Friday, October 31, 2008

Canto VI

Canto VI

A message was sent across the land and all of Carolman did hear.
The elders had called for the protection of what the people held most dear.
They commanded all foreigners to leave, and with the last boat on the waves,
They called upon the old magic once more and brought forth their ancient staves.
And with a mighty incantation, they created a thing of great wonder,
Out of the blue abysmal sea there arose a sound like that of thunder,
From the depths of the ocean floor, there came forth at the sorcerer’s call,
A glorious and magnificent barrier, what would be called the Great White Wall
It was higher than any mountain, and hid all of Carolman behind its veil,
It was thicker than any castle, and could withstand attacks without fail,
The wall was the greatest of its kind, in both the northern and southern lands,
And was magically protected because it hadn’t been built by human hands.
But the one shame of the great wall was the reason behind its construction.
For the sole reason for erecting the veil was for the young love’s destruction,
On the side of the sea and the lands of man, Brandur stood on his ship.
While Perlise was trapped behind the wall, firmly in her father’s grip.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Canto V

Canto V

The moon shone bright upon the mound of the father of Perlise the fair,
And the starlight gleamed and softly cooled her skin and bright soft hair,
And there in her bower of roses so white, she seemed to be Luna herself,
Or maybe some eternal queen of the night, or a lovely woodland elf.
To the heart of Brandur the Duke, there was none who could rival her eyes,
And they sat there simply gazing in each other’s and giving many soft sighs,
And in those precious hours, they silently bound their hearts as one,
But they’re love was very ill fated, for it would wither come the sun.
The next morn as her father beheld her, he saw the love in her eyes and face,
And immediately identifying the Duke, he sought advice from the elders with haste.
They hurried to the father’s house, and there they found Perlise still sighing,
And after many questions and threats she told them the truth wilts she was crying.
The sorcerers gasped in horror, when they heard the terrible truth,
For they saw in her eyes and her baring that this was no mere folly of youth,
And they knew the fate of Duke was one immeasurably bound by sorrow,
Therefore they decided to make ready a plan, to separate them by the morrow.

the dress up party

Not a haloween party, or a harvest party just a party to dress up in old time fasions and remember the past while having fun at how silly people have been in the past and present.

Date: Nov. 1st 2008
Time: 8:00pm-11:00pm
Place: The Sovereign's House
401 Cherry Ave.
Oregon City, OR
What to Wear: Clothing from a decade
What to Bring: Any props that your costume would need (maybe favorite boardgame)
Cost: $5 to help pay for food/decor/prizes


That is for anyone (;)) that may habe needed the info for the party but didn't have facebook.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Historicae Elvenas Northam

Historicae Elvenas Northam

During the early years of the world, when the ground was still sweet and the air still soft, there was a stirring in the Northern Lands. In the sacred grove where the lights of the north spring forth every eve, a crack had formed in the ground. And from this crack a spring leapt forth gushing and gurgling pure. And the light of the heavens and the waters of the deep came together and the breath of heaven blew upon them and churned them and the first Elvenkind began to swim in the pool.

The first elves were Calab and Genevi. They swam in the cool waters of the pool, their glowing white hair and their shining copper skin reflecting and casting light throughout. And from the light the walls began to glow with shining shells and animals as the pair churned the waters with their swimming. And soon there were more elves in the waters of the pool.

For three generations the elves simply lived contently, swimming in the pool of the sacred glade, forever contented by basking in the lights of the northern sky and living off the lights of the stars, multiplying in number daily. But then the day of the great error came. A young elf named Natenil waded closer and closer to the shores of the pool, and then finally pulled himself out of the water and into the strong sunlight.

Natenil was soon standing and then walking as he grew stronger and stronger thanks to the light of the sun and moon. All the elves marveled that such a thing could be done and soon more and more left their home of the sacred pool and went upon the dry lands. But being naturally water beings, the elves were perpetually thirsting for water. Yet they found none as sweet as that of the sacred pool.

The elves had learned in their home beneath the pool, that they could drink the light of the stars, the sun, and the moon, into their skin and hair. Then as they moved the light would flow back out of them into the world. They had learned how to prevent the flow of light and hold it in until they wished to release it. They had also discovered how to release light from only one part of the body such as their fingers or eyes.

They soon witnessed the mighty battles fought by the Centilhim and the Necrant and wishing to aid the side that protected the lights of the heavens, the elves’ one and only source of power, they began using their abilities of creating light to aid the Centilhim. They first crafted simple stones that they would direct their light into, then they began to harness the power of the moonlight directly into the stones themselves.

The sacred pool flowed down in a rushing river to the sea. And there upon the Bay of Coral, they built a magnificent city out of Moonstones. And the city shone night and day with the pale, dull light. And so all the elves began to grow in great number, making small homes around the city. Then the day of the first destruction came.

The wyrms, though repelled by the light of the stones, longed all the more to destroy the city and the Elvenkind. And so there was an attack launched upon the Great City of Moonstone. And the wyrms raised the city to the ground. All within were killed except for the high engineer’s three sons. They led the survivors onto the grassy steppes and founded the Southwestern canyon city of Messas, the Northwestern cliff city of Incaza, and the Eastern city of Genoeva. Genoeva was hidden upon a mountain surrounded on all sides by rivers, hedges of evergreen trees, and streams of fire that flowed from the heart of the earth.

And after thirty years of prosperity the wyrms once again attacked the land of the Elvenkind. The city of Incaza was completely destroyed, the remnants falling to the river below the cliffs. The city of Messas was partially destroyed and evacuated, the refugees fleeing to Genoeva. The last city of the Elvenkind was attacked, but the wyrms could not draw near. The waters of the rivers raised a curtain of mists, the streams of fire a veil of smoke, and so the wyrms could not draw near the magically protected lands of the last Elvenkind stronghold.

After these things, the elves began to build homes to live in on the wide grassy steppes of the northern lands. Soon the homes became villages, the villages became towns, and the towns became small cities. The elves built magnificent structures out of pearl and shell and white stone from beneath the riverbeds, always along the river routes, the streams serving as the roads of the cities. But there was always fear of the wyrms attacking once again and the memory of Genoeva grew dim in the minds of the younger generations. Then the brilliant engineer, Rogary the Illuminated, descendant from the founder of Messas invented the crystals of light.

Rogary the Illuminated crafted light stones out of crystals, who because of their structure and special qualities could enhance and focus the light into more powerful beams and illuminate greater areas. The Sun Crystals soon replaced all the Moonstones, and they proved to be of greater value still for the Void and its corrupted hordes could not draw near the light of the crystals.

Rogary also found that the greater light crystals were those who were purer. Soon the hunt for the Sun Crystals had begun and large Elvenkind mining expeditions and colonies were formed. They worked across the world but the stones and crystals were far and few to be found, veins only producing five to ten crystals each. Finally Rogary, under the direction of Natenil and his son, found a way of extracting impurities from the normal crystals they had to make artificial Sun Crystals.

The process has been lost to time, but it involved extracting the dark impurities that had seeped into the crystals from the Void itself, and transferring it through an elven to another crystal. Rogary and his four sons were the transferors and all the darkness was directed to a single crystal. But the process, while creating the best Sun Crystals in existence, also created the crystal of darkness and corrupted the engineer and his four sons, who became known as the Demented. This was the greatest shame of the history of the elves.

The Demented in crazed fervor attacked the city of Genoeva with shards of the dark crystal, driven by the Void and the wyrms of darkness. They were stopped by the trees, whose mystical barrier prevented the Demented from entering. They were driven off by the Centilhim guards and the dark crystal was taken into the deep places of woods, a guard of Immortals placed round about it.

But the Demented were not through and began to seek a way of releasing all Elvenkind from the birthbond, the bond with magic all elves are given at birth. In doing so darkness would be able to take hold and corrupt all the Elvenkind. So the Demented, now known as Yra-gor, Sunavlis, Laavort, and Siflert spread across the world and began seeking the doorways to the spirit world, from which the Necrant and the Centilhim entered the earth.

The Masters of the Elves sent the greatest warrior to stop them, but after his disappearance his young apprentice along with several friends went to stop the unlocking of the doors of the Void. The Elvenkind maid was Madeleine of the Ironsword, who gave her life in order to seal the doors forever and save her master. She is the greatest of the Elvenkind heroes and is remembered eternally in the Annals of the Elves, the Song of the Ironsword, the Temple of Aratta Turas, and her sacred relics which are kept by the Order of the White Blades.

Once the Necrant were hidden and the Centilhim departed or became men of Carolman, the Elvenkind grew and prospered. But the dark crystal was now the last of the doorways to the Void, and the Void began to leak from it. Until one day, an Immortal, standing too close, became sickened by the presence of the Void, fell forward and placed his hand on the crystal. The crystal bound itself to him and then ruptured and covered large sections of the land in darkness and shadow. The once glorious lands of light became known as the Shadelands, and only pockets of light remained. In the shade, abominations grew and thrived, wraiths abounded freely and wyrms grew strong and large. The city of Genoeva was forgotten, remaining the one untouched land of the Elvenkind.

Then the last engineer, a descendant of the founder of Genoeva and of Madeleine and Perrel, refounded the light stones. And synthesizing the Moonstones of old and the remaining Sun Crystals he discovered the true way of growing a light that was incorruptible and unstoppable, the Star Diamonds. He formed the first one and with it led the remaining Elvenkind to a new home beneath the seas.

Some returned briefly, to aid stray pockets of Elvenkind and lead them to the Sea Kingdoms, and some to plant new trees, seeds brought from the protective forest of Genoeva. And so the Elvenkind became the Seafolk and left the forest so that it could spread and grow and retake the lands of Shade. Some remained as new Immortals to guard the dark crystal, so that no one would ever touch it and release it again. Others remained in Genoeva and remained true to the old ways, hidden from the world.

Centuries passed and the Sea Kingdoms grew and prospered. The children of the Elves, the Ghulia, the Woodlings, and the Woad as the wondering Elvenkind who never journeyed to the grassy steppes were called, all prospered and grew. The Ghulia because of their Elvenkind blood grew great and built a mighty empire, trading with the Seafolk and aiding one another. The Woodlings continued on in the secret places of the encircling forest, with the Guardian Elfs. These were the descendants of the only fruitful Elven and Woodling marriage and who guarded the Woodlings. From the Woad came the greatest and worst of the Elvenkind peoples. The Woad who married humans, did not bring forth Ghulia but instead their children became the great human artisans and engineers. The rest of the Woad continued on their way for many generations until the corruption of ice.

The Guards of the Crystal were corrupted after several centuries and became the Sedna. The forest had spread out and the shade was almost completely overcome, when the crystal corrupted them. The Sedna also prospered and grew in their forested home. Then the day of the betrayal of man came about. A human stole a part of the crystal and used it to breech the walls of Carolman. The Sedna knew that the human would be corrupted by the crystal and then would die, killing him and destroying the crystal. But instead one of the last wyrms attacked, driven by the Void, and the crystal shard was thrown into the sea.

A woman was given the crystal and she became the first witch and Headcrone. Working through her, the Circle of witches was crafted by the void, the crystal shard never destroyed as its power was passed from Headcrone to Headcrone. Through her and her decendants many peoples were corrupted by the Void, including the Woad. They were turned from their nomadic ways to become the Ice Elves, their skins darkened by the icey wastes, their hair bleached by the eternal northern sun. They changed further, their nails becoming hooked claws and their teeth long and sharp as they began to eat the flesh of beasts. They were the Ice Elves who bound themselves to the service of the Silver Tower.

After the Great War of the Ice Sheet, some of the Ice Elves returned to the woods as guardians of the Woodlings, while most departed for the Southern Sea Kingdoms. The Sedna continued on their guardianship of the dark crystal, whose power diminished daily as the woods grew and the Void weakened. The Woodlings grew into the Kingdom of Valerian, becoming famous for their mages and magical prowess. The Old Guard, the remnants of the Guardian Elf and the Ice Elves protected the royal family of Holybrush for three centuries until the Kingdom fell to the invading armies of men, who accidentally set the woods on fire, killing many of the Woodlings. The remnants retreated deep into the woods of the world and there their numbers faded.

The Seafolk prospered in the Southern Lands, and mighty kingdoms were built, all under the rule of the Emperor of the Oceans. This was when the Southern Seas of the world was still sweet. The Seafolk grew in power and subjugated many people and the Silver Age of Elvenkind began. This is the history of the Elvenkind in the Northern Lands.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Canto IV

Canto IV

Now after Perlise and Brandur’s return, the men of Carolman rose,
And using the old magics they spoke this curse upon all their foes,
“When the world was firm with courage, and evil’s doom was neigh,
When the sorcerers of Carolman, had caused all the wyrms to die,
When the darkness was destroyed, and the world all filled with light,
In the secret glades of Tara, the woodsmen kept alive the blight,
And from this one small ember, fire shall consume the land,
And from this last abomination, shall all bow to evil’s hand.
And from this last desperate move, things have now been placed into motion,
So men of Tara’s green wooded hills, now pay for your devotion.
And woods as well, you evergreen castles, your part was also seen,
You forest of Tara that aided darkness, and thought yourselves so keen.
The glade and vale, the leafy heights, all of Tara’s trees now listen,
For this curse concerns you as well and with magic you too will glisten.
Man to tree, root to foot, head to bough as well
To each other be now bound, to pay for all your deeds most foul,
From this day forth be ye known as the men of trees, the Dray.
And so shall you and your descendants remain, this curse we now do lay,
But to honor only the great King, in whose service Brandur strove,
By marriage to his sons alone may your daughters leave their groves,
But you, oh man, who served the beast, your fate shall be far worse,
For upon you all of Carolman lay this most powerful curse,
Be now bound, unto your master, just as one of the Dray,
Madness will come on quickly as darkness guides your way.
Where ever you go your presence will cause foul blessings to reign,
And whomever you touch will also be cursed to feel unbearable pain.
Progeny will recall you with much horror and with great infamy,
Because destruction and destruction alone will be your legacy.”

The Seven Sentence Story

The checkerboard cloaked man leapt from the stage and grabbd the hand of a little girl in the still clapping audiance. With a clear voice he announced to the crowd, "Now, for my final trick, I will amaze you like you have never been amazed before!" He turned to the little girl with her shabby torn clothes and dirty face, a sudden wave of sympathy and recollection sweeping through his soul, then leaned closer so only she could hear and whispered. "Little one, I have here in my hand a silver orb, and if you decide to place your hands on it, your life will never be the same again." He saw the same look of fear, uncertanty, and emptiness in her eyes that had been in his own so many years ago. She gulped, reached forward placing her shaking hands on the floating silver orb, and her life was never the same again.

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This is a school assignment that my Intro to Dramatic Lit. teacher had assigned us to do. Basically you try to write a story in seven sentences. What was harder was his seven word story. This was my three for that:

Finally, the last unicorn was now dead.

I got out and saw her there.

At my home the lights were off.

It's actually kinda fun! You guys should try it. Leave any you get in the comment section (and no this is actually NOT a clever ploy to get more comments.) :D

Monday, October 27, 2008

Canto III

Canto III

Among the guest at the sorcerer’s table was from Firplice a young man,
Regal faced, and with hair like sable, he was of the mighty duke’s clan.
And also present was the Great King, Son of Emperors and Queen Alcision,
So the great King turned to the young duke and gave him his commission.
“Make haste now lad, take the fastest rout. For greatness awaits you there,
Across the oceans in Tara’s woods go seek the dragon’s lair.”
And so the youth, in full knight’s dress, upon his steed set forth.
His road was wrought with dangers fierce as he trekked ever north.
And once he reached the wooded glade, he found the wicked place
The cold stone alter, the bones of victims, and there he saw evil’s face,
The dragon came out of the shadow his glorious fury now stirred,
The smoke and the stench of his nostrils made the duke’s vision blurred,
With a mighty breath of brimstone, he blew forth his fire like rain,
But the mighty beast, did not see the sword, until he felt the biting pain.
The ancient beast, roared one last time, poison blood staining the glade,
Then the young duke went in search of Perlise, and finally found the maid.
Freeing her of the woodsman’s bonds, and leading her away from that place,
They journey back across the sea, and returned her to the sorcerer’s face.
And after the two returned to Carolman, that place of mighty grandeur,
All hailed the brave youth’s return, the Duke of Firplice named Brandur.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Tale of Thorbard the Wide Mouthed

While I put the finishing touches on NEW chapter 1, I thought I'd start posting some of my supplimentary material, AKA things which will never be published but that I wrote for my own personal enjoyment, set in this same world of... mmm, have i named the world yet? Well we'll call it Bob for now. Anyway, the following is a legend of the Dainian People from the land of Sylvania. It's written in a diffrent style ( I was writing in the Eddic Poem Style of the Old Norse language, which is why some things are worded weirdly.)

The Tale of Thornbard the Wide Mouthed

There once lived in the Westfjord a man by the name of Thorbald the son of Thorral, the son of Thorbard of the Many Spears. He was married to Asgrid the daughter of Therrod and their lands and farms were greatly blessed and prospered. However even though they lacked not in lands or riches or servants or mares or cattle they could not produce a child. And so when they were both past their prime and still had not a child they went to Thorbald's sister Asira, a Volvasa who lived by the River Markland. She instructed them to wait in hidding by the shore of the great sea, and watch after the moon rise as the watermaids danced. Then after sunrise, they were to run up and find one of the pearls that the maidens dropped, and to bring it to Asira.

They left and did as she told them to do. They waited in concealment by the riverbank and there they saw the moonrise and the watermaids come up out of the cold brimy water. They dropped their sealskins at the shoreline and began to dance in circles around the beach. Their long flowing curly hair came all the way down to their feet and as they danced it swayed behind them like long capes, and from deep within their hair fell the pearls Asira had spoken of. Once morning came they danced back to the shore and into their sealskins and swam away. Thorbald and Asgrid ran up and began trying to collect the pearls, but the tide had come in sudenly and washed them all away. Just as they were about to give up hope Thorbald fell forward and as he rose out of the water he felt something in his mouth. When he spat it out he saw it was one of the pearls. So they returned to Asira.

She bade Asgrid eat the pearl and shortly after that Asgrid gave birth to a son named Thorbard. He was a beautiful boy, silent and observant. When he was eight his father sent him to Therfald Therrodson, his kinsmen as was the custom in those days. There Therfald welcomed him and was greatly pleased by his coming. However he was soon displeased when he found out that Thorbard had no trade by which to make himself worthy. So Therfald took him to a large barn and showed him a large pile of pure white oak, said to be impossible to make a ship out of, and bade him attempt his hand at building ships.

Thorbard took the job, though he had never even seen a ship before and after a forthnight was done. All were amazed at the speed and the craftmanship with which Thorbard had completed his task. The ship was called Wytewake for it was comepletely white and had white linen sails yet no ship could beat it for spead. So Thorbard stayed and built many ships for his kinsmen Therfald. When he was eighteen, Therfald came to him and said that he was now ready to go out into the world and make a name for himself and that he did not doubt that he would be remebered for many great actions.

Thorbard was given the Wytewake and sailed towards the Northfjord, and there he came into the land of King Lokthor. The king bade him turn back to his place of origin becuase he said that his table was already full. Thorbard requested the king try him and see if he be not worthy to be one of the King;'s men. And so the king sent him to the south of the Northfjord where the king's sheep were kept. Every third week of each month, two night trolls would come and sit amidst the flocks and devour many sheep. The king said that if Thorbard could defeat the trolls he could become one of Lokthor's men. So Thorbard departed.

When he had come to the king's grazing lands he was welcomed by the shepherds who were all fearful of the trolls. He stayed there with them until the third week of the month had come. Then he waited until the moon was over head and the night trolls became visible. He strode up to them and immediatly they were taken back by the courage of this man to walk up to them without fear. They asked him why he feared them not and he replied he had heard of them. they asked what he had heard. Thorbard said that he had heard that there were none as fearsome or as evil as them in all the Northfjord. They both replied that it was a good report and asked what else he had heard. He said that he had heard they were also some of the most ancient fiends in all the earth and that surely having been around as long as they had they must know great many secret things.

They responded that this was also a good report and told Thorbard that they were indeed wise. Thorbard then asked the trolls if they would simply answer a single question before they ate him. They responded that it was good that they give such a good news barer an answer before eating him. So Thorbard began his question, but instead of asking one question he kept saying "and" and asking another one so that his many questions were in fact only one. He kept talking for hours until finally he had to take a breath. At this the trolls were confused by the question and so asked hm to repeat it. He did and again he kept adding more question without stop and his talking went for many more hours. His question so perplexed the trolls that they did not see the sun rise nor did they turn themselves invisible in tme and so as soon asthe sun touched them they turned to stone, for they were night trolls not snow trolls.

Thorbard returned to the king amid much triumph. The people were astounded by his great feat and soon all had heard of his tale. During this time the king gave him a seat at the low end of the table even though he had promised Thorbard a seat at the high end. Many saw this as dishonorable of the king but none said anything. In the mean time Thorbard was not sleeping in the Lofthouse with the king and his men but instead outside upon the Skuldmound, a burial mound of the great past skulds who were all entered there. One night in a dream he dreamt that the greatest of all the skulds, Bjorn Haraldson stood before him and gave him his dagger. When Thronbard awoke he found himself with the gift of skulding. It was shortly after this that he saught the king to reclaim his honor. The King said that in order for him to become one of Lokthor's men he would have to defeat the great ice giant that had recently settled in the Eastfjord. Thorbard knew the king would not keep his word but rode out anyway to regain hsi honor.

When he had come to the Eastfjord he found the great ice giant sitting upon a mountain as he ate some wild staggs he had caught. Thorbard came up to the giant and asked him what his name was. The giant said he was Nief the Slow Witted. Thorbard said he was a skuld who was traveling the land in order to make a great praise skuld of someone and asked if he could make one for Neif. Neif said that he was always wary of skulds because his brother had been imprisoned by one. Thorbard said not to worry and that he had a good skuld not a bad one. Neif agreed to hear the skuld. Thorbard began to recite it. At first it was a good skuld with many good things about Neif in it. But soon it turned for the worse and before Neif the Slow Witted could stop Thorbard, he found his body burning with heat and flames from the magical skuld. In a few moments he had been completely melted and there was now only a lake and to this day it is called Neif Lake in Eastfjord. It can be found at the foot of the flat mountains.

Thorbard returned to Northfjord and men praised him even more, but King Lokthor liked him even less. He still would not let Thorbard sit at the top of the table in the place of honor but had him put outside with the servants. Thordbard said nothing, but all thought ill of it. When the tale of how he had defeated came before Lokthor he feared for he knew that Thorbard had the gift of the skulds and that Thorbard might seek revenge. So he made a plan. he threw a feast for Thorbard and bade him sit at the place of most honor. Thorbard however had heard of the King's cunning and so placed a bag beneath his shirt. When the feast began the King set a great mountain of food before Thorbard, but he seemed to consume it without much fuss. This was beacuse he was secretly putting the food into the bag beneath his closthes, though it looked as if he was eating it all. So the feast continued and he still ate just as heartily as before and all were amazed. After three days none could endure longer than him, not even the king. So, the feast ended and the king was greatly displeased for he had been dishonored by thorbard. So he planned to have him killed.

Thorbard, having forseen the king's intentions fled that night on his ship Wytewake into a storm. All in the castle watched as the ship was pushed towards the Teeth of All Seas. Thorbard was much loved and all wept at the thought of his doom. But the teeth seemed to part as his ship came near and he sailed through them. Not only that but even though the storm remained for seven days still he kept battling it strongly, for they did not know this but he had the sack of provisions from the feast. Also his ship coudl not be capsized for he had bult it and he was actually one of the waterfolk because of his strange conception. And so even though the stormkings raged they did not destroy him for he was one of their kin. After the storm subsided he sailed back and all wondered at his great heroism and his wonderful works. King Lokthor had fallen from the battlements of the castle during the storm and his daughter was brought by the chieftans to Thorbard to marry. And so Thorbard was known as Thorbard the Wide Mouthed for all his great feats came from his mouth. His wife was Fridda the Beautiful and they reigned many years and Thorbard the Wide Mouthed saw twelve Althings before his reign ended. Thorbard had thirteen sons and seven daughters and they all did great things. Four sons were kings and six daughters the wives of kings. After his death he was buried in Skuldmound and so ends his tale.

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Okay, so to compare the style you would have to read one of the old Icelandic Sagas (not to give away what culture the Boat People of Sylvania are based on;) ). This is actually the shorter one. Its only a story. I actually did write a full saga for a diffrent part of Sylvania, which I may post later. Anyways, thats the story. Diffrent but hopefully in a good way.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Dark Garden

Well, I mentioned before that I write short stories. This one came from a discusison I was having with a couple of friends this weekend at church. It was about their life, the lives of some of their friends/loves, and stock book characters. In the end, we, jokingly, reached this same conclusion to what happens in this story.

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Dark Garden

Two friends walked in the darkness of the garden, the cool autumnal air smoking on their lips. They spoke in hushed voices that the darkness seemed to swallow as they paced next to each other, almost in step. The one looked down at the stony ground of the garden path while the other spoke. The one in the scarf pulled his cloak tighter as he listened to the talker continue.

“She will never see me that way! It is so frustrating!” He spoke as he motioned with his gloved hands, “I have loved her passionately ever since the day I met her, and she… she has broken my heart time and time again!”

“So what are you going to do?” Asked the silent one.

“I dunno! She, that siren, she’s intoxicated my very being! Every step I take I want her there with me. Every bite I eat turns to ash in my mouth without her. I dream about her. I can’t seem to breathe unless she’s there! And yet she will not even look at me other than as a friend… if even that!”

“It sounds to me… that you, my friend, are truly in love with this girl.”

“Oh, I am! I would do anything to have her return my love! I would sacrifice anything! Anything!” He spoke and the fire in his heart made his smoky breath come in plumes.

They stopped in the tree lined walkway in the garden. The small, silvery pale moon seemed frosted in the sky, peaking into the secret space through a gap in the trees. The two seemed to both be meditating on this statement from the talker. The silent one finally pulled his scarf closer around his neck and spoke again.

“There is a way. But I must warn you that it will require the deepest love.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that!”

“Yes… I think you’re right. Just remember, a lesson I learned too hard, that you cannot force love, no matter how much you may love the person. True love learns to let go… learns to let the other be truly happy… but enough of all this. You’re passion still burns brightly. If you let it guide you, promise me you will let it guide you to the end.”

“I promise. Even though I don’t understand.”

“There are many things in this life we don’t understand.”

“Like why villains never have a good reason for being a villain.” Remarked the one in love, a teasing comment to an earlier discussion.

“Or, why one woman can have so much sway over the heart of man.” Said the scarfed friend smiling.

Much later that evening, the talker was awoken by a knock on his door. His valet came in and handed him an urgent telegram. It was from the city. It was from her brother. It was a message that made his blood run cold and his heart stop in its beat.

“Pierre,
My sister, Gisela, has been kidnapped. We have looked everywhere for her, but have been unable to locate her. Please come quickly and with all haste. I can think of no one who would be able to aid me more in this time of need.
Sincerely,
Pascal”

Pierre had journey to the city that evening and begun the investigation with Pascal and the local constable. The city was large and the kidnapper had gone without a trace. However, after Pierre arrived things became much better for the investigation. Pierre had a habit of always putting his hat and cane in the hall closet, no matter what the circumstances. When he had arrived he had seen some grease on the knob of the closet and so the investigation had a lead.

The grease Pierre had also recognized as the special oil and lead mix used by the publishing houses, the machines of which he had more than once had to repair. He assumed the villain must be one of disgruntled workers who worked for Gisela’s father, who owned one of the largest publishing houses of all.

They had soon tracked down the most likely place, but as the group entered, the floor began to give on the second storey balcony and all fell to the river below except for Pierre, who luckily had been unlocking the door and had time to leap in the dark building. Unfortunately for Pierre, the doors down below were bolted shut, so that he alone would have to face Gisela’s kidnapper. He found a small note, written in neat handwriting.

“I know who you are and why you are following me. Bring fifty thousand francs and come unarmed to the address below. Do not tell the constable about this note. If you disobey even one of these commands you will never see the girl again.”

He did as he was told. He unlocked the doors and left, taking the money with him to the address. He arrived and walked through the tree lined avenue of the public gardens, the leaves crunching underfoot. He finally came to a spot where the moon shone through a gap in the trees on the dismal scene.

Gisela was tied up against a tree, a figure next to her in a dark cape with a black hat with its wide brim pulled over his face. He spoke with a distorted voice and laughed maniacally several times as he spoke.

“Hahaha! Now my vengeance is complete. I have the money and the daughter of my oppressor, who is quite pretty. She’ll make a good wife to add to my collection! Hahahaha!”

“Never you fiend! Here’s your money. Now keep your part of the bargain! Let her go!”

Gisela looked with hope-filled eyes, tears gleaming down her cheeks to where her mouth was gagged by a cottony cloth. She had never realized how heroic Pierre was. He continued speaking but was interrupted by the madman.

“Ha! Sorry, but I think not! I was never planning on keeping my part of the bargain! You shouldn’t have been dumb enough to keep yours!”

As the madman laughed Pierre made a quick motion, firing a pistol hidden in his cloak, “Actually, I didn’t keep mine either.”

The madman fell to the ground in a heap, the round bullet hole in his forehead pressed against the cool stones of the garden path. Pierre ran forward and freed Gisela. She clung to his strong figure, her eyes shining with tears as she embraced her shining knight. As the two walked away, Pierre looked down at the gag that had been used to bind Gisela and felt as if he had seen it somewhere before. A drape? A kerchief? No. He simply place dit out of his mind and walked on, dropping the long cotton cloth on the body. It was not until the night before his wedding to Gisela that he awoke with a cry of anguish, realizing it was THE scarf.


VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Dum dum dah!!! There you go! In teh end they said that the reason it seems a villain has no good reason for doing what they're doing, is because they are actually doing it to help the hero be a hero. Because without them the hero is a nobody. So what some of them were saying was that I should be teh villain for them so that they could "get teh girls". Lol it was funny.

Canto II

Canto II

Perlise was the name of the girl, the one fairest of Carolman’s fair,
With soft pale skin, and violet eyes and starlight white hair.
She strode through fields of flowers, and knew the names of all the birds,
And could be found there at all hours, nature pleased with her soft words.
Her father’s domain was regal, with forests, glades, and many fields.
He soared on a great red eagle and commanded five thousand shields.
Both father and daughter were renowned, throughout the land of the old magic,
And so he commanded a feast by his great mound on the night that became so tragic
For as the men came to the sorcerer’s feast, Perlise in her place of honor sat,
Entered the man who served the dark beast disguised in magic cloak and hat.
He drew close to fair Perlise’s chair, and when the right moment drew near,
He grabbed her by her pure white hair and in a flash both disappeared.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Lament of Brandur and Perlise: Canto I

So here it is! Finally the long awaited Epic Poem: The Lament of Brandur and Perlise! Here's the first Canto, there are fourteen of them. Will post more later. :)

Canto I

This tale of mine is much older than anything you could now see.
For since the world became colder many things have ceased to be.
In the golden days before darkness had sway in the hearts and ways of man.
In the elder times in an autumn age that’s where this tale began.
The great ones came from the south from Megdea and the hills of sand,
And built their home by word of mouth, for theirs was a magic land.
Carolman, as their domain was named, grew in greatness under the sun
And many an evil beast was tamed, until there remained but one.
The dragon of shadow made his roost, deep in Tara’s wooded hill.
And sacrifice was made unto him lest in anger he rose again to kill.
Unto the wyrm one man bound his life, and obeyed all the beast’s evil plots,
Victims and cold stone knife he took, his actions without second thoughts.
Then came the day of chance and fate, when the beast summon him to the glade,
And planted in the man’s heart his own hate, and the plans for his notorious raid,
The woodsman was to travel far and wide till Carolman’s fair plains he had found,
The most beautiful maid he was to seek, and return her to the beast bound.
So the servant left his master’s home, in search of Carolman’s flower,
And the whole land he did roam, driven by his lust for power.

If you give a girl some flowers...

If you give a girl some flowers, she'll probably want some chocolate to go with it. If you give a girl some chocolate, she'll want to go out for dinner. When you make the reservation, she'll realise she has nothing to wear, and so you'll have to take her shopping at Nortstroms. After she's picked out a dress, she'll realise she needs new heels to go with it, and so you'll need to go down to the shoe department. If you buy a girl new shoes, she'll probably want to get a pedicure too. And once you take her to get a pedicure, she'll NEED a manicure as well. And once her manicure is done, she'll also need a facial. And if you give a girl a facial, she'll probably want to get a new haircut/stye too. And once she's done with her hair, she'll nottice her earings don't match her eye liner so she'll need some new earings too. And if a girl gets new earings, she'll need a matching necklace. And as you're leaving the jewelry store, she'll probably see the time on one of the quartz watches and realise you need to get to the restaurant for the reservation. And once you get to the restuarant she'll want a candle lit dinner with live violins. And once the violins start playing, she'll want the perfect end to the perfect night, so you'll have to have bought a ring in advance. And if you give a girl an engagement ring, chances are she'll want some flowers to go with it. ;)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Funny how life is sometimes...

Life can be pretty funny sometimes. Yesterday was one of those days. Here's a few things that made me smile.

1) Hearing someone order a skinny, sugar free americano.

2) Watching kids run back and forth as the rain starts and stops to go splash in the puddles.

3) Drinking hot chocolate after a long day out in the cold

4) Bellum non est bellum - War is not a pretty thing (Kinda funny how in latin war and pretty is almost the exact same word!)

5) Seeing squirrels mud wrestle each other to get to the basket of seeds and nuts Jason leaves out for them.

6) Did you ever nottice that if you misspell my blog's url (jwoest.blogpsot.com) it takes you to a Bible College Website? Isn't that weird!!!!

Well thats all the humor I have for today. Remember to get your tickets for the Haloween party this wednesday (p+L you have an excuse and can still pay $5 on Sat/Sun). Of to see the wizard.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Little Catholic Kids Say the Darndest Things!

PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE WORDING AND SPELLING. THESE COME FROM A CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEST. KIDS WERE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ABOUT THE BIBLE WERE WRITTEN BY CHILDREN. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN RETOUCHED OR CORRECTED. INCORRECT SPELLING HAS BEEN LEFT IN.

1. IN THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, GUINESSIS. GOD GOT TIRED OF CREATING THE WORLD SO HE TOOK THE SABBATH OFF.

2. ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED FROM AN APPLE TREE. NOAH'S WIFE WAS JOAN OF ARK NOAH BUILT AND ARK AND THE ANIMALS CAME ON IN PEARS.

3. LOTS WIFE WAS A PILLAR OF SALT DURING THE DAY, BUT A BALL OF FIRE DURING THE NIGHT.

4. THE JEWS WERE A PROUD PEOPLE AND THROUGHOUT HISTORY THEY HAD TROUBLE WITH UNSYMPATHETIC GENITALS.

5. SAMPSON WAS A STRONGMAN WHO LET HIMSELF BE LED ASTRAY BY A JEZEBEL LIKE DELILAH.

6. SAMSON SLAYED THE PHILISTINES WITH THE AXE OF THE APOSTLES.

7. MOSES LED THE JEWS TO THE RED SEA WHERE THEY MADE UNLEAVENED BREAD WHICH IS BREAD WITHOUT ANY INGREDIENTS.

8, THE EGYPTIANS WERE ALL DROWNED IN THE DESSERT. AFTERWARDS, MOSES WENT UP TO MOUNT CYANIDE TO GET THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

9. THE FIRST COMMANDMENTS WAS WHEN EVE TOLD ADAM TO EAT THE APPLE.

10. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT IS THOU SHALT NOT ADMIT ADULTERY.

11. MOSES DIED BEFORE HE EVER REACHED CANADA . THEN JOSHUA LED THE HEBREWS IN THE BATTLE OF GERITOL.

12. THE GREATEST MIRICLE IN THE BIBLE IS WHEN JOSHUA TOLD HIS SON TO STAND STILL AND HE OBEYED HIM.

13. DAVID WAS A HEBREW KING WHO WAS SKILLED AT PLAYING THE LIAR. HE FOUGHT THE FINKELSTEINS, A RACE OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN BIBLICAL TIMES.

14. SOLOMON, ONE OF DAVIDS SONS, HAD 300 WIVES AND 700 PORCUPINES.

15. WHEN MARY HEARD SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF JESUS, SHE SANG THE MAGNA CARTA.

16. WHEN THE THREE WISE GUYS FROM THE EAST SIDE ARRIVED THEY FOUND JESUS IN THE MANAGER.

17. JESUS WAS BORN BECAUSE MARY HAD AN IMMACULATE CONTRAPTION.

18. ST. JOHN THE BLACKSMITH DUMPED WATER ON HIS HEAD.

19. JESUS ENUNCIATED THE GOLDEN RULE, WHICH SAYS TO DO UNTO OTHERS BEFORE THEY DO ONE TO YOU. HE ALSO EXPLAINED A MAN DOTH NOT LIVE BY SWEAT ALONE.

20. IT WAS A MIRICLE WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND MANAGED TO GET THE TOMBSTONE OFF THE ENTRANCE.

21. THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE LORD WERE CALLED THE TWELVE DECIBELS.

22. THE EPISTELS WERE THE WIVES OF THE APOSTLES.

23. ONE OF THE OPPOSSUMS WAS ST. MATTHEW WHO WAS ALSO A TAXIMAN.

24. ST. PAUL CAVORTED TO CHRISTIANITY, HE PREACHED HOLY ACRIMONY WHICH IS ANOTHER NAME FOR MARRAIGE.

25. CHRISTIANS HAVE ONLY ONE SPOUSE. THIS IS CALLED MONOTONY.

Hope that made your day brighter. :)

Sunyunatunt

Sunyunatunt

When the Necrant first descended upon the world, some defiled the children of man and elves, and from this unholy union a race of dark wraiths were born, ever haunting the fringes of the dusk and dawn and the places of the dead. The Necrant also defiled certain trees and brought forth the whispering glades, places where trees left the natural order and ate the flesh of man and beast. But the most fearsome of the Necrant’s defilement was that of the wyrms.

For in ancient times the great serpents coiled about the base of the First Tree and drank deeply of its sap and grew ever stronger. And when the Necrant defiled them, the race of the wyrms of darkness, serpents of the night on wings of shadow, were brought forth. The wyrms had no souls but became the habitation for the wraiths and thus to the great strength and power of the wyrms was bound the evil malice and bloodlust of the wraiths and the wicked beasts spread the Void across the earth.

The Centilhim, having seen the great evil of the Necrant, were yet not given the power of destruction, which alone is the gift of humanity. So they sought a way to grant their power of light to humans who could use the light to destroy the evil of the wyrms. And so the Centilhim were taught the sacred act of binding, so that they could bind themselves unto humankind. And this union was blessed and from it was derived the peoples of Carolman, who were called by Humankind sorcerers for their ability to wield the light.

And after this the doorways between the worlds were sealed by the blood of the elven warrior who gave her life to stop the Necrant and their spread of the void. The Necrant trapped in the physical world, having learned the secrets of binding bound themselves to the deep and dark places of the world, living in the secret shadows awaiting the day of their return.

The Elvenkind and the Humankind were in these days still brothers with one another. And some of them pledged their love to another and their union was fruitful and brought forth the small people, the Ghulia, who could create both light and destroy darkness, yet who were more vulnerable to the malice of the wyrms. And the Ghulia became the peoples of the land beneath the sunrise, who built the great fortresses of the east and began to multiply and grow great.

Then the First War of the Cherry Orchards was fought between the Ghulkind and Humankind. The war lasted fifteen years of man and were bloody and fierce. The Ghul were victorious and spread their kingdom far to the west into the lands of man. The humans however grew restless neath their conquerors and soon rebelled in the Second War of the Cherry Orchards in which the Humans decimated the entire area between the Eastern Kingdom and the Kingdom of Man. The Ghul retaliated and the Third War of the Cherry Orchard was fought until finally the sorcerers of Carolman had to intervene and raised the Pillars of Heaven to be a barrier between the Ghul and the Humans.

The some of the Ghulkind and some of the Elvenkind were also bound in love and they brought forth the Lesser Elves, the Woodlings. The Woodlings however were seen as a perversion of the greatness of the elves and were not blessed and so were not fruitful. Their kind receded deep into the forest where they remained forever as children and guardians of the woods.

And after three generations of peace the Wyrms of Darkness again began to plague the world. The sorcerers first tried using the light crystal of the elves but the elves refused to make more because of the harm of the dark crystal. So the Sorcerers began seeking a way to destroy all darkness once and for all. They delved deep and dug far into the old magic of the first dream and as they continued searching they uncovered powers and abilities that they were never meant to find.

The Sorcerers of Carolman crafted the three cursed treasures and gave them to the three guardians so that all evil may be destroyed once and for all. The guardians began exterminating the wyrms, until one was corrupted by the Cloak of the Void. One of the other ones had to kill him and she was then killed by the last guardian, who took all three treasures for himself. He became twisted by the power and soon attempted to exterminate all life and therefore extinguish all evil. He was stopped by the sacred treasure of the forest when the Woodlings cried out the First Tree to save them.

The three cursed treasures were then sent to various sanctuaries to be purged of their evils and curses so that they may once again aid the side of light. Meanwhile, realizing the power of corruption, the sorcerers instead decided to place the burden of hunting the wyrms on all kinds and so warriors from all over the world hunted the wyrms for greatness and glory. The greatest were gathered under the banner of the White Blades. The White Blades were led by two of the greatest warriors in the entire land. Then they began destroying the spawn of darkness and soon there were only a few wyrms left.

Then the day came. The great betrayal occurred during which humanity was corrupted completely and the White Blades all killed by the wyrms. The greatest warriors all fell one after another as they were betrayed to the wyrms and destroyed while saving the last crystal of light. The two leaders were not killed but both disappeared mysteriously. Darkness threatened to overtake the earth.

However, with only one wyrm thought to be left, the sorcerers all gathered and using the power of the last crystal of light froze the wyrm beneath the waves of the far eastern sea, guarded perpetually by the last light crystal. And so the last known dragon was imprisoned and there he remained for almost three thousand years.

And so all the Kinds grew under the protection of the sorcerers of Carolman. The Sorcerers began to grow lax and evil persisted in some pockets of the world, but for nearly a thousand years peace and prosperity reigned. This was the last age during which the light reigned supreme over the world and ever after this age, all the kinds looked back upon it as the greatest.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Well there ya go! The Elvenkind history is slightly diffrent from this (actually very diffrent but thats okay, its their history, not the world's) but chronologically the next document after Sunyunatunt is the Lament of Brandur and Perlise. Its the epic poem that I'm only half way done with. I may post what I have of it before I post the Elvenkind tale... or I could do it the other way around. Makes no diffrence to me. What do you prefer?

Friday, October 17, 2008

Suphnosnatut

Suphnosnatut

It began when the Name Which Can Never Be Spoken closed His eyes and began to dream. From the Name’s dream the entire dreamscape spilled forth into existence. All was light, bright, and beautiful. And from this bright beauty the Name crafted the first kind, the Spirit Tribes. And they, like the Name, were spirit and light and beauty. And they dwelt in the land beyond the dreamscape where mortals may not tread.

And then the Name began to dream more. And from this dreaming a stirring took place. The Name who was dreaming in the dreamscape grew brighter, filling with more life, and love, and light until the dreamplane could not contain the glory of the Name. And it erupted forth with power and might into the first seedling, and with it the dimension of the physical world was born.

The Name then poured of Himself into the seedling and it began to grow. It grew larger and larger until it became the first tree, the Primarborex. Its roots spread long and thick until it became the earth. Its sap gushed down and formed the oceans, rivers, and springs. Its branches spread far and became the vaults of the heavens, while its flower became the stars and its leaves the scurrying clouds. And the Name crafted a bird of light, who flew and lay two eggs within the branches of the tree, a pale white one and a firry red one. And the two became the sun and the moon.

And the Name in His great wisdom and foresight began withdrawing Himself from a part of the dreamplane. And when the Name had completely withdrawn Himself all that was left was the Void. It was void of life, light, or love and was terrible. The Spirit Tribes stood in wonder at the Name’s uncreation, for He showed them the great evil to warn them, but also because He already knew what would and must come to pass.

In the Spirit Tribes there was one tribe whose elder was Aurophilant. He was the most glorious and beautiful of the Spirit Tribe because he was continually in the presence of the Name. He loved the Name dearly above all else, and loved nothing else, not even the Name’s other creations. The only other place he went was the Void, for he became fascinated that there was a place without the Name at all. And while he was there he became corrupted by the Void.

It was after this that the Name created the second kind: the Elves of Old, the Immortals. They were crafted to be the children of the Name and were given the Name’s special ability to create life. The Name loved them dearly and all of creation loved them as well. But the corrupted one hated them, for he had grown jealous of the love the Name bestowed upon them. So he gathered together his tribe and corrupted his tribe as well and went to beseech the Name to destroy the Elves and love only the Spirit Tribes. But the Name, seeing the evil that had taken hold of them, the selfish love, sent them away. Furious and hurt that their love was scorned the fallen ones, called the Necrant, rose up to destroy the Name. But they were instead cast into the Void, out of the Name’s presence, which was the worst punishment that any creation could experience. And there they began to grow hideous, monstrous, and wicked. Only the Fallen One remained beautiful for though he hated the presence of the Name he also longed for it and returned often to account for his deeds and those of his people.

It was then that the Necrant began to invade the physical world, to destroy the creation of the Name in retaliation and out of jealousy and a desire to spread the Void. Then the Faithfull petitioned the Name to be granted passage to the world to protect it from the Necrant. And so the Faithful who were later called the Centilhim came to the earth and became guardians and protectors over it.

And so the Great War of the Spirits was waged for a thousand years. The Centilhim and the Necrant bound themselves to physical forms and churned the waters of the deep, the thunders of the heavens, and the fires of the secret places with their continual struggle.

The Elves were created for a single purpose, to create light and life. They created a powerful weapon against the void, the crystals of light. These crystals were filled with the light of the sun, moon, stars, and dreamscape. They shone brightly and the Void could not draw near their light. Those corrupted by the Void also were repelled by them and so the Elves began to spread light across the world.

But in order to make better and brighter crystals the Elves began to learn how to draw darkness out of crystals. All of the darkness drawn out of the crystals to make them brighter was stored in a single crystal, the crystal of darkness. It was so powerful that it corrupted the very fabric of the universe where it was placed. And so certain Elves were placed as eternal guardians to watch over the crystal and keep it out of the hands and knowledge of the wicked.

It was then that darkness began to weave itself into the world, slowly leaking from the crystal of darkness. And so it was that the third kind was created: Humankind. While Elves were created to create and bring forth light, Humans were created to destroy or contain darkness. Even if a human were to fall to darkness, they would become vessel that would contain the darkness from spreading and once they died the darkness would be destroyed.

And Humankind and Elvenkind toiled with the Centilhim for many centuries against the power of the Necrant. This continued until finally the War of the Spirits was finished when the gateways between the spirit realm and the earth were shut, and all the spirits bound to physical forms, due to the sacrifice of the great elf warrior Madeleine of the Steelsword. And so the Era of the Oak Tree passed and the Time of the Autumn Light began.

++++++++++++++++++++

Okay, so here's a few quick explanitory notes.

a) Suphnosnatut = Proto-Indo-European meaning "dream-birth"
b) These are part of a mini series I call the "Scrolls from the Hidden Archives" there is three or four more of them. The next one follows up on this one, the one after that tells the history of the Elvenkind's perspective, the fourth the history of the Ghulkind from their point of view, and then the possible fifth the history of the Humankind.
c) Oh, yes, scattered throughout are hints to possible future stories in the series (main series).

Bon Apittite!

Happy Anniversity to Me!!!

Yay! This month is the one year anniversity of my blog! And if you've been keeping count (because I know you guys are *wink*) this is also my 100th post. Yay for blogging!

And I should be back to blogging more regularly, chapters included, now that I have learned how to say no to facebook's lure. Seriously I can spend hours just looking at flair not to mention the million and one other applications you can upload!!! No wonder parents thought facebook was of the devil when it firt came out! lol!!

So yeah, to kick off another great year of blogging and another great 100 posts, I'm resharing my top three posts... er, or at least listing them.

#3.Potted Plants 11/07 - Not sure why, it just always appealed to me.
#2.The Battle of the Great Ice Sheet 04/08 - the one that got me writing the story again, thanks to two girls who got intrested...;)
#1.Come Away With Me 9/08 - Don't know why but this must be one of my favorite poems... and it totally just came to me! lol! Literally, I sat down at my computer and I thought "A rhyme with the words, Come Away with me, would be really cool." And then suddenly this rhyme was just there! I wish all poetry and writing came that easily... but then again I wish life came easier too. Oh well, we can dream. :)

So those are my top three. Care to share any that you liked and why? Please. :) I'm not begging for comments. Thats what I have the voices inside my head for... precious.
;)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Question to my Readers?

While I'm still rewriting the first chapters, do you guys want me to post the history to the world? I have it written in two sections so far.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

A Fall Carol

Leaves are a falling
Colors now changing
The earth is sleeping
As squirrles run and play

The sweet smell of spices
Morning frost ices
While full moon intices
As the geese fly away

Pies and hot chocolate
Warm scarf and swift gait
Silver mists of summers fate
For the sun's dying rays.

The Harvest moon brightens
Fields by bonfires lighten
No crows left to frighten
The scarecrows down lay

Summer fruit brings
The blooms in the spring
Winter white but best of all
I love autumnal fall.

Monday, October 13, 2008

The Hunt (revised, revisited, and remade)

The Hunt

Cricket song fills the wood,
Strange steps echo understood,
Feet tred as softly as they could,
To where the stone circle stood.

They charge with gleaming weapons raised,
To where the warm fire blazed,
Their eyes shining like the crazed,
The startled sprites stare amazed.

The fearsome hunters spears ready,
Huntresses with arrows steady,
Surrounds the dancing magic eddy,
But Sly Puck simply plays a medley.

The human hunters cause no harm,
As they fall under Puck’s charm,
The spirits dance on without alarm,
Human and woodling arm in arm.

But with Sirius lighting the summer sky,
The Queen feels the time draws nigh,
And calling order with a loud cry,
She speaks of things to come nearby.

“Mighty hunters of the human race,
Because tonight you have seen my face,
Upon you I grant my highest grace,
To take part in the glorious chase.

Awaken the white stag’s winter slumber,
Bring me the hide of pale white umber,
Then will you rise high in this number,
The greatest hunter of the summer.”

Then a white shape flies past,
The hunters respond to the last,
And pursue the stag, swift and fast,
Futile spears already cast.

Each hunter and huntress makes haste,
Their own path they each must face,
Hearts beating and sweat laced,
Seeking ever a trail or trace.

One hunter, strong and true,
Spots an antler the white clue,
Through dark glades and streams blue,
Like the stag, he is swift too.

Then as he, a dark glade nears,
The stag jumps and disappears,
But the hunter waits, until he hears,
The heart beating full of fears.

And parting the foliage he sees,
The white prize in mud to its knees,
And knowing death waits if it flees,
With large blue eyes it makes its pleas.

The hunter lowers his steady blade,
His resolution beginning to fade,
As the silent two breathes in the glade,
He realizes his decision is made.

He ropes the stag and draws it out,
And leads it back by the same route,
To where stones stand round about,
And is hailed with the victorious shout.

Crowned with oak and laurel wreath,
The man for what he had achieved,
Is lauded high his sword in sheath,
Upon a throne of stone and leaf.

The hunt ended, this glorious thing
So the woodlings all begin to sing
Their joyous cries and voices ring,
“All Hail this year’s Summer King!”


Okay, so the first one was bad... no it was horendous!!! It was a disaster of poetic proportions!!! So I tried to fix it. This one rhymes a bit better and tells the story too. I dunno, which do you guys prefer.

The Same Path as Before

I walk along the same path, the path I’ve trod down into the earth day after day after day. Through seasons and changes I’ve walked the path, pressing down blossoms, fruit, leaves, and snow, always deep into the sucking receptive mud. The fresh odor of clean dirt and earthy air fill my nostrils as I walk along the same path. I’ve walked here before many times, I know every nook and cranny, because I’ve walked here, on this path, this self same path of earth and stone, this path I’ve walked along before.

The path winds along a country road, in the spring there grows hyacinth and anemone in the corner under the oak tree, and then it cuts across a large field. The field is bare and the stubble of straw not quite shaven off is all that remains. Three months before these were wavy fields of barley and three before that a luscious green carpet of bright viridian sprouts heralding the spring, and three months before that it was a flat imageless white, a blank page awaiting snow angels. But right now, this path I walk upon, the one I’ve been on before, the one cutting across the field is covered in the remnants of fall. I know this to be true.

The path I walk upon, this path I know very well, then goes into a wood, with large evergreen canopies decking the silent forest within. There is no bird call. I never noticed this before. But it is no matter. I know this path and I have been here before. So I continue walking, along the sucking mud path that is now bouncy and light with pine needles, resin saturated through and through.

I have walked this path before, I know that. I know each and every bend. I know when it rises slightly and drops suddenly. I know where the best spot is to rest and the best spot to take shelter if it rains and the best place to go if I want some wild strawberries. But there are no strawberries now. No, this is the fall and strawberries will not be waiting for me until spring. That’s six months from now.

No, for now I simply walk this path. The forest grows darker but it matters not. I know this path, every rock, every root, every acorn and ditch. I will keep walking into the forest, the deep and dark place that I know so well. Haven’t I told you that I have been in here before? Many times before. I walk here daily and I have been here before. So I fear not the dark or the stones or the beast because I know that I’ve walked out the other side before, and I will today too.

As I keep walking I hear a metallic echo and then a strange bang, like a sheet of heavy metal falling against a brick wall. I look around, suddenly frightened by the light in the forest, the light that came out of nowhere. I am scared. I have never been here before. What is this place? Where did these walls of cold grey stone come from? The harsh white light? Who is this white figure walking towards me?

I realize it must be someone who wants to change my path. They want me to go somewhere I haven’t gone before. They want me to go… out there. But I won’t let him. No, I feel the heat in my veins, the pulsating anger in my mind. Then I feel the soft flesh in my hands. And I am back in the forest, the sweet birdsong fills my ears. I look down and see I have strawberry juice on my hands. That’s funny because its still six months until the strawberries will be ready. Trust me I know. I’ve been here before. I know how it all works.

I keep walking towards the end of the forest, where I come to the pool. It’s soft, velvet water like hands begin to draw me deeper. I let the water draw me in. I fell it on my legs, my chest, my neck. The water pulls me down deeper and deeper where its cooler and darker and softer. I begin to dissolve in the waters, bit by tiny bit. Soon I will be water and the water will be me. And then I will walk the path again.

><><><<><><><><><><><

“Hey Brad, you okay?”

“Yeah, he got me really good that time.”

“Let me take a look.”

“Its just a small cut. Here, on my neck.”

“Are his nails really that sharp? I thought they cut them more regularly.”

“Come on, you know they don’t stay on top of that stuff. There’s too many here. That’s why they don’t even have a straight jacket for him.”

“We don’t have to worry. Look at the machine. He’s gone again.”

“That’s a relief. I like it better when the lights are on but no ones home.”

“No kidding. Hey you still up to go hiking this weekend?”

“Sure, where were you thinking?”

“I know a place. Its really gorgeous, and I’ve been there before.”

><><><<><><><><><><><
><><><<><><><><><><><

End Story


Okay so this is one of those things I found years later and touched up a bit. Probably two and a half years ago I went through an experimental short story phase, witting some horror, some psychological thriller, some romance, some detective, some gothic, etc. Well this is one of those short stories... or at least the idea for one I found and then actually wrote real quick (est. 28 min.) So it's really rough and could use a lot of work. But tell me what you think, just please don't be brutal. I know it sucks. :(

Friday, October 10, 2008

Here We Are Again

Dedicated to my firry, shaggy haired friends.

Here We Are Again

Here we are again
The wide broken path
We've walked here before
We're repeating our past

Here we are again
The familiar pain and sorrow
You've heard it all before
Promises of a new tomorrow

Here we are again
Repetition numbs the heart
We're fooling no one else
With your deceptive arts

Here we are again
The prayer path marked deep
And as conscience slowly dies
We're not loosing any sleep

Here we are again
And again and again
And again and again
When will it end?

Here we go again
A fresh start of grace
So we'll be there again
As He is, with every pace

The Hunt

The Hunt

As cricket calls fill the wood,
Strange sounds echo understood,
Feet tred as softly as they could,
To where the stone circle stood.

They crept closer to the place,
Painted in shadows body and face,
With sandal-shod feet ready to chase,
Comes the hunters of the human race.

Spears and clubs the hunters wield,
And huntresses fierce carry no shield,
But draw the arrow many killed,
With wolves and hawks that never yield.

The sprites and Queen in the glade,
Amongst the stones giant-made,
Stops suddenly the music played,
For they see a hunter in the shade.

No arrows fly or clubs harm,
The humans under Puck’s charm,
Are not any cause for alarm,
As they begin to dance arm in arm.

The Queen stands, torch in hand,
Beckons the hunters with voice grand,
“Tonight one hunter will succeed and,
Be proclaimed the greatest in the land.”

The moon disappears behind cloudy veil,
In the darkness a light faintly prevail,
As a large stag, brilliant and pale,
Dashes into the woods from the dale.

Instantly the hunters are on their feet,
Foaming wolves lusting for meat,
Their senses sharp, their query fleet,
The roars of thrill for the hunt’s heat.

Soon the pack breaks each alone,
Using skills sharply honed
Seeking behind each tree and stone,
For stags flesh or white bone.

Then one hunter quick and brave,
Spots the stag behind a cave,
And running swift as an ocean wave,
Follows after the white knave.

Under bush, and over stream,
The hunter chases the white dream,
His wolf with him the perfect team,
Finally victorious, the hunter supreme

But as the hunter draws near,
He gazes into the eyes of fear,
The blue jewels release a tear,
And begs the hunter to lower his spear

The hunter ropes the white prize,
And returns with it to all’s surprise
The Queen nods as she replies,
“Young victorious one and also wise.

You captured the great white beast,
Once you were among the least,
But now your fame has increased,
Now, come all and join the feast.”


So this is the second one. Not as grand or glorius as the first but (i think) a lot more fast pace. I would like to maybe go back later and elaborate on the hunt a little more, build up more suspense, and all that. We'll see. Hopefully by tomorow I'll be done with the last part... The Sacrifice!

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Gathering

The Gathering

Beaming Luna full and bright,
Parades forth in the starry night,
With garments silver and milky white,
Holding high her torch of pale moon light.

Young Puck decked in ivy green,
Gathers the wily ones unseen,
And with oaken wand summons the dream,
As he goes to meet the shining Queen.

And as the Queen draws near the glade,
The Dryad women awake to aide,
And begin their sweet serenade,
In beautiful flower garlands arrayed.

Puck flies through the woods and dales,
Drumming on trees and calls as he sails,
Awakening green men of the olden tales,
And swarthy satyrs from the hidden trails.

And the merry dancing party draws near,
The place of magic and mischief so dear,
The Queen and the dryads with singing clear,
The satyrs play pipes for all to hear.

Puck waves his oaken wand and laughs,
Revealing a circle of stones with his crafts
In the center a pile of woodsmen’s shafts,
Lit in a bonfire its green smoke wafts.

Then the satyrs upon their pipes chime,
Wilts green men on drum log keep time,
The dryad women with song and rhyme,
Celebrate Midsummers ever sublime,

Then pixie fearies from the pink lily,
And little elves dressed in coats so frilly,
The blue Nereids from the water chilly,
All dance to the fire and tune so silly,

Then the satyrs let the others play,
To reveal their gift for this special day,
The mead of joy from the buds of may,
That loosen lips and laughter so gay,

The small elves bring savory meats,
The pixies nectar and honeyed sweets,
The Dryads fresh baked breads and treats,
And all drink the mead and heartily eats.

As the evening star comes overhead,
The Queen says what must be said,
“Welcome all who partake of our bread,
To the gathering at Midsummer’s head!”



So this idea came to me a while back when I was talking to some friends about a Midsummer's Eve party. Later someone asked me what a Midsummer's Eve Party would look like and this was the first thought that came to mind, the classic Greco-Roman idea that was later incorproated into the Elizabethian and Victorian Eras.

Today on the bus I started writing it with the lines:

The serene queen of the night light,
The soon moon with her trail so pale.

And this led to me starting to play a poetry game. Its very simple, choose any two words then make a rhyme with as many words that rhyme with just the first word and end it with the last. NO USING A RHYME GUIDE!!!

eg: cursed blood

The cursed verse speaking words so tirs, though lips are persed for fear of the worst, if I dirs't call first the hurrying hurst and awaken the thirst of blood.

Its fun but hard too. Anyway, back to the poem. I'm thinking that this will be one of three poems set during this party. This is 'the gathering', when all the supernatural sprites arrive and set everything up. The next part would be 'the hunt', when the humans arrive and partake in the ancient ceremony of hunting the white stag. Not sure how it will end... human sacrifice comes to mind... maybe I need to stop reading all those Mayan mythological texts...

:D

Monday, October 6, 2008

This Is Your Life

When life gets full and busy
Its easy to loose time and track,
Of what's important and what,
character you lack.

When life get's difficult,
And the storms rage on every side,
Its easy to wear the mask,
And start letting some things slide.

When life gets complicated,
Juggling issues of every kind,
Getting carried away is easy,
Putting life in the back of your mind.

Stop.

Stop what you're doing for a second or two,
and learn, and listen, and look,
The pages are turning ever forward,
What's been written in your book?

Stop talking, walking, lying to yourself
Open your eyes and see.
Hello and welcome this is your life,
Are you who you want to be?

Friday, October 3, 2008

And So America Went Down the Crapper...

Wow, I never thought it would happen this way. Excuse me for my very politically themed posts recently but, hey politics are everywhere these days. So, have you heard about HR 1424 aka The Emergency Economic Stablizaion Act of 2008? Oh, you mean that thing on the side collumn of the paper this morning? YES!!!

Basically tonight I am glad I am not a US citizen. Sorry but its the truth. Tonight history was made and Bush offcially became the worst president ever. He signed in the HR 1424 into law. What does that mean to the average american?

FIRST A HISTORY LESSON - Investors on Wall Street got greedy. As they always do. They made some very risque investments, and a lot of them. Meanwhile, home owners weren't reading the fine print about adjustible morgage rates. So the lending isntitutes, who also wanted more and more money, adjusted the rates. Many Americans could not pay the new rates so instead of doing something productive the Fed cut intrest rates. That didn't help anyone except the companies that the Fed Board of Directors owned. So then the lending institutes weren't getting their money and went bankrupt. This led to large scale unemployment and a drop in the stock market. Thats were we are now. Well the stock market dropped and then Bush said, "I will pass a Bill to help fix teh market." And it rose very slightly at this. Then the bills were proposed and rejected. The Markets tumbled like they haven't tumbled in decades. This led everyone to crying "Economic crises!"

SO WHAT? - Well this meant that there had to come a bill now because Wall Street was expecting it. The problem was that the Bill, HR 1424 would fix the markets through taxpayer money. Thats right your money will be used to help all those poor million dollar CEO who lost a few shares because they were greedy get even more back.

Why else is the bill bad? Well, lets start with the obvious fact that the bill is not endorsed by anyone other than people who have large scale investments in lending companies such as Goldman Sachs. All the other politicians, investors, financial advisors, etc are aposed to it. Not just that but the majority of economist from across teh nation's universities, people that study this kind of situation and the response to it for a living, made a petition and had it signed by nealry 300 diffrent heads in the course of a day, ALL APOSED TO IT SAYING IT WILL HAVE WORSE RESULTS THAT WILL LAST FOR GENERATIONS!!!

Plus there is the fact that it has this one small clause that says that the money will all be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury (aka Bush's employee) and that he will not be able to be held accountible by any judiciary board or senate comitee for his decisions. That is a lot of power for one person. $700billion in taxpayer money that he doesn't ever have to answer for. BTW he is a majority share holder in one of those lending companies (Goldman Sachs).

Oh, and if this wasn;t all bad enough, the US deficit will now rise to almost $12 trillion dollars in 2009. Meanwhile your GDP is falling because of all these mortgage and financial crises. Last year it was around $13 trillion. Your annual debt is almost equal to your annual income. That is a scary thought for a nation. Think about it.

And thats why I said that on this night, America went down the crapper!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

A Post About A Debate About A VicePresident

Okay! If you missed the vice presidential debates tonight you have probably missed the best ones in the last 20 years! At least thats what all the old people are saying. And these are my thoughts on it.

First off, congradulations to Gov. Sarah Palin, you didn't completely blow it like everyone thought you would! Maybe now everyone will forget that embaressing interview with Katie Curic. :)

Oh, and congrats Biden for winning the actual debate. Didn't see that one coming. LOL

Now, first of Gov. Palin. When she spoke she drew you in, she captivated you with her phrases, jokes, eyes, and warm smile. She spoke with so much truth and conviction that you almost wanted to answer the alter call. The only problem was that afterward, sitting back and thinking about what she said, you'd realise that it made no logical sense.

Examples: She said she wanted to pay teachers and educators much more, yet later said she was going to move to tax much less... how does that work, especially when you want to keep the wars in afganistahn, pakistan, and iraq going?

She also said that they were going to tax less and thereby make more jobs... yet thats exactly what bush did and it caused an 8 month employment drop. How does that work? Pixie dust "aint gonna cut it".

Sen. Biden spoke with clear confidence and wisdom that echoed the many long ages he has served on Capitol hill. He shared stories and ancedotes from years back. He showed his vast knowledge by being abel to recite variouse bill initiatives, and teh people for ang against it, thereby showing he may be almost as old as McCain but at least he can still rember stuff. Too bad that after listening to him, you realise, wait, didn't he say the exact same thing last week?

Yup, thats right, he's a repeat offender. He had nothing original to say. Same old blah blah blah. At least Palin messed up enough on her international information that it made the show enteraining.

Highlight of the evening:

The Cheney issue-

promtor: So, Gov.(palin) tell us what you view the role of the vice president is? Is the Vice President part of the executive branch only or also part of the legislative branch because of Cheney's recent reforms?

Palin: Well, I'm glad that the founders of our nation were wise enough to make the consitution very flexible. I view the office of teh vice president as being very flexible and yes, i do think that the vice president is part of both.

promtor: Sen.(Biden) your reply?

Biden: First, the first amendment makes it clear the vice president is under the President and part of the executive branch only. The only power that teh vice president has over the senate is in the situation of a tie. Other than a tie situation the Vice President has no say in teh legsilative branch! The Constitution is clear!

So Biden won in knowledge area, Palin won in Charisma area, but who won when it came to heart area?

Here's what happened. Palin was talking about being a mom with kids and bringing them up and how she has kids galore. Then as she was winning the crowd's heart with her mentioning of her special needs child, she made the statement in regards to raising children, "Oh, I know."

The promtor turned to Biden, who, when repsonding simply began saying, "When it comes to raising children, believe me, I know..." And he actually choked up and couldn't finish what he was saying. Everyone there knew about his wife and daughter's death in the car accident and how he had been left to raise his two small boys as a single father.

Needless to say, that small bit of having to stop to collect himself won him everyone's heart there, and made Palin look like a jerk for even suggesting that she knew anything about life. Thats not to say that it's true, thats just the feeling you got from watching it.

In the end, it was better than watching the office. And no, I'm not a democrat, yet ;), and no I'm still pretty sure I won't ever stoop to the lowly level of the retarded republicans, but I must say that I do admit Palin's ability to hold her own almost as much as I admit that Biden was still her better in almost everyway. Remember, i went into this almost completely neutral and this is how I came out.
:D