The Fate of Jace and Jillian

[brettamatowski]

To start off, this is a concept that has been brewing in my mind for at least three years now.  I've been writing a story about a young boy (Jace) and his sister (Jillian).  Just recently, I have put quite a bit of time to actually sit down and write a little bit about them, but I don't really want to give away any spoilers as of yet, so I'll give you a little introduction.

   

Year : January 12, 2112

     First born, Jace, began his life as a curly-haired child.  During the time of his birth, his father Alexander Anders, was deathly ill from a virus that had been spreading across the cities.  But it wasn't their city that was infected.  Alexander carried it back with him from his travels while working as an architectural engineer.  Jace's mother, Amalia, was concerned that Jace was in danger from the exposure around his father.  So, Alexander had to be confined to a cell in the chamber of a hospital where he would have no contact with Amalia or his first born son.  Unfortunately, during Amalia's labor, Alexander passed away just hours before Jace breached.

     Devastated, Amalia had to care for Jace and herself in a well furnished home with no way to pay expenses in order to keep it.  Eventually, they were evicted from the home and had to seek refuge at a friend's house.  Her best friend, May, was kind enough to let them stay until Amalia was back on her feet.  By then, Jace had just turned 6 years old and yet someone really close to his mother began dating her.  After the years had passed and the stories his mother told him about his father, Jace was confused by the man Amalia was falling for.  It just didn't make sense to him that his mother could love another man after what happened to his father.  4 Years later, with the virus now covering 60% of all cities, Amalia was pregnant with a girl.

Year : January 12, 2122

     The year is now 2122, the day of Jace's 10th birthday, and also the expected birth date of Amalia's second born, Jillian.  Due to extreme health complications, Amalia falls ill suddenly after Jillian is born.  The doctors tell Jace that his mother won't see past his 11th birthday.  While Jace and Jillian's mother is bedridden in the hospital, they continue to stay with May.  Just 2 weeks before Jace and Jillian's birthday, the hospital calls May with terrible news.  The virus uncontrollably reached Amalia's heart where it suddenly stopped.

     Depression kicks in for Jace at the age of 11 and has become extremely pessimistic with his life.  Jillian, being only a year old, still has no clue that her mother is gone.  May had agreed to the will of Amalia to care for the kids for as long as she was able.  But day by day, the virus continues to spread and grow, leaving the cities desolate and unable for people to commute.  In the year 2126, there will be a devastation to the world that Jace and Jillian will have to face.  And so begins the fate of Jace and Jillian.

   

This story/concept is what I base my songs around.  You'll find most of the information embedded in my lyrics.  If any of you would like to read them, I'd be more than happy to post them here.  Just thought I'd open this thread to get some comments.  My music is really progressive and I really like telling stories within songs, and continuing them on through other songs.

Let me know what y'all think.

[brettamatowski]

Update:

Here's some bios that I decided to write out. Obviously, there's more to each character, but I'll leave that for the book/music.

Alexander Anders:
Alexander was born in September of 2090. He was the youngest of 6. He had three other brothers and two sisters. He was the husband of Amalia Anders, but eventually passed away at the age of 22 from the Purgafire Virus while Amalia gave birth to Jace Anders. Alexander’s Ghost still haunts Jace every now and then, sometimes opening doors and closing others.

Amalia Anders:
Amalia was born in December of 2091. She had one other sister. She was the widow of Alexander Anders and mother of Jace, born January 12, 2112. Also, she was the girlfriend of Nicolai Leatherby and mother of Jillian, born January 12, 2122. Amalia passed away just 2 weeks before Jace’s 11th birthday, and Jillian’s 1st. In her will, she wanted her best friend, May, to take care of the kids if anything happened to her or Alexander.

Jace Anders:
Jace was born on January 12, 2112, with a rather lengthy body and a full head of curly brown hair. His parents are Alexander and Amalia. Jace never got to know his father, but is still haunted by him throughout his life. At the age of 6, his mother started seeing another man by the name of Nicolai Leatherby. At the age of 10, his sister was born, and nearly a year later his mother passed away. Jace became depressed and pessimistic. He holds a partial of the antidote for the Purgafire Virus.

Jillian Leatherby:
Jillian was born on January 12, 2122, sharing the birthday with her brother Jace Anders. She was born with a round body and blonde hair like her mother’s. Jillian never got to know her mother. Her father, Nicolai, disappeared after Amalia passed away. Jillian relied on Jace and May to take care of her, leaving her extremely apprehensive. She holds a partial of the antidote for the Purgafire Virus.

(Mercy) May:
Best friend of Amalia and caretaker of Jace and Jillian. She accepted Amalia’s will to take care of Jace and Jillian if anything ever happened to her. In 2126, the virus had taken over Earth completely and May had been infected. Somehow, she hadn’t been fully affected by the possibility from contact with Jace and Jillian, both who are antidote holders. When night falls, she becomes Mercy May, where she guards Jace and Jillian from the “crows”. Her appearance isn’t favorable, as the crows consume her slowly to the bones until the sun rises again and her body is reborn; a curse that she has to live with for the rest of her life.

Nicolai Leatherby:
Nicolai was the boyfriend of Amalia after her husband, Alexander, had passed away from the Purgafire Virus. He also was the father of Jillian Leatherby, but suddenly disappeared after Amalia passed away leaving Jillian without a father figure whilst growing up.

Purgafire Virus:
The Purgafire virus landed on Earth in 2012 and has multiplied slowly, taking full effect in 2126. At this time, the virus has consumed everything in its path. There are a few survivors who have the antidote embedded in their DNA. The survivors are called Kilclose Kids, who are rare since their parents have to have some connection to the other survivor’s parents.

Crows:
The spirits of the people claimed by the Purgafire Virus. They are forever haunters of Earth and the remaining survivors. Crows are attracted to infected blood and will consume anyone they come in contact with. Mercy May is consumed nightly, but heals when the sun rises due to having contact with Jace and Jillian.

Kilclose Kids:
Survivors of the Purgafire Virus. Kilclose Kids are rare, in fact there are only about 1000 immune survivors left on Earth. Each survivor is connected to another in some way. The antidote is embedded in each of their DNA, but is impossible to extract unless sacrificed. Jace and Jillian are a part of the Kilclose Kids, but have the rarity to half-cure people who haven’t been in contact with the virus yet, such as Mercy May.


I'm going to start on the Prologue/1st Chapter, so I'll keep you guys updated. I wonder if any of you are interested yet.

[Copper Valentine]

Oh wow,
This sounds like a really interesting story. I'd love to read the first chapter.
It comes off as dark  - especially with the crows - I can't wait to see what they look like when you animate this. 

[brettamatowski]

Well, here's the first chapter...finally.

I'll try and publish a new chapter every month.  Let me know what you guys think.

Chapter 1: A Father Unknown

[the.crippled.dreamer]

Interesting…I’ll be looking forward to more. A few different quirks popped out at me, but mostly grammatical things (I grew up with a literature professor for a grandmother…you can imagine how those visits went.  I’m certainly not perfect, but I’m afraid they left their unfortunate mark on me  )

Have you ever read Ursula K. LeGuin’s book “The Language of the Night?” It’s out of print, but try tracking down a used copy (probably the best book out there dealing with writing style in the SF and Fantasy genres that one could ask for).

[brettamatowski]

Thanks, bud. I've noticed them, too.  I've been labor intensively revising everything and even formatting it into a manuscript for self-publishing.  I've read her book actually.  I'm surprised that I forgot about it until you brought it up. Thanks for the help and reminder!

[Relym]

Hm. It's apparent that you've been thinking about this plot for a very long time, and it's very fleshed out. I think that you expose too much information too fast in the actual story, though. At the end of the first page, I know about half of what you said in your first post already. Other than that, this has the potential to be very interesting.