Chatterbox: Inkwell

Hey, I have this great idea for a book. I'd like to see what you guys think of it. This is just the background. If it's liked, I'll put in the prologue.

Main Idea- Set in present-day, beginning in Maryland.

Background- The Order of Four is a group of people who are either Animalists, protectors, or Mages. There is also a fourth branch, called Other. There has never been one before, until the protagonist was born. He is the first. The Order is ruled by the Quartet, a collection of the greatest of each branch. However, this causes a problem, as the Highest, or leader, is meant to be an Other. There has never been one before, so there was never much of a problem. But when the protagonist was born, the Protectors and Animalists wanted Him to become the Highest. But the current Highest, who still is when the story opens up, does not want to lose power. He, a Mage, is joined by the other Mages, who do not want to lose their double representation on the Quartet.

The Order’s children are trained by their parents from the start. Then, when they would normally begin school, they enter the Order’s only elementary school, named Johannes Elementary. From there, they go to Johannes Middle School to Johannes High School to Johannes University. Then, while keeping a job in the normal world, they choose a job in the Order community.

How is the community set up and maintained? The Order resides in Other Places. Other Places are a rip in the fabric of our dimension. This creates a similar phantom-like version. Though they are similar, they are never exactly alike. These Other Places never change. Some are always noon, some are always midnight. Some always rain, others are always deserts. Only Order members can reach them. They release the piece of Other that is in all of the Blessed, as they call themselves, and this piece opens a gateway for them to enter. While the Order has human security, the major policing force is the Sickles. The Sickles are created every winter solstice in an unknown way. The are birthed in the Other Place that the Sickles use as their headquarters. This place is a cave found on a mountainside in the Himalayas. That night, the Sickles appear under the snow. The next morning, the Harvesting occurs. This is when the existing Sickles walk the side and dig out their fully-clothed-and-armed comrades.

The schools also exist in Other Places, as do all Order buildings and the Quartet’s headquarters.

Mythology- The Order believes that there are four gods: the Four Spirits, or just the Four. These are the Animalist, the Mage, the Protector, and the Other. They believe that, in the beginning, they created the Universe. They walked on Earth for centuries, but eventually though that humankind must work alone and retreated to spirit form. They are always present, but never speak or intervene. However, while they were here, they left some of their selves scattered about. This power settled into some humans, and the first Blessed were created.

Villains- In reality, there were Five Spirits. This is unknown by the Order, because one of the first priests destroyed all records, knowing that, even though the Fifth was banished, just knowledge of it was too much for humankind. The fifth is the Void. This one is literally the abyss that existed with the other Four. It was the basis , the empty slate, on which the universe was created. And so, it was everywhere. However, the Void was like a black hole. It sucked in life, and created emptiness in its place. So, it was banished by the Four, back unto itself, into the outskirts of the universe.