Book of Stone: Operation COLD FLARE

For April, Stone Soldiers.info is celebrating the A to Z Blog Challenge with daily letter-themed entries about the people, places, and things of the series. To view past and present entries visit the Book of Stone by clicking on the link on the righthand side of this page. 

OPERATION COLD FLARE

First Appearance:  Shadow Raiders

Description:  Joint Task Force Operation to Repel Extraterrestrial Invaders in 2016

Last Known Status: Successfully Concluded

In 2015, the Department of Defense initiated Project Flare, a program to prepare for an extraterrestrial invasion of the Earth. Multiple units of the military were assigned to the project, which was housed at Groom Lake Air Force Base, Nevada under the command of General Mark Kenslir, US Army.

In the Summer of 2016, nearly a year after training for the joint units had begun, a portal to an alternate reality was opened in Greenland by an archaeological team. Detachment 1039 responded to the site, investigating the breach and quickly determined hostile Fellish forces were amassing for an invasion. Operation COLD FLARE was initiated—a mobilization to Greenland and beyond to repel the would-be invaders and protect th Earth.

During the few short days of COLD FLARE, units the US Marine Corps passed through Project Flare’s own portal, the Sprocket, assaulting enemy forces from the air. Naval Construction Battalion teams erected a base in Greenland at the site of the breach, and US Air Forces from Thule AFB attacked the limited number of invaders who managed to pass through the breach and make it to Greenland.

In the aftermath of COLD FLARE, less than twenty US service men and women numbered among the dead, while an estimated three thousand Fellish soldiers had been killed. A detachment of Marine and Air Force security forces then set up a forward observation post past the breach, on the alien world of Asgard, were scientific teams continue to investigate the world to determine any future strategic value.

Behind the Scenes

The most difficult thing about COLD FLARE was coming up with a name. The US Military and allied forces have had hundreds of code names for operations and projects over the years. Eventually, I chose the obvious “FLARE” for the overall project, as the early Wyrmhole Ring Portals in the Stone Soldiers series emitted such bright light upon establishing connection. COLD FLARE seemed obvious in that Greenland’s glacier was the setting for the battle between Asgardian and Midgard forces. Future installments in the Shadow Raiders series will also feature “FLARE” in the name, e.g. “SAND FLARE”, “DARK FLARE” etc. 

Book of Stone: Barraud, Marie-Felice

For April, Stone Soldiers.info is celebrating the A to Z Blog Challenge with daily letter-themed entries about the people, places, and things of the series. To view past and present entries visit the Book of Stone by clicking on the link on the righthand side of this page. 

BARRAUD, Captain Marie-Felice

First Appearance:  Spectral Ops

Description:  Leader of a French Paladin Team tasked with fighting monsters

Last Known Status: Unknown

To fight the supernatural, the Republic of France has long employed Paladins–men and women selected from the rnks of the military and trained in anti-supernatural operations. Paladins do not use any magic or magical items, and are completely dedicated to wiping out any supernatural creature.

Marie-Felice Barraud, daughter of a French Foreign Legion officer and his Nigerian bride, joined the armed forces after college, rapidly rising through the ranks, following in her father’s footsteps. Barraud was recruited into the Paladins, again excelling and eventually earning command of her own team.

In the spring of 2017, Barraud and her team responded to a supernatural event in eastern France, in the town of Moyenne. The Paladins were quickly overcome by an army of unleashed specters. Fortunately, Detachment 1039 had become aware of the event and responded. Together, the Detachment and Barraud’s last two men managed to defeat and capture the specters, and Barraud returned to Paris, the last survivor of her team. It is presumed she is currently training a new team of Paladins.  

Book of Stone: Asgard

For April, Stone Soldiers.info is celebrating the A to Z Blog Challenge with daily letter-themed entries about the people, places, and things of the series. To view past and present entries visit the Book of Stone by clicking on the link on the righthand side of this page. 

ASGARD

First Appearance:  Shadow Raiders

Description:  Alternate Reality Earth

Last Known Status: Secured by U.S. Armed Forces in Summer 2016

The mythical home of the North gods, Asgard, was found in the summer of 2016, when Doctors David and Julia Hammond led an archaeological expedition to Greenland, to excavate a massive pair of golden doors buried beneath the glacial ice. The Hammonds almost unwittingly triggered Ragnarok by opening the doors however, alerting the army of Odin to the fact the gateway to Midgard was free once more. 

Asgard the planet lays in a parallel universe to our own--one of nine suspected parallel planes of existence, all connected by Yggdrasil, an interdimensional network of wyrmholes. The planet was presumably much like our Earth, but has undergone severe climactic changes in the past. 

Asgard's axial tilt is far more extreme than our own world. The planet lies on a 75 degree tilt, with the north pole always pointed away from the sun. This extreme tilt has wreaked havoc on the planet, reducing the southern hemisphere to an uninhabitable desert, and the northern hemisphere a harsh, arctic zone perpetually in darkness. 

Asgard's sole habitable region also lies in a perpetual state of dusk, well north of the equator. A single habitable region has so far been discovered, near the impact crater of Ymir. This region's capital is the city of Valhalla, which is connected by crude road networks to settlements throughout much of the eastern hemisphere's habitable zone. 

The gateway to Midgard and the other suspected seven realities, are accessible through the network of wyrmholes in the Yggdrasil ravines south of the Bifrost Plain. This plain--a flat, grassland region--is so-named due to the constant Aurora Borealis overhead, which extends all the way north, past Valhalla. 

Following the event of Operation Cold Flare in 2016, when the Asgardian Fellish army was defeated, a contingent of researchers and soldiers were established near Yggdrasil for the exploration of Asgard and to determine any strategic value. Similarly, the wyrmhole's gateway in Greenland was also fortified and is designated as an Annex of Thule Air Force Base, monitored closely by NATO forces. 

Behind the Scenes

Shadow Raiders marked the first split from the regular Stone Soldiers series chronologically, and takes place between SS 11 and 12. Elements of Detachment 1039 will return to the world in future novels, exploring the other branches of Yggdrasil. 

The entire story of Shadow Raiders revolves around a recurring theme in the Stone Soldiers universe: that Fallen Angels posed as gods in ancient times, luring humanity to worship them. In the Christian era, no Fallen Angels remain on Earth. In One Dark Step, the Stone Soldiers encountered the first Fallen Angel in the series, Hubal, living on the Moon. Aurg-El, posing as Ymir, and animating his Fellish descendant, Odin, ruled over Asgard, sending raiding parties through to Earth for servants and slaves. However, the little ice age sealed the gateway to Earth, preventing any further travel. 

The impact crater revealed in Shadow Raiders is indeed where Aurg-El impacted the alternate Earth, hurled from heaven, his impact tilting the world off its normal axis. 

Readers are correct in assuming that of the eight branches of Yggdrasil, only one leads to Earth (Midgard). In future installments, we'll return to the Wyrmhole "tree" and journey to other worlds, each ruled by other Fallen Angels from mythology. The current plan is to release one installment of this Shadow Raiders series per year. For 2017/2018, the next installment will focus on Chinese Mythology and center around a world the inhabitants have named Perdition.