Can a person's worldview change in two weeks? Is it possible to break the mental ties that were forged by early life experiences, and free yourself from self-pity, spite, prejudice? I'm honestly not sure. People can take years to do that. Some may never make it... in a single lifetime. They may need several lifetimes. But I think if you have the right guide, the right teacher, to show you the way, it's possible to do it in two weeks. And when I say the right teacher, I mean someone who is not only wise, but also intelligent, and has the ability to penetrate your mind and show you your ties... So you can start breaking them.
Thinking of this general idea, I developed the story of Esteban Sivem and Vroeg Skunktaur. At the same time, it is an archetypal line, the student and the teacher. In this new edition, Esteban will be as I imagined from the beginning: a selfish asshole that little by little is changing thanks to Vroeg's "Intensive Intervention". Esteban may have more in common with Mark (the character) than with the Esteban we've met so far.

Why did I use a skunktaur and not a Chakat for Vroeg's character? For two reasons: In canon, it is written that the average intelligence of a skunktaur is slightly below the average chakat. This idea always seemed unfair and unfounded to me. While the first generation of skunktaurs were damaged by chemical lobotomy, there is no reason why skunktaurs born in subsequent generations should not regain natural intelligence. Furthermore, skunktaurs are described in the same canon as being very active and workaholic creatures. Experience increases knowledge and intelligence, ability to solve problems.
And since skunktaurs have the same neural base as chakats, I see no reason why they shouldn't be just as smart, if not more so, than their cousins.
The second reason, of course, is their psionic abilities. Telepathy and capturing emotions will do a lot for Vroeg to be able to help Esteban. I'm not talking about conventional therapy, of a skunktaur psychologist. I'm talking about something much deeper. A soul transformation, not a simple mental programming change.



The story flowed little by little. I included the Renzars because I like bears. Again, I left the chakats only as supporting characters. I could have used the Merraki or the Rakshani from the start. But I considered that with the Renzar I was fine for now.

Going back to Esteban's story, I think he was lucky to meet Vroeg in this life. That sped things up and his karmas began to take their toll on him. In his previous life, Esteban was a human scientist working for one of the three firms that enslaved the skunktaurs. Because of his fault, many skunktaurs were abused or killed, as before the generic wars happened with the morphs. His name was Eugene, and Bram remembers it because the old skunktaur was a pup when it happened. (Bram is about 150 years old) Bram's psionic powers, and intuition, allowed hym to recognize Eugene in the present reincarnation, now as Esteban, a boy who has suffered much, just as Eugene made many suffer. skunktaurs. That is the law of karma and that is why bad things happen to Esteban during the story. Vroeg also senses this and knows that hym can't stop Esteban from paying the price for him. That's why hy tries to help him change, thus shortening the cycle of pain. But Vroeg no longer has time. And hy is sad that hy can't do more for hys human friend.
For Vroeg, Esteban is an exciting challenge. True teachers also learn from their students. Upon meeting Esteban, Vroeg also thought of hys lost son Ugkar, whose memory revived after nearly fifty years in hys head. Vroeg did not remember that traumatic moment just a few weeks before hys death. That prevented hym from seeking out and meeting Ugkar.

Thank you for Reading. This is just a blog to put the ideas of the literary project in order, plus some personal reflections.

Beautiful art by  sethtriggs