When I was developing the world of Einstein’s Compass: A YA Time Traveler Adventure, I reached a point where young Albert Einstein—a curious, brilliant, big-spirited hero—needed an antagonist worthy of him. Not just a villain, but a presence with the same mythic weight as the mystical compass he carries.

The answer came to me in a moment of creative synchronicity.
Twins.
Just as Atlas, founder of the mystical island of Atlantis, fathered five sets of male twins, our story would draw upon that ancient Atlantean pattern. And from that insight emerged two of the most pivotal characters in the Einstein’s Compass universe—Arka and Raka.

Twin Souls of Atlantis

The firstborn sons of Atlas, Arka and Raka are brother souls whose destinies mirror the eternal tension between light and darkness.

Arka — Priest-Scientist of Light

Arka embodies grace, intelligence, and service. In the golden age of Atlantis, he rose to become the leader of the Healing Center, guiding advanced spiritual-scientific practices capable of harmonizing mind, body, and spirit. His work exemplified the Atlantean ideal: technology powered by divine consciousness, never separated from the greater good.

Raka — The Shadow Twin

The name Raka comes from the Germanic root meaning dragon, and in him the dragon-shadow takes form.
Lazy, jealous, and hungry for power, Raka could never match his brother’s natural gifts or his luminous heart. Instead, he simmered in resentment, always searching for shortcuts to greatness.

His bitterness eventually pulled him toward the Order of the Dark Sun on the nearby Arian Island—an elite circle responsible for some of Atlantis’s most dangerous experiments.

Raka’s Point of View

“The Dragon Within Me”

I was born in the same breath as Arka, yet from the moment we opened our eyes, the world chose him.

Arka favored son of Atlas. Arka, the radiant. Arka, the healer.
Even the Light seemed to wrap itself around him like a golden cloak, eager to claim him. And I—his twin, his shadow—was left to choke on the incense of their endless praise.

They saw me as restless.
Unfocused.
Troublesome.

But none of them understood I hungered for something greater.
Not the soft glow of healing chambers or the chants of priest-scientists. I craved the fire beneath the world, the ancient pulse of power that no one dared touch.

In the Healing Center, Arka laid his hands upon the sick and the dying. I watched him with a mixture of scorn and longing. Why should he have the gifts? Why should he stand at the center of Atlantis while I was pushed to its dim outer edges?

The day I crept into his sanctum, the air still smelled of sanctified herbs and crystal light. My heartbeat thundered like a war drum as I reached for the vial—the Draconian DNA, swirling like molten night.

Forbidden.
Dangerous.
Perfect.

The dragon within me roared as my fingers closed around it. Let the Council whisper of consequences. Let the Light judge me. They will all see soon enough.

History remembers the bold, not the obedient.
And I will not spend eternity in Arka’s shadow.

Arka’s Point of View

“Keeper of the Light”

My brother was born beside me, yet we have never walked the same path.

Raka was fire—untamed, unpredictable, hungry for validation that no one could give. I loved him, of course. How could I not? A twin is not merely a sibling; he is a second heartbeat. But even as children I sensed the storm inside him, gathering, darkening.

Atlantis thrived on harmony. The Healing Center existed to restore the equilibrium between body, mind, and spirit. This was my calling—not granted to me, but chosen, again and again, with discipline and humility.

Raka saw only my position, never the sacrifice it required.

Many nights I prayed he would come to understand that the Light is not a prize but a responsibility. But envy blinds more deeply than darkness itself.

The morning, he stole the vial—the Draconian essence we guarded under sacred seal—I felt it instantly. The Light within the Healing Center dimmed, as if holding its breath in shock.

My heart broke. Not for the stolen DNA, not for the danger it could bring—but for my brother.
For how far he had already fallen within himself.

Raka believes the Dark Sun will exalt him. But shadows exalt no one; they consume.

Still, I hold hope. I must. For even the brightest soul can fracture—and even the darkest can find their way home.

I will be ready when he returns.
Light does not abandon its own.

"Einstein’s Compass is a magical book that combines a historical figure with an imaginative and compelling adventure story. It has all the makings of a series of wonderful and imaginative tales to come from Grace A. Blair.
Linda Berman, Book to Film Executive Producer"