of course it would have to change, but that doesn’t mean it’ll go away. *looks at Daniel*
Daniel: Yeah, not going away, but I think Seldon has proven that change in balanced measures is possible. His new station as Tunra-Nol has shown how balance can be made to incorporate both sides. It’s useful compared to prison in a society where people work together for each other and most often shamed for neglecting that. But ghosting? That’s like putting people on death row. That’s reserved for when there’s nothing left in that person to be of value to anyone but only harm. Physical punishment isn’t even something we then waste energy on. They just…disappear from sight. Why don’t we have capital punishment there?
Seldon: Fear factor for everyone else.
Tell us one thing about each other that we do not know about?
Daniel: Caledon writes poetry that he doesn’t show anyone.
Caledon: How do you know?
Daniel: You left the floral notebook under the pillow, and I stumbled upon it when I changed the sheets for a Royal Empowerment. I recognized your handwriting and didn’t read further. *looks at Seldon* Or did you know he writes poetry?
Seldon: No, I didn’t. But I know you sing opera in the shower if you get it to yourself.
*Daniel face palms himself* Oh! Seldon has a secret love for cute erasers.
Seldon: No, I don’t!
Caledon: Then why is your desk drawer always full of them?
Daniel: And you order them when you run out.
Seldon: *heaves a grumbling sigh* Okay, so they’re fun. The collection started with Rosadin buying me a package for my birthday to brighten up my office, and…it worked.
Can you give us your highlights of Danial’s rise to King? (not including the actual coronation, we don’t want to make this too easy for you.)
Caledon: Seeing Daniel hold down Seldon and have him lose doses like that under the accidental Empowerment and learning he was verse? That’s when the thought hit me the first time. It’s why I claimed him immediately when Seldon was taken away.
Seldon: Knowing all this today, I can’t imagine why I hadn’t caught on earlier. He was always magnetic. A highlight for me, other than feeling his power at the coronation, was watching him learn and his openness to new thoughts and ideas. A definite highlight was actually working with him on cleaning the train he came in on. That’s when I first noticed his growth. Also, he had no ability for a quick feed in a feeding stall. Considering Royals need hormones through intimacy with their people, I get it now. And I’ll reveal that being the lover of a Royal is frigging exhausting but also extremely wonderful.
Daniel: My highlights? I wanted to be the centre of everybody’s world and now I am. It’s stupid looking back, but I think about school sometimes and the kind of person I was there. My journey from then to now is…well, it’s not a straight line, yet I think I learned so much from my human dad after he died. That’s when I also felt more secure in the fact that I could grow into the King my people deserve.
My highlights are my accomplishments. Seeing Randr and the injured Guards out of camouflage is a highlight for sure. That I’ve managed to befriend humans with us is another. The slow intro of my Natural Beauties. All those small changes…
And playgrounds. Let’s face it, I’m a big kid. I love that my closest ally is as playful as I am, yet his wisdom makes me rise, too. I just hope I can rise to the challenge if he ever needs me.
Seldon:
You were previously seen as very resistant to change by some of your peers. How do you feel that you’ve grown?
Resistant? I don’t think I was ever resistant to change. I’m just not progressive for the sake of being progressive. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it comes to mind. But radical change is frightening no matter who you are or how old you are. I also think the thought of change is far more frightening than actual change because most things don’t come about in a day. Except when the military runs you out of your home, of course. Then change became a necessity, and then I was no longer resistant to it. It was a problem that needed solving. Looking back at it all? It’s frightening. What we managed, though? Change can be good. Hard, sure, but good.
What do you see as your biggest accomplishment over the last year?
Oh, man, there are a lot. Considering how Daniel and I started out, my biggest accomplishment is definitely earning his respect and trust, not to mention love. And back to the part about being resistant to change? Taking charge on raising the possibilities for pure energy is a huge accomplishment because I’ve never known the world Daniel envisions, yet I believe in it and want to see that change happen. What better way than creating the foundation for it?
Daniel
Your life has changed so drastically from just over a year ago. How are you doing with all of the changes? What helps you through?
These two! * points to Seldon and Caledon* And Ela and Randr, too. I’ve grown very close to many, and they’ve all helped me become who I am today. The trust I have from and in my Council, too. But also, it’s apparently a genetic trait of a Royal, and that helps. I can’t even recognize myself from the jerk I was. But I wasn’t in my element. I think Seldon and Caledon and my Council have had a far more difficult time than I with everything that’s happened.
Do you plan to spend much time in the cities once they are created?
I very much look forward to! It’s gonna be like time travel to empower my people. It’s gonna be awesome. And I’m so riding in there on a horse, imagining some Clint Eastwood movie music.
Have you decided on your final meal yet? Have you had it already?
I have! And I don’t even remember what it was because so many things were happening while I merely tried fasting for longer. And then it kinda just rolled into me not eating. I’d like to think it was pancakes with bacon on the side. Or a huge pizza, but I know that wasn’t it.
Caledon:
Considering the circumstances leading up to how the three of you ended up together, did you ever fear losing Seldon to Daniel?
Daniel’s jealousy did hurt a lot, and yes, I feared I’d be able to see Seldon even less. I also kinda felt the third wheel for a while, unsure whether Daniel would even be able to cope with a relationship of more than two people. I don’t fear it anymore, though. Daniel has grown fully into his Cubus ways, and it’s because he’s a Royal that it went so fast. It even went faster than I could deal with, so that’s the basic for my fear then. I know he loves me for who I am, and he seeks me out to have something special with that he nor I don’t share with Seldon. There’s room for all that now, but I was hesitant to participate for a while from fear of losing them both.
Is it totally wrong to think that Meraki P. Lyhne is one of your erotica pseudonyms? Or is Meraki one of the erotica authors who’ve visited the Cubi to gain inspiration?
*Deer caught in headlights look* Oh! Uhm…well…someone paid attention. I’m not the author of the Cubi. Daniel is. This is his memoir because he doesn’t have a Randr to lock him memory in place. Nol-Plydon never had a Randr, and Daniel found that to hinder the old King in remembering important details. No one has a Randr! Seriously, their love truly is epic. Most Cubi don’t last more than one or two hundred years, max, so I helped Daniel put it into prose.
Meraki’s a…pawn has such negative connotations, but in the romance era of literature, eighteen hundred and forward, an author like him was called the interpreters of the divine. They’re conduits. Pantsers often are. That’s what I mean when I said he was easy to work with regarding prompts. He hears us pretty clearly, and I’m happy our journey isn’t over even though Daniel has finished what he needs to remember his rise and what was important to be remembered later.
Elakdon:
For the Cubi kids that you test with games, what happens to them after that? Do they move to where they will be trained or left to be kids for now, but with extra enrichment? I was thinking of the little shieldmaiden who is so protective of Randr with this question, but really all of the kids have shown talents in different areas.
In my Kingdom, we’re more spread out than in big Houses like here. It’s easy here, considering there are Guard Lords and Ladies in both Houses, and no cubs are in the new cities yet. Here, I imagine the Guards will keep an eye on them and test and train them when they come of age.
At home, my Guards begin the potentials actual training around the age of fifteen. Once they’re Empowered, they come stay with me and are trained around me by my Guards.
Regarding Esdin, I’d so want to take her to Denmark with us, but…circumstances mean we can’t. I hope she’ll come and visit when she grows older. And we’ll come here just to see her.
Randr: How do you feel about the changes being made in the Cubi world, especially with yourself and other wounded Cubi being pulled more in to focus?
I still feel uncomfortable, but I admire the young King for his ability to merge cultures. It’ll take time for both Cubi and me to get used to it. Going home, I don’t know if they’re ready, but I’m never in hiding at home or among the hird. In truth, I was invisible before Ela accidentally changed me, so it was never a slap in my face the way it is for injured Guards. I’m happy they can step forward, considering they were brought up to be around people and in their focus.
Characters get their payback on their Author.
So, tell us, what are your thoughts of Meraki?
Caledon: He’s surprisingly easy to work with on prompts.
Elakdon: Except when he cuts scenes.
Daniel: *grinning* I love your rants, Ela, but I can kinda understand him sometimes.
Seldon: I think he needs to work on his work discipline.
Caledon: No, he doesn’t. Not with us.
Seldon: He uses us to procrastinate.
Caledon: Okay, but…most authors procrastinate from writing, not the other way around.
Seldon: Well, I’m not doing his dishes while he writes you two going at it in a library.
Elakdon: I like him. He gets fun ideas when he brings mead to a scene. Also, I’ve had the pleasure of outsitting with him. I’m still not sure what he’s going to do with the conversation we had around that fire, though.
Are you happy with the way he has told your story?
Seldon: I think half the Cubi story got lost in focusing on male pairings, only. Considering he’s gay, I kinda get it, but…that’s just me.
Caledon: Well, being an author myself, I can tell you one thing he needs to work on. Actually making a story fit three acts! It’s like he never even heard of the Socratic model, but I know he has, yet the seat of his pants apparently doesn’t fly there.
Daniel: I think he skipped some awesome feeding scenes. Also, I’m kinda happy he didn’t tell more about what a jerk I was to people at my school before all this started.
Is there anything you wish he did or did not show us all?
Daniel: Only what I mentioned. Oh, and enemas! Seriously, what’s the point of describing me shoving a hose up my ass and fidgeting while feeling uncomfortable?
Seldon: I could have gone without the description of me being raped.
Daniel: I wish he’d shown more of my time with Aaron and Freydon. And my mom and dad.
Elakdon: And Randr and Esdin training. Oh, and he could have kept my inspired overkill of burying someone with his face in his own ass out. That was unflattering.
Daniel: You told that story. He’d include it because he doesn’t cut that many scenes.
Elakdon: *taps chin in thought* Yeah, he didn’t cut scenes then. Point taken.
Caledon: I’m happy he writes some of the cut scenes, though. Like my birthday. Perfect cake. Like I said, he’s good with prompts.
Thanks guys for taking time out of your schedules to chat with us, I am sure our readers will really enjoy our chat as much as we have.
We look forward to following your peoples progress in Meraki’s future series which we believe you will all pop up in from time to time.
