The Universe of Tokorel

The Universe of Tokorel

By Drew Bankston

A number of years ago, while writing some short stories with a friend of mine just for the fun of it, I developed the universe of Tokorel. You might wonder what exactly this universe is and why it’s different. If so, I’m about to tell you. So, sit back and get ready for a trip to a place that will make you smile, laugh and question everything thing that you believed about reality and fantasy!

The universe of Tokorel started with a character named Permac. Permac was a handsome and rugged young man from the world of Tokorel. His home world is an interesting one. Each person has the unique ability to sense and influence the emotions of others.

The Tokorellans were descendants of people from the planet, Khizara. It had been 200 years since the Tokorellans and the Khizarans had been in contact with each other, when Permac and a woman archaeologist from Khizara, Linsora, met. Still with me? Perhaps I should go back that 200 years and tell you why they, the Khizarans and the Tokorellans, split.

So, 200 years ago a man named Tokor, a botanist, had received permission from the Prefecture on Khizara, to explore some other planets and look at the possibility of bringing back foreign plants to enhance the local food supply. After exploring, Tokor brought back a plant that he called, Tejina. This plant yielded a fruit called Chikara which was very sweet, juicy and made a wonderful addition to other fruits on the planet. But Tokor wanted to be sure that this foreign fruit was going to be safe from others as well as being safe for others to eat, and so he kept it to himself while he tested it.

Eventually, he discovered that after eating the fruit, he started to develop some interesting abilities; the abilities to sense and influence emotions. That, is another story. Over time he learned to control his powers and started feeding a chosen few the Chikara fruit, teaching them how to control their abilities as well. But secrets are not things to hide on Khizara and eventually word spread. The population of Khizara thought that Tokor’s powers were demonic. After he and his followers were threatened with death, he was allowed to flee the planet, banished forever. When his travels led him to a new and abandoned planet, he formed a society where his followers could learn to cultivate the new plants that gave them the amazing powers.

When news got back to the people of Khizara, they were horrified that the demons had escaped with their lives and actually thrived somewhere else. Rumors spread that the new race would eventually come back and exact revenge on their brothers. That day never came. Eventually, the Tokorellans, at least a few of them, left Tokorel and tried to blend in as Khizarans. That’s where Permac enters the picture. You see, Permac was one of those who left Tokorel. He ran into a Khizaran woman named Linsora, and did his best to become her friend. Eventually, however, she discovered who he really was and 200 years of fear, superstition and distorted stories culminated in her attempts to kill the demon, There’s much more to this story and I hope that you’ll check back week to learn more!