Two-Headed Ostrich-Lizards and the Apocolypse.

As promised, here is the second chapter of the thing I started yesterday. The more I look at this setting, the more I find it appealing to write in and romp around it.

I ended the world on the second chapter. Yep. All in a day's work.

Chapter Two

Daniel walked forward eagerly, thinking vaguely that he might use some of the money that Amar had given him to buy a room at an inn or something - if there was an inn. As he drew nearer, he realized that it was built on the shores of a lake, glittering under the moonlight. Simple stone buildings stood here and there, built along a winding dirt road. Tall lanterns on posts provided warm light.

He noticed, though, that there didn't seem to be any particular way for the lamps to be lit. Illuminated spheres hovered next to tall bronze poles. 

"Halt! Who goes there?" 

A man appeared from the darkness, riding on the back of a tall two-legged creature that resembled an ostrich, though Daniel was confident ostriches didn't typically have two heads or frills around their head.

"I'm just a traveler," he said hastily. "I'm just looking for somewhere to sleep tonight." 

The man narrowed his eyes, studying him. "You came from out there?" he gestured to the empty wilderness. 

"Yeah. I didn't mean to land here but well, it's kind of a long story and..." he realized he was babbling.

"Yural. What do you think?" 

The two heads leaned over him, both studying him. The creature let out a long throaty call.

"She seems to like you. I suppose that means you're not an evil spirit come to curse us into oblivion." The guard seemed almost disappointed. 

"Um, no. I'm not." Daniel blinked, bemused. 

"Right, then. You said you wanted somewhere to sleep. The Wayhouse isn't too far away. I'll take you there myself." 

Whatever this Wayhouse was, Daniel thought, it sounded better than the hard ground. He followed the man to a large comfortable looking building. They passed through an archway into a wide courtyard, of tiled stone and a massive lump of crystal standing in the center of the square. More of the hovering balls of light adorned the walls. Daniel could see better now, he noticed there was a rune carved into the wall, right behind each of the lights. 

"Well, here we are. I'm going to get back to my rounds. Best of luck to you, stranger." 

"Um, yeah. Thanks." Daniel said, and walked inside. It was pleasant inside as well, with lots of tables but only a handful of people - a rowdy bunch of men laughing and talking in the corner. A girl, about his age, cheerfully chatting with some other guy, who appeared absolutely smitten. She turned and saw him, and offered a flashy smile. The guy glared at him. 

He shrugged.

"You're here for a meal and room?" He turned to see an older severe looking woman studying him up and down. 

"Well - yeah. Um..."

"Three Otters." 

"What?" 

"Copper pieces. You do have money, don't you?" the woman sounded a bit impatient. 

"Um, yeah." He opened the satchel, and rummaged around in it before he finally found what he guessed was the money, finding three of the copper pieces - which did, in fact, have otters on them and handed them over. 

She took the money, pushing it into a pocket on her apron and pulling out a key.

"Take the hallway over there." She pointed. "Third door on your left. Now. Sit, you look like you could use a good meal." 

He obeyed, and presently found himself enjoying a meal of hot soup, bread and some sort of hot spicy drink that tasted just a slightly bit sweet. The meal was good, and he found himself devouring it, happy for a change of pace after three days of the flat tasteless rations Amar had provided. Presently, he became aware of someone watching him and he looked up.

The girl sat there across from him, her chin resting on her hands. The boy was with her too, looking none too pleased.

"So...where are you from?" she asked. "Those are interesting looking clothes." He glanced down at his T-shirt and jeans, now stained and filthy from the desert. 

"Can we just leave him alone?" the boy asked. "I mean - we were having a good time just us, right?"

"I just met you, Retin," the girl said. "You're a good flirt, but this isn't a date." The boy scowled. 

"I - well..." Daniel said. "I walked here from the desert. I'm just lost."

"Oh," the girl sounded. "So...just the desert? Are you a spirit or something?" 

"No," Daniel said. "At least, I don't think so." He tore another piece of bread off. The girl stared at him intently.

"Uh...who are you?" he asked uncomfortably after a moment. 

"Oh, sorry. Rude of me not to introduce myself. My name's Alieas. I'm just here for a bit of socializing tonight, before I have to go to those boring old ruins tomorrow."

"Ruins?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, my parents are archeologists and they travel around, looking at these old ruins. I have to go with them, of course, since I'm not of age. It's really very dull."  

"Oh." Daniel said. "Sounds kind of cool." 

"Not really," she said, and then snapped her fingers. "Oh, I know! We're actually here to investigate some desert ruins tomorrow, you should come with us! You seem like a fun guy to hang out with." 

"You think so?"

"I know so!" she said. "So, its settled then? Tomorrow, just leave the village, look for the archeological expedition, it's just outside of town. I know my parents would love to have you along!" 

"You sure about that?"

"I'll tell them, of course. They'll be interested in meeting you." She smiled. 

At that moment, the innkeeper returned, and smacked Retin with a broom. "What are you doing out here? Get in the kitchen, there are dishes waiting!" 

"Yes, Grandmother, sorry!" he gabbled, and took off, running to the kitchen. 

"I apologize for him," the woman said, picking up Daniel's bowl. "He's a good boy, but lazy sometimes and he annoys the other guests." 

"It's fine," Alieas said, waving her hand airily. "He's good company." The woman nodded absentmindedly. 

"Yes, yes. Now, then. Are you ready for me to show you to your room?" The question was directed to Daniel.

"Yeah. I'm beat."

"Right then. I'll see you tomorrow." Alieas waved, as Daniel stood. She had already turned her attention to some other person, sitting in the table and had struck up a conversation with the boisterous men from the other table.

He followed the woman down the hallway to a very clean room, though somewhat sparsely furnished - a simple bed, low to the ground, a desk and a chair. Nothing else. 

"If you need to wash, the baths are right through there," she pointed. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Um, no. I think I'm good but thank you." 

The woman nodded. "We serve the morning meal starting at six." 

 She closed the door, leaving him alone. He knew he probably needed to at least try and wash - three days of wandering in the desert had left him feeling fairly disgusting but he didn't move for a while. He lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a long time and before he realized it, he had fallen asleep.

He was home again, in his comfortable mess of a bedroom. A stack of homework stood precariously on his desk, dirty clothes spilled out all over the floor. But something was wrong. He tried to put a finger on it, but nothing came.

"Hello?" he stepped out into the hallway and into the living room. "Anyone home?" 

Nobody was there. He felt a prickle of fear. There should be somebody. His siblings. His parents. Anyone. 

The pendent felt warm against his skin. He studied it, wondering where it had come from. He stepped outside. There was nobody around. No cars, no people. And the silence. No birds sang, no wind whistled in the grass. It was as though the whole world had gone mute. 

The dread began to increase. 

He stepped into the street - just plain, quiet suburbia, nothing special. And then he saw it. Darkness. A vast wave of it, rose high, higher than the sky, covering everything, sweeping forward. He stumbled backwards.

"No..." he whispered. "No." 

And then for the first time, he saw somebody else besides him standing there, a boy with medium length black hair, and eyes. He turned to look at Daniel. 

"Owen?" he whispered hoarsely, wondering how he knew that name. Some distant memory stirred in the back of his mind. He and Owen had been friends, he was pretty sure. 

"Well, guess this is it, huh?" Owen asked. "End of the world and all that. Any regrets before we all die?" 

"I..." he said. 

The darkness drew closer. "This is a dream, isn't it?" 

"No dream, dude. I don't know what you did, but I don't think you did a very good job." 

"What I did?" Daniel asked. Owen didn't seem to be paying much attention. His gaze was focused on the imminent destruction of the world. 

The Darkness reached the town buildings. As it touched him, Daniel noticed that the details began to wash out of them, leaving behind what looked like wireframe sketches before they too dissolved.

"Well, good luck, buddy. See you on the other side, I guess. If there is a other side." He laughed. 

The massive wave of nothingness loomed right above their heads now. The light from the pendent began to glow fiercely, a bubble of light formed around Daniel. 

And then it crashed down. Everything vanished. 

And for a little while, Daniel floated in emptiness, dimly aware of himself. The world was gone, surrounded by a bubble of strange copper light. And then he fell, though he strangely felt no fear. Comets and stars blazed around him, suns burned bright, planets tilted slowly in the never-ending night. 

And then he saw the world and knew, somehow, that was his destination as he drew closer and closer...

He woke up, panting and drenched in sweat. 

What was that? My memories?

He swung his legs over the bed and stepped into the washroom, splashing some water over his face, thinking back over the dream.

"So am I dead, then? If the world ended then..." he didn't feel particularly dead. Nothing about this world suggested he was dead. He picked up a towel and dried his face, staring at his skin. He stopped.

"It just doesn't make any sense," he said aloud. "If the world ended, then I shouldn't be here. I'm pretty sure this isn't the afterlife. I hope it isn't the afterlife..." 

He pulled the pendent out and studied it. "It's connected." He decided. "Somehow, in a way I don't understand. But I'm going to figure it out." 

And with that thought, he headed back to the bedroom and fell asleep.

A Post?! What Madness Is This! (Also: A Chapter for Your Amusement)

Yes, I am once again making a post on the blog. It's been a while, a few months, and I think its overdue. I've been keeping myself busy, focusing on writing more and better. In particular, I keep working on one project that I can't seem to get any headway on. I suppose I should give a little backstory about this project. It's (very, very, very) loosely inspired by a project I made when I was fourteen - my first ever attempt at a novel, in the old days when I had developed an obsession with Ancient Egypt, and just dropped some kid in ancient Egypt, loaded him up with magic items and then watched what happened.

Looking back at it, it's honestly quite terrible (though its 126 pages long - I was very determined.). The concept of some guy just appearing in another world and then going on an adventure was one that stuck with me, however. The idea morphed into another project (which I still haven't finished, and which got all the way to 120k words or thereabouts), before coming back home to its desert roots. However, here is where I am stuck. In the first iteration I was playing with, I made it all the way to Chapter Four before I finally called it quits and decided it wasn't working.

This version wasn't really based on Egypt, so much as a desert and then a big, exotic setting that was going to have lots of different scenery and setpieces. I gave up on that one around Ch. 4, after writing myself in a roadblock and then tried again. And again. And again. And no matter what I did, this time I couldn't make it past Ch. 2.  I even brought back the Egypt them, though I changed into a Techno-Egypt-Steampunk-Magic remix, which was my base.

Then, today, I re-read what I wrote last month. And its actually not terrible, at least I don't think so and I wonder why the hell I abandoned it so quickly. But I thought I would request feedback. Thus, today, tomorrow and Friday I shall post one of the finished three chapters for this story. Provide feedback if you wish. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter One

Daniel got slowly to his feet, blinking in the harsh desert sunlight and wondering how he had gotten there. He tried thinking back, but he drew a blank. He couldn't remember where he was from, how he had gotten here or much of anything else for that matter. He took stock, struggling to remember.

"I am Daniel Stevenson," he said slowly, hoping that it might trigger something. "I am seventeen years old." Nothing. He was still drawing a blank. He looked around. He was standing on a relatively flat stretch of stone, mixed with dry, tangled scrub here and there. The sky was a washed out cloudless blue, the sun bright and merciless above. He'd only been here a few minutes but already sand had gotten into his clothes and hair, irritating his skin and eyes. 

A dead tree stood to his right, a bird glared at him. It was a curious looking creature, with four eyes, and silvery wings that looked almost like razor blades. He took a few steps backwards. 

"Probably wise," said a voice. "The Krajit is a nasty predator. That's a small one though. It might maim you if you get too close - they're quite territorial. It's the larger ones that develop the taste for human flesh. I don't think we need it around while we talk." 

Daniel spun around. A man stood before him, dressed in a plain dun-colored robe and carrying a long wooden staff. He was neither old nor young, with close-cropped black hair and stormy gray eyes. He tapped his staff on the ground. The bird ruffled its feathers and flew off, disappearing into the sky.

"Wha...? Who are you?"

"Hmm? I am but a humble servant of the Light. You may call me Amar. Yes, that will do, I think. But who are you? That is the far more interesting question."

"My name is Daniel Stevenson," he stammered. "I'm seventeen. That's all I remember. Where are we? What is this place?"

"We appear to be in the middle of the desert," Amar said. "Though I suppose if you want specifics, then we're in the ancient realm of Traok." 

"The Battlefield?" Daniel asked, then blinked. "Wait - how did I know that?" 

"You speak the language of course. That wonderful pendent around your neck gives you that ability." 

Daniel glanced down, realizing for the first time that he did, in fact, have a pendent around his neck, a very plain amulet of what looked to be beaten copper, carved into a strange device. He reached up, around his neck and discovered that it was fused to his skin. Amar was watching him.

"Mar Koru," he said, translating the rune on his neck. "The Order of Light."

"Yes," Amar agreed. "You're a member now. The last member in fact. The pendent grants you unique abilities and as you proceed, you will no doubt uncover more of them." 

"As I proceed?"

"On your quest, of course. Traok is a dangerous, beautiful place and its name is an apt one - this is where the great battle between the Transcendent Gods takes place." 

"The what Gods?"

"Not important right now." Amar waved his hand. "Point being that you serve the Light now. You're here and you wouldn't be here unless there was some great need. You are the only person who can do this task - whatever it is." 

"What is it?" he said. "I mean..."

"That, unfortunately, is hidden from me." 

"So you just expect me to wander aimlessly until I find this...whatever it is I'm supposed to do?"

"Something like that. You'll stumble into it sooner or later."

"And you can't just give me my memories back." 

"I don't have your memories to return. Perhaps you'll find them questing, or possibly a way back home. You're not from this world after all." 

"I guessed that, funnily enough. And you can't send me back, I'm guessing?"

"Also beyond my power. You're here now, Lord of Mar Koru. By the by, I'd keep that pendent hidden. There are an uncomfortable amount of people who know what that pendent entails and most of them will be interested in seeing your head on a plate." 

"Um, thanks for the advice." He picked up the pendent and lay it in his hand, studying it for a moment before tucking it underneath his T-shirt.

"Well, I think there is but one thing left to do here before I depart. You're several days travel from any sign of civilization and of course, it wouldn't do to leave you stranded out here. He tapped his staff, on the ground. The dust swirled around it, forming into a plain gray-white satchel. He picked it up and handed it to Daniel, who took it bemused.

"You'll find some food in there - enough to get you to town if you're careful. There's also a bedroll, a canteen full of water, and some money to get you started." 

"You're not coming with me?"

"I have business elsewhere, my dear boy. I came to see you off on your adventure and so I have. I've but one last thing."

 He lifted his staff and pointed westwards, across the rocks and barren landscape. 

"Civilization is that way, three days march as memory serves. Nothing too memorable - just a simple little village but from there, you will find things will start to get interesting. Good luck. Be careful of trusting people, I think we will see each other again. Goodbye!" 

"Wait - no!" Daniel stepped forward, just as Amar vanished entirely. He was completely by himself in the middle of a desert, holding a satchel filled with limited supplies. 

"Great," he kicked a rock. It bounced several feet away. "Just great. I'm stranded out here in the middle of nowhere, no memories and a pendent that will make people want to kill me. What am I supposed to do now?" 

But he already knew the answer to that question, he supposed. His memory wasn't going to return, and he definitely wasn't going to get himself home just by standing around in the desert. He threw the satchel over one shoulder, and started to walk in the direction Amar had pointed. 

Two hours later, he was sore all over, exhausted, and panting from the scorching heat. He stopped, finding what feeble shade he could underneath some rocks and took another swallow of water from the canteen. A stab of anxiety overtook him - what happened whenever his water run out? He was in the desert, after all. Water wasn't exactly a common sight. 

But there was no help for it. After a while, he forced himself to keep going, stumbling several more miles as the sun slowly sank below the horizon. Darkness fell, he settled in for the night, pulling out some of the rations Amar had provided, which turned out to be flat, tasteless bread that looked like it had never heard of - nor ever would hear of - an expiration date. He ate some of it and lay flat on his back, studying the night sky. 

It was breathtaking. Two enormous moons dominated the sky - one a pale green, the other a darker blue. And the stars - millions of them, filling the sky in great clouds. He thought he could even see the swirling nebula amidst the stars. 

"It's beautiful," he said aloud. "But - so strange." He knew, studying the sky, that this wasn't what the sky at home looked like. Different constellations. Too many moons. As he studied the stars, he heard things, snarling predators. He thought back to what Amar had said about the Krajit and shivered, wondering what other nasty things waited in the night. 

He slept fitfully, and in the morning felt rather the worse for wear. 

I've got to get out of here, he thought. The sooner I can find this village or whatever, the better.

He took off again, stumbling through the wilderness. The second day walking was even worse, whatever sort of life he led before coming out here walking was clearly not a very large part of it. He was out of breath, his legs hurt, he was soaked with sweat. 

Around midday, he stumbled upon a stream and some actual greenery amidst all the red and the sand. He eagerly filled his canteen, drinking thirstily and stayed there for several hours before falling on the hard ground, staring up at the bright sky. He pulled the pendent out from under his shirt, studying it. 

Mar Koru, he thought. The Order of Light. I was drafted into some sort of crazy secret society.

The thought was just bizarre. After a short while, he put it up and continued the march, going for a few more hours before stopping for another rest and a bite to eat. The sun set, he pulled out the bedroll, crawled into it and tried to fall asleep. Unfortunately, it was just like the last night: he heard noises all throughout the desert, nasty unpleasant things. 

It happened towards the end of the night, the sun was a pale promise on the horizon. A thing lunged at him, a shape still hidden in the darkness. He rolled aside, scrambling out from under the blankets, panicking. He had no weapons. No means of defense. Nothing to protect himself with. 

Another snarl. The creature lunged forward, this time he got a better look at it - it was a large lizard-like creature, about the size of a wolf, its back covered in long plated quills, rather like a porcupine. Razor sharp teeth gleamed out of the darkness. His heart was in his throat - he'd made it two days and now he was going to die, in a strange world with no memories. 

He backed up.

"Nice...whatever you are. I don't want to hurt you. But oh man - you want to kill me." He was aware of how stupid he sounded, standing out here, talking into a predator lizard plainly interested in eating him. The pendent suddenly flared white-hot against his chest. 

He hastily pulled it out, it began to glow with a bronze colored light, which slowly began to expand into a bubble surrounding him. The creature growled, lunged, but it couldn't break the shield. It snarled at him, backed off and vanished into the darkness. The bubble vanished, the pendent went dark and cold. 

Daniel let out a long breath, studying the pendent for a moment and tucked it underneath his shirt before staring up at the sky. 

"That was way too close," he said aloud. 

He began walking soon afterwards, thinking vaguely that he might get some traveling done while it was still cool and comfortable outside. He stumbled upon another stream, drank and ate some more of the food in the satchel, noting anxiously that it was starting to run low - maybe half a day's worth and then it was all gone. 

The day wore on, the sun rising higher and higher into the sky. He took several breaks, hot and tired and aching more than he could ever remember before. 

But he was rewarded. Towards the end of the day, he saw lights in the distance and the dim outlines of buildings. 

That must be the village, he thought. I made it.

Big Hero 6: A Review

Big Hero 6: A Review

Today, I decided to treat myself and took off to see Big Hero 6 at the local theater. And it was alright - decent action, gorgeous animation and creative character designs - Baymax was fun to watch and the villain did look scary, with that creepy mask and an army of nanobots under his command.

However, the film had its drawbacks and unfortunately, I feel that they're kind of big drawbacks: a lackluster script and underdeveloped characters. A lot of things happen in the first third that feel really forced - there 's no buildup to a lot of stuff that happens and, to me, it felt kind of phoned in. Also, I was struggling to make sense of the timeline (but I'll get to that.)

Take, for example, the opening scenes of the film, our character establishing moment: Hiro, our central lead, is in a bot-fighting competition, waging money and winning robot fights. He, of course, has a robot that doesn't look like it's going to win - a David vs. Goliath if you will. But of course the robot is tiny and harmless, but actually extremely lethal and destroys the other bot, which angers the guy on the other end of the arena. 

It looks like he's about to get his butt kicked, when his brother comes in, saves him and they both get arrested and thrown in jail for the night and saved by their aunt (because, in true Disney fashion, their parents are dead. I say to myself : 'Aha, so this is going to be a Spiderman-type story where he loses his brother and learns responsibility or something.' Nope. An interesting story arc that could have spanned the course of the movie was instead resolved in about ten minutes, with his brother convincing him to ditch the illegal underground world of bot-fighting and go to college (because this super-genius kid graduated high school when he was 13.). 

So, to get into college he has to impress this professor, which he does with these microbots he builds because now he's all responsible and stuff. And then he gets two offers: one to sell the bots to a corporation for a lot of money or go to school and develop them further. A clear choice between right and wrong - maybe he'll take the wrong path? Nope. He chooses the school and the corporate executive seems to threaten him. (Which, as it turns out, was nothing more than a red herring - said executive turned to actually be a reasonable authority figure. Literally the only reason he said that line was to provide a red herring for the villain).

So they go off to celebrate - and the building is on fire despite the fact they were out of it for literally less than a minute. This goes back to the movie's very odd sense of time, but we'll get to that. So his brother goes in to save people, gets killed - and yeah. Hiro doesn't really have an arc after that. He grieves for his brother, discovers the supervillain threat (who is using these microbots that he invented), and from there character development is pretty much pushed aside to make room for the superheroics and the plot takes center stage.

To the movie's credit, however, Hiro in the later portions of the movie is blinded by rage at how callous the villain was (No, I won't say who, but his motivation felt weak and involved a random piece thrown into the third act with no mention or buildup in advance) and tries to have him killed, only to be calmed down later. It's only for a scene or two, however, and feels tacked on. Nonetheless, it's still an effective scene. 

The side characters are, well, underdeveloped. You have OCD Nerd, Nice Girl Nerd, Rebellious Punk Girl Nerd and Rich Slacker Nerd. That's...really all the personality and development that they get. They're touted regularly as Hiro's friends, but he barely knows these people - he meets them in the first third, and doesn't spend a lot of time with them. He doesn't know them, and neither do we. They have no backstories (well, I shouldn't say that. Slacker Nerd is established as being extremely rich, but that's about it). We don't learn about them beyond their character design (for the females) or their singular quirk and character design (for the males.). 

The villain, as I stated earlier, has a cool, menacing design but a weak backstory. He effectively was involved in some sort of research project for an unrelated bit of tech (basically: Stargates) that's never mentioned in the story until the last third. Basically, the experiment went wrong, he lost a loved one and now he wants revenge on this corporate executive. My major questions were, effectively, how long ago did this happen (going by the site of this experiment, it looks like a while) and why is he waiting until now to take his revenge? 

What was stopping him before? Was he just too lazy to invent the microbots himself? And the fire. Why did he decide to set the entire robotics building on fire? Wouldn't it have made more sense to steal just a few microbots to study so you could duplicate them yourself? And then maybe have a mole in the school to keep stealing more bots as Hiro makes improvements and the villain wrecks havoc? That would have allowed for actual character growth among all of our leads and more chances for them to actually interact with each other.

And that brings me at long last to the time scale of this movie. This is something that continues to bug me. At one point , Baymax contacts his friends to cheer Hiro up. Hiro, in the meantime, decides that he needs to take action against the villain. So he naturally builds Baymax an entire suit of armor, programs a new computer chip to teach him karate, take him out to the docks, find the supervillain - and then his friends arrive to Baymax's summons. (How they knew he was at the docks, I'll never know.). Did they just...stand around for a long time before going? Are they aware they're in a movie and waiting for the end of the montage?

Or did Hiro really just program a chip, build a suit of armor and engage a supervillain in the space of only a few minutes in-universe? Similarly, he has Tony Stark levels of tech in his basement. Why and how? He's established as being middle class, and I can't imagine the school would allow that kind of tech to be taken from their campus.

All in all, however, I think I would say I'd check it out once - it's a fun superhero romp. Fantastic animation, like what I'd expect from Disney, fun character designs but weak writing and flat characters don't really make this all that memorable of a flick. It's definitely more of a rental instead of an outright purchase.

Final rating: 6.5/10.

Stuff, Things and a Chapter!

I was digging around on the Documents on my computer and I found this sitting there. I don't recall writing it, but I continue to go back and look on old ideas and stuff, and continue to surprise myself. I particularly like the mysterious fortune teller woman and I like the setup for the overall plot.

Chapter One

Traios headed down the broad street, whistling absently, weaving his way through the crowds of people and paying them no mind. Passing a fruit stand, he flipped a copper coin in the merchant’s hand and grabbed a piece of fruit, continuing on his way. Tall buildings of brown stone rose high above his head, in the distance he could see the edges of the enormous church that dominated the town and beside it, the somewhat less impressive houses of government. 

He turned down a side street, looking for a particular house. Overhead, the sun was setting and the tall lights began to flicker on, one by one. 

He rapped at the door and a man answered, looking at him warily.

“Yes? What do you want?”

“Greetings. I’m Traios and, ah, I was told to come here and wait.” The man surveyed him skeptically – Traios was painfully aware that he didn’t look like much: he was still young – barely twenty – with a mess of dark hair and eyes, in somewhat frayed clothing worn from long travel. 

“Wait here.” 

            The man disappeared and the door shut again. Traios let out a long breath of annoyance, prowling the narrow alleyway. Well. At least it was clean. A brown and white cat eyed him, before prowling away up the street and out of sight. The door swung open again and the man reemerged. 

“You’re clear. Come on in.” 

He entered into a wide room with a wooden floor and golden lights placed at intervals alongside the walls. It was sparsely furnished, paintings of landscapes hung on the walls. A woman floated in the middle of the room, her eyes closed. 

“Traios, of the Akuar,” she murmured. “I saw you knock at my door twenty years ago. I know what it is you seek.” 

“I…uh, I thought you would,” Traios said. “My father said you were good at predicting the future.”

“Your father is a fine man and I was pleased to know him,” the woman opened her eyes and gently lowered herself to the ground. “However, what you seek is likely to get you slain.”

“I have to do it,” Traios replied. 

“I knew you would say that too,” the woman said simply. “Come.” She left the empty room behind, for another one. Like before, it was spartanly furnished, with a severe looking desk, clear of clutter but for a small bedraggled journal. She pressed it into his hands.

“This is what you’re looking for, I think,” she said. “I went to great lengths to recover that in time for your visit, you know.” 

“This is the journal of the last expedition?” Traios’s eyes went wide. “How did you get this?” 

“A tradeswoman never reveals her secrets,” the woman said, sitting down. “So. Have a look through it, why don’t you?” Traios obeyed while she watched, his heart beating faster and faster in his chest.

“June 17^th. We have found the remains of the old city. Not much to see here – lots of sand, some old foundations. Nothing meaningful. We will keep looking, however. Jules insists that the secret is here somewhere. So much for gods!”

“June 24^th. Digging has turned up an interesting temple – partly preserved. We’ve found corpses buried inside – they were mummified, presumably from the heat. Unpleasant business, this. We will continue to press on with the excavation.”

“June 26^th. Jules has uncovered a simply enormous door of gold and written in the language of the people of the land – or, an older form thereof. The best we can decipher is this the remains of the Great Temple and the gods dwelled here. Beyond these doors are the entrance to their realm and under no circumstances should mortals attempt to open it. Pah on that I say! I care not for silly superstitions.” 

The journal ended there. Traios finished it, feeling odd. The woman watched him, apparently wanting to see the expression on his face. 

“Well?” she asked. 

“I – I don’t know what to think,” he said. “Do you if I’ll succeed or not?” she smiled at him gently.

“Yes. But I can’t tell you that,” she said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned is that people can’t get caught up in worrying about the future. Then the future doesn’t happen. No, best if you don’t know your own fate.” 

“Okay, so do you know where I should start with planning on this expedition?” the woman considered for a moment.

“You should consult Dr. Halucros, over in Hacel. He’s an expert on the writings of the ancients and might be able to pull a team together.”

“I don’t have any money, though,” Traios said. “Well – okay, a little. But not enough to fund something on this scale.”

“That’s your problem, my dear,” the woman said. She had now taken out a long pipe and begun to smoke it. Red, blue and green smoke puffed out of the end. “I’ve done my part for you – largely for the great friendship I share with your father, but all the same you should be grateful.”

“Oh, I am. You have no idea,” Traios said, rising. “Thank you for all of your help.” He turned, ready to leave. The woman smiled thinly. 

“One last thing,” she called. Traios turned, surprised.

“Good luck on your quest.”

Villain Backstory

So, I decided to actually post and share a little something I worked on for a project I've started (yes, another one.). This was the backstory for one of the villains for this story and I really liked how it turned out. Lemme know what you think.

Ansed Hoharas Manivel Teziord Malthuas, is the Crown Prince of Caeruland, Heir to the Choice of Fate. 

Morbid in his youth, he took an interest in tragedies and death customs, often spending a great deal of time reading on his book. However, his parents gently attempted to put their son on a path to becoming a good monarch, schooling him in useful subjects that he nevertheless cared all that much for. He eventually took to wearing somber clothing and became known for cheerfully discussing morbid facts about tragedies and death to the nobles - which was interpreted on more than one occasion as a threat that his parents were forced to defuse. They ultimately attributed his morbidness to a phase and agreed to let him continue read about the lost wars and the deaths and the gruesome details of the ancient sacrifices and cultures, provided he kept it to himself. He reluctantly agreed to this, recognizing that as a royal he must be prepared to don a mask. 

His relationship with his parents was an odd one - though they loved one another, he nevertheless kept his distance from them, preferring solitude and the company of his horse, Swiftmane. His parents, in turn, ultimately took a hands off approach with their only child, fearing that they didn’t know him anymore. On his seventeenth birthday, he received a book from the newly appointed court philosopher, Vel Segeras, from Auferag, regarding a powerful and once widely coveted relic, called the Scepter of Dominion, an item left from the lost time, when the angels roamed the earth. Though the book was largely a theoretical book and contained no knowledge of how to find the scepter, his imagination was sparked.

In Vel Segeras, he found the closest thing he had to a friend, confiding his interest in finding the scepter. And Vel Segeras helped the boy find what he sought, sparking his imagination on what the scepter could do, its long, storied and twisted history in the hands of man. He encouraged him to act upon his interests, shape the histories - for Vel Segeras led him to believe that he was invincible and in the manner of youth, Ansed believed him.

And on one night, Ansed departed for the Lost Tomb, said to be the resting place of one of the mighty Archangels. He descended into it, and survived the traps, for the first time finding the combat training required thanks to his royal blood useful and pried the scepter from the bones of the angel. And as he did so, a terrible curse fell upon him and he soon discovered that he could no longer tell any sort of lie and what was more, he must always tell the complete truth if asked. And, both terrible and useful, he could tell if someone lied in his presence, either to him or to another.

Hiding the scepter was impossible. For his parents discovered his absence in the night and demanded to know what he had done. And he confessed all unwillingly. They were horrified, demanding that Vel Segeras come forward to answer to this blasphemy. And Vel Segeras answered, allowing himself to be chained and held in the dungeon to await trial. Ansed despaired at this. His life shattered around him, as he realized just how much everyone around him lied to his face, to each other. He could no longer hide behind a royal mask and pretend to be someone else, now all would see him as he truly was and he in turn saw the petty cruelties and misery that made up the palace life. As for the Scepter itself, it remained inert for he had no great skill at magic. All of its fabled powers for naught, and yet he was the only person who could pick it up. All others who tried were scarred with burns that would not heal. 

But the damage had been done, for word soon spread that Ansed had been cursed. And many nobles approached the Crown Prince, asking for answers. Word spread swiftly among the nations that the Scepter had been found again, and the clouds of war loomed for both West and East claimed that the angels had left the Scepter for them, thus forming the Alliance and the Coalition. And even among the nobility and the nations of the Alliance, united behind Caeruland lusted for the scepter and the untold powers that the legends claimed. 

Thus an assassin arrived in the castle, intending to slay Ansed and take the scepter. He slew the guards and entered Ansed’s chambers, but the King, by stroke of luck, was passing on his way to bed and stopped the assassin, fighting him in a swift, but terrible struggle. The assassin was slain but not before the King received a fatal wound from a poisoned dagger. and Ansed cradled his dying father in his arms, who told him to be strong and that he loved him - his last words the only true thing that Ansed had heard since receiving the curse. He stayed a long while in the chambers grieving, until Vel Segeras approached, finally having left the dungeons and revealing himself as a powerful Wizard. 

He proposed to Ansed to find the three pieces of the Scroll of Fate and Death, the mightiest of artifacts left by the angels, a relic that when read would cause the Apocalypse, allowing for a fresh start. The scepter would allow them to find the missing pieces. Grieving over the loss of his father, Ansed agreed and allowed himself to be led away, to a hidden location where Vel Segeras’s drake waited. 

It was a short time later - a matter of days - for action to be taken on the death of the King. The Alliance blamed the Coalition, declaring war and preparing to invade. The Coalition denied involvement, and immediately embarked on an aggressive course of action before the Alliance could marshal its forces, declaring to avenge the insult and to reclaim what was rightfully theirs - the Scepter. They invaded Caeruland, marching on the capital city, even as the Alliance marshaled their troops and rushed to defend it. The battle lasted for the days, the city was destroyed and most of its inhabitants fled or slain. War had begun. 

Seeing what his actions had wrought, Ansed’s spirit finally broke. Gone was the cheerfully morbid boy. Instead was a gloomy young man who took comfort in nothing, who no longer knew joy, only pain and misery. He aided Vel Segeras because he felt there was nothing left for him, nothing at all. His actions had caused untold destruction and countless deaths, and his hands were bloodied. As for Vel Segeras, he discovered that he had befriended a madman, but strangely a madman who did care about him, for not even the most powerful of Wizards could lie to him. 

He learned a little magic, enough to use the scepter to track the scroll fragments and became deadly with a sword, serving as Vel Segeras’s bodyguard, on top of his pupil. But even with the scepter, they were not easy to find or get to. It took a full three years to find the first piece, all the while the war raged on in the background. Ansed came to share his mentor’s beliefs that the only true way out was a fresh start - and that meant ending everything else…