Stratum 6 - The Artists

The Artists worked both the metals and minerals of Thror to create sculpture, relief carving, mosaics, architecture and textile designs. They were responsible for the sophisticated beauty of the Nine Strata. They designed the masks for all Nine Strata and used their own masks to show off their skills.

Stratum 7 - The Metalworkers

The Metalworkers melted, welded and sculpted the metals found by the Extractors creating much of the furniture, jewelry, weapons, tableware and even books used throughout the Strata. The most skilled workers of the Lower Strata, the Metalworkers passed long and rigorous apprenticeships to earn their places. They wore  leather aprons covering the length of their bodies to guard against hot fumes. The elegance of their simple attire highlighted their privileged position among the Lower Strata and their design skills.

Stratum 8 - The Tunnellers

The Tunnellers hewed massive tunnels that stretched for miles through the frozen core of the planet and maintained the interstratal transport passages. Their snout-like masks protected them from the cold and dust. They were the most warmly-dressed of the Nine Strata, using furs, woven fibers and leather to protect their sensitive amphibian skins from extreme temperatures. They were the fittest Stratum, able to glide quickly through frozen passages on foot blades similar to those worn by Earthian ice skaters. A proud and exclusive group, the Tunnellers were always ready to react violently to undue pressure and disrespect from higher Strata.

Stratum 9 - The Extractors

The Extractors spent almost their entire lives submerged in underground streams, sifting sand infused with priceless Gunnarium metal particles, found only on planet Thror. They wore little to no clothing most of their lives. Only the Chief of the Stratum owned a set of ceremonial robes to wear when summoned to the Grand Council. Aside from their outstanding extracting skills, they were particularly proud of their fertility as evidenced by the substantial cod-shell you see on the Extractor below. Their cerata were the most elaborate and bushy because of the amount of time they spent underwater. Their masks concealed their noseless faces and helped filter the water they breathed. The Extractors always kept a low profile, acknowledging that everyone looked down on them despite the fact that the prosperity of the Nine Strata rested on their scaly shoulders.

Journey to the Center of Ancient Thror

The cover for my upcoming Young Adult Science Fiction novel, Digging in the Stars has just been officially revealed! Blaze Publishing, Jennifer Malone Wright and I had a party on Facebook to celebrate. We will have another to mark the release at the end of March.

In preparation for the actual release and the upcoming party, I am starting a series of posts to introduce you to the  lost ancient extraterrestrial civilization that Carter and her friends discover on planet Thror in Digging in the Stars. As a stop motion animator, I needed to make the characters with my own hands in order to be able to write about them. Now I have a crowd of ancient Throrians living in my house! I will be using the characters I created to illustrate my posts.

Ancient Thror was divided into two main areas, the Nothingness of the Barren Surface, populated by tribes of so-called “Furry Giants” and the subterranean realm, which was occupied by a profoundly sophisticated amphibious civilization divided into nine social classes called “Strata.” All Stratinites wore complex, long-nosed masks that protected their sensitive breathing mechanisms when above water and represented their status and role. Long, colorful cerata streamed from their heads like hair, absorbing oxygen and nutrients from the air and water. The higher the Stratum, the more time its members could spend above water. I will be introducing you to all the different Strata, starting from the deepest levels and traveling up to the crust. Each post will be dedicated to a single Stratum starting from Stratum 9, the Extractors. These numbers and names were given to the Strata by the earliest Earthian explorers who first visited Thror in the 1920s.

Keep watching this blog. I will be releasing details on a new Stratum every Wednesday and Saturday!