What is an Emberok? The answer to that question is twofold. First, there are the works of art, the sculptures that came from the mind and the hands of Carmen Martin. Carmen’s description of their genesis: “Emberoks came to life one evening as I was working with a ball of clay. Initially, I was inspired by the genius of J.R.R. Tolkien and his Hobbit, but I felt the need for boots and beards. There were no Hobbits to be found with boots and beards, and of course I didn't want to attempt to duplicate Tolkien's work. I had to decide what exactly my creation was. He wasn't a Hobbit, and because of his facial features and personality, he wasn't a dwarf either. One night, while I watched embers float above a campfire, I came up with the notion that he should be called an Emberok. Rock-born-of-fire captured their growth from malleable clay to an enduring, kind and true character. As I shaped the Emberoks, I was intrigued by the emergence of their personalities from the clay. I decided to incorporate crystals into their story. They treasure these stones for the exotic beauty of the light shining through them. Some Emberoks keep crystals in velvet-lined boxes, and they all share the treasures with their friends. Their preferred habitat is the deepest of forests and they love a moonlit night as much as their closest companions, the owls. I was very pleased that when my brother became acquainted with them, they also became special to him, and that he told their story.” My version of the above as spoken in the oral traditions of the Emberoks:
In the beginning, after the fall of human, another lump of clay began to take shape. Skilled hands molded that soft rock into a caped figure awaiting the fire that would harden it into rock. EmGen 1:1 My sister had done a number of clay sculptures of these creatures who so cherished crystals. On July 4, 1984, at an Independence Day Festival where she was selling her art work, I told her she needed a book like Gnomes, which was popular at the time, and told her I would write her a children's picture book about her sculptures. This is where the seed was sown for the novel, Emberoks. Several years later I made good on my promise and sat down in my attic with the newest in technology, a word processor, better known as a glorified typewriter with a memory, and started to crank out the text for a 25 page children’s picture book. In that attic I discovered a story. It was not planned or intended, but swept me along for over 200 pages. I simply joined the quest and got to know the characters as the story progressed. Here is what I know of Emberoks. They are the Earth Wards, the keepers of nature until man is made right and takes up his stewardship and serving dominion of the True One’s natural creation. They interact with humans only in the rarest and the most dire of circumstances. They are nocturnal. Their eyes glow reflecting any external light source, but just as often seem to shine from some internal source of light. They can communicate with and control the animals under their charge, but never dominate them and so are loved, respected, trusted and readily obeyed by those creatures. Owls have a special place in the hearts of Emberoks as companions, sentries, messengers and even as winged steeds for some of the smaller Emberoks. Emberoks vary in size. Some are small enough to ride larger owls. Others can be as large as the largest man. They all have capes which can serve a variety of purposes. Mainly they are used for cover providing a place of hidden repose during daylight hours. When they cover they appear simply as a rock or a small boulder. Finally, Emberoks have developed a technology using crystals that seems like magic to us. They use condensing water molecules and crystalline seeds, actually components in their skin, to produce numerous temporary crystals which they store overnight in various places. For the traveler, the crystals are carried in the linings of their capes. The crystals have numerous practical uses such as light sources, aids in healing, weapons, just to name a few. But their beauty is their main source of value for Emberoks. According to their law they must restore the water before sunrise each day and so give up their most cherished crystals daily. We see the outcome of this in the early morning dew. Emberoks serve the True One faithfully, awaiting the Day when He rises in the hearts of all men. For they will then be allowed to walk in that Day light with humans. It is likely that many of the stories of elves and fairies, of hobbits and dwarves, of angels and nephilim may have some root in a human interaction with Emberoks. Emberoks was simply a family story. There were a couple of submissons and rejections for publication, but not much of a concerted effort. Finally, in late 2010, my older children decided to help me self-publish Emberoks. For anyone interested, you can buy Emberoks at Lulu.com.
1 Comment
Ted
4/25/2020 05:27:17 pm
Andrew, this is really a charming origin of how your story was birthed. Your blog post has offered me encouragement and inspiration. May God bless the future for you and your Emberoks! :)
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Andrew DuncanDeep calls unto deep, while the world in shallow sleep, awaits the coming dawn. Archives
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