Harriet woke up with headache, enough so that she refused to open her eyes when she first realized she was regaining consciousness. She always found it frustrating trying to think around the pain, hoping that if she remembered what caused pain, she might be able to come up with a way to fight it. Was she drinking last night? She didn't remember doing so. Wasn't it a school night, anyway?
Oh, that's right. She was fighting a giant lizard monster.
She sat up suddenly, eyes open. Vicky, who sitting on the floor nearby, squeaked in surprise and scooted away from the bed in reflex. Harriet rubbed her eyes upon seeing her; the sleepiness in her eyes seemed to cause Vicky's figure seemed to shrink and grow right before her.
Harriet looked around. They seemed to be in some sort of square cage, about 15 feet on a side, with other cages positioned around them. The bars seemed to go straight into the rock ceiling and floor. Each cage, including their own, had two or three hide cots and a large urn in a corner. Harriet was occupying one of the two in their area. Evan was on the far side of their own cage, talking quietly to someone in the next one over. Vicky, who had stumbled back onto her hands, pushed herself forward so she was sitting up straight again and looked over her shoulder at her classmate.
Evan stopped his conversation when he realized he was being watched. He stood and came over next to her, . He seemed taller than she remembered. "Good, you're awake," he said in a hushed tone. "How are you feeling?"
"Somewhat upset that it wasn't a dream," she replied. "Still a little foggy. The last thing I remember was pinning the guy with that spear-thing."
"Alright. After you did so, something happened and you began to freak out a little--"
"That's right," Harriet interrupted, looking down and holding her head as she her memory came back in haze. "There was something odd about how he looked at me. Like I was..." She looked back at Evan, wide eyed. "Like I was ten-feet tall or something."
Evan grinned. "You were. Anyway, when you realized this, you got startled. You let go of the spear, backed up and shrank quite a bit--"
"Shrank?" She shook her head, trying to keep up. "Evan, what is going on here?"
Evan continued to grin. He smiled the patient smile of an adult who's reading a story to a child but can't get past the first page. "I can explain how things work, where we are, or I can explain what happened. Why don't you tell me which one you'd like to hear first. I just need you to avoid being so loud."
She thought for a moment before replying in a much softer tone. "Let's start with where we are."
"Ah, of course. It always starts with the hardest question." He stood up, pacing a little. "Well, currently, we are in the Pen. It's like a prison that the goblins use for those that they believe 'aren't allowed here.'
"In a grander sense, though, we're on the Edge, not too far from the Precipitous Bar."
Harriet stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she put her head in her hand. She couldn't keep up, and the headache, although fading, was not helping matters.
Before she began to ask questions, Vicky spoke up. "The goblins are the things we saw, and you stabbed, on the way in. They live in the area around here and tend to not like visitors, although they don't go in the bar. And the Edge is pretty much the edge of reality."
Evan shook his head. "That's not really what it is."
Vicky shrugged. "It's a semi-hypothetical place that only somewhat exists in what is the known universe. It's an undefinable space somewhere between physical reality and our minds."
"Psychoplanes," Evan said, crossing his arms.
"Whatever. You're not even sure if we're really here. It's the edge of reality."
Evan looked surly for a moment, then smiled and sighed. "Ten years studying this place, and yet still others have a better sense of what's going on than I do. Applause to the young student."
"I'm just trying to put a way that doesn't require two days of explanation. Like yours did."
"Of course. But brevity is a much a gift as understanding."
"Two days?"
Evan jumped at Harriet's sudden interruption. Vicky was suddenly enchanted with something at her feet.
"Yes. You were unconscious for quite some time."
"Two days."
"More or less. It's hard to judge time here, with any sort of accuracy anyway." Harriet only looked at him with a raised eyebrow, which Evan took to mean to continue on. "It's always sunset."
Harriet continued her puzzled expression. Evan sighed. "Alright, let me start from here. Ten years ago... well, ten years from my perspective, my uncle and I came to the same woods we were in not too long ago, pursuing an old family legend about the Precipitous Bar. We had some lore passed down from my grandfather that said a gateway of sorts would be appearing there. It took us almost a week of searching with a few other family members to find the stream we went down. The stream has some sort of strange effect on one's judgement. Uncle Todd believes that it's because it was projecting our physical bodies onto the psychoplane, although my theory is that our consciousness was actually being removed while our bodies were being held in--"
"Evan." Vicky interrupted.
"Right. Brevity. Anyway, we made our way through, fumbling much like I assume the two of you did. Although you, Miss Stanford, did surprisingly well. Something about the Edge likes you."
Harriet rubbed the back of her head, where her headache was still lingering. She wasn't surprised to find a sore spot. "Not all of it, apparently."
"We're coming to that. Anyway, my uncle and I came here and were set upon by the same gray-skinned Goblin you so elegantly dispatched. However, we were not as--lucky isn't the word. Driven, I suppose fits best. We were cornered, and frightened, and quickly captured. The goblins seemed to grow in front of us the closer they came, so we gave in. And they took us here."
"Why were you looking for the bar?"
"Oh, well, now that is a question. You know, the legends say that the drinks at the bar can heal all ailments. They say you can meet the dead there, or even creatures from other worlds. They also say that the bartender has the answer to all problems.
"Our family has been looking for the bar for generations. My grandfather disappeared while looking for it, shortly after her turned seventy; his body showed up years later, although he looked like he had only passed days after, dead from--of all things--lung cancer."
"Are you saying he got lung cancer from living here?"
Evan shook his head. "He had cancer before he disappeared. It was slow, and painful; far more painful than the peaceful look on his face had shown when we found him. I suppose that's why I wanted to find it, though. I was there when he was found, and I wanted to know why he looked so peaceful.
"It took a sharp turn when we got here, though. Being in this prison for ten years... It wasn't easy on us."
"Ten years? You got taken when you were three?"
Evan smiled. There was a tray sitting by head of the bed that Harriet noticed as he walked towards it. "Here," he said, grabbing a piece of hard bread off of it. "You've been asleep for two days. You must be hungry."
She took the bread, but realized she wasn't hungry. "No, thanks," she said.
"Water, then," he said, handing her a clay jug of clear water. Harriet turned this down as well, confused. "You've been out for two days; even if you hadn't, you were running and fighting. But you're not tired, hungry or thirsty. Two days have passed here, but to your body, it's probably been about five minutes."
"So... there's a time difference."
Evan nodded. "I was gone for ten years. To the rest of the world, though, I was only gone two days.
"Whatever theory is correct, something is going on here that somehow heightens our minds, speeding up our experiences. The link between our emotions and our interaction with the world here is much more direct. It can cause some disturbing physical changes."
"Like what?"
Evan suddenly leaped at Vicky's flank, looking like he was about to swing. Vicky shrunk back, then literally shrunk. She lost more than a foot in height before she snapped back to normal as it became obvious Evan wasn't intending to hit her. Growling, she took a swing at his knee, but he sidestepped quickly.
"What we feel can affect how we appear. Fear normally causes one to shrink. From what others have said, hope can make one powerful, uncertainty leads to frailty, selflessness can make one impervious and courage-"
Evan walked over to the bars of the cage. With a smile on his face, he pulled on the bars. The thick steel bars started to bend, until he suddenly yanked and ripped them out of the ceiling.
"Courage can make us stronger." He walked out of the cage and into the next one. "It's going to take a bit, but we can get out of here as long as we don't get frustrated. We'll talk as we walk. C'mon."
Harriet walked out from between the bars. "What happened to me anyway?"
"You got startled," Vicky said from behind her. "When you shrank, that yellow one we passed back came up and knocked you out with that sheath he had. Evan said we should give up, and they brought us here."
Harriet cringed. "Guess my emotions are my weakness."
"Yeah, but they're you're strength, too," Evan said. "You grew to ten-feet tall! I don't know what you were thinking about, but I'm thankful for it. That old gray goblin wasn't planning on let me escape again. So whatever you were thinking of then, don't forget it."
Harriet swallowed and nodded. She found herself hoping that they simply didn't run into these goblins again.
The Precipitous Bar, part 4
Click here to start at beginning, or here to read the previous entry.
Harriet landed solidly on what felt like stone. The rushing water pouring in from multiple directions prevented her from standing straight, but she managed to keep upright. Unable to see past the cascade in front of her, she felt out ahead with one hand while slowly sliding her foot forward until she kicked a steep step. She took a high step up and repeated the process.
She slowly climbed up about four steps before she made it out from under the waterfall. There was still some water flowing about her hips, but she was able to see again. Each step now brought the water level lower. She went up a few more steps until the flow no longer forced her to bend over to keep her footing. She turned around to see Vicky still standing at the edge, although she was now at eye-level and watching Harriet finish her climb.
Harriet opened her mouth to tell Vicky to stay put and she'd be back in a moment, but she didn't have a chance. All that came out was "Vicky!" as the girl looked away, glancing down the fall and taking the single step off the edge. Harriet only paused for a moment before rushing back down the steps and into the water.
She only fumbled for a moment before she managed to grab the young girl's arm. Not wanting to injure her again, she shifted her grip around the girl's waste and pulled her the direction that she had just came from, pulling up when she came to a step to help her find them. They made it to clear air quickly and they both gasped, hunching over and trying to catch their breath.
"Why did you jump?" Harriet asked between gulps of air. "I was going to come back for you!"
"And how were you going to do that?"
Harriet looked back the way they came. The gap was far to wide to jump, and there was no purchase with which to climb back to the ledge they came from. Even if they were, climbing up through a waterfall wasn't really an option.
"Also, when you came out of the water," Vicky continued after she finished catching her breath, "you didn't have that tired look on your face anymore. I thought maybe the waterfall would help with the cloudiness that was in my head, too."
Harriet straightened up as she looked back at her student. She was right; the fog was gone, and she could think clearly. She's fairly certain she would not have tried that jump had she been thinking straight. Then again, how much of anything that's happened recently.
Vicky was stilled hunched over, although she didn't look like she was breathing hard any more. The girl's face and neck now had angry black-and-blue patches that matched the one on her wris.
Harriet furrowed her brow. The water wasn't flowing hard enough bruise, especially on an athletic girl like Vicky. In fact, she should have had her face down, so it couldn't have bruised her there. She checked her own arms and shoulders, but there was no sign of injury. "Vicky, are you ok?" she asked.
The girl flushed, the bruises themselves almost seeming to pale. Before she had a chance to respond, though, there was a crashing sound above, echoing from the cave mouth, followed by a scream. A scream that sounded distinctly like Evan.
Harriet tapped Vicky lightly on the back to get her moving and took off up the steps. Upon crossing through the strange stone circle, she found herself on a winding staircase cut into the stone of some sort of cave, the source of the flowing water nowhere to be seen on the dry floor. The dark red, clay-like walls were lit by an unknown source, but Harriet was happy to finally be able to see where her feet were going to fall. The two of them continued their exhausting pace up, sprinting across the periodic landing as they continued upwards. Their steps echoed through the cave, becoming quite loud in spite of the soft surface.
Harriet stopped abruptly as she noticed something on the ground of one of the landings. It was generally human in shape: it was about five-and-a-half feet tall (well, long right now), with a head, torso, two arms and two legs. It was muscular, almost stocky, and lying on its back it looked like some sort of wrestler who just lost a match.
The similarities ended there. It was mostly nude, although it had no genetalia that Harriet could see. It had yellow, leathery skin, patched like scales in areas. It had three fingers and toes, each elongated and ending in a broad, dark nails. Its head had some sort of strange, blunted beak, ending in a substance just like those on its hands and feet. And coming from the back of its head was some sort of crest. Harriet was reminded of the pictures of dinosaurs she saw as a child growing up.
Vicky began to push by her, but Harriet stopped her with one hand out. The only things he was wearing was a hard wood-and-leather sheath that looked the type to carry a long, curved sword that was nowhere in sight, and some sort of back-harness. And its chest was moving up and down, its nostrils flaring, so Harriet knew it was still alive.
"We don't have time to stare, Miss Standford," Vicky said from next to her. "Evan's in trouble!"
She nodded, realizing there was little she could do but try to pass. Evan managed to, after all. "Just don't go near it. Stay as close to the wall as you can."
The two of them crept by as softly as they could; the strange creature did not move, just continued its heavy breathing. As soon as they were past arm's reach, they began their run. It was only a few more steps before Harriet noticed another ring of rock, opening up to a bright sky above. The clashing she had heard before suddenly started again, and this time should could tell it was not far from the opening.
Harriet barely registered that the sky was a deep purple and red before she burst through the stone ring. She looked up to see Evan, with a curved sword in one hand and a large, steel-banded wooden shield in the other, barely managing to maintain his footing in front of a creature much like the one that had passed on the way up, wielding an enormous double-handed sword.
Well, there were a few differences. This one's skin was grey, not yellow. Its head crest had three points instead of a rounded edge. And it stood well over eight-feet tall.
Its next blow shattered the thick shield Evan had on his arm. Evan cried out as more than half of the shield flew off, only leaving a few planks still connected to the leather straps. He held his sword out, readying to parry the next few blows but obviously worried how long he could hold up. Harriet thought he could almost see him shrinking before the creature before him.
She looked around quickly. The were in an open area with the same clay substance that was in the cave for the ground. There were thick rock walls that made up a tall cliff-face both behind and in front of them, opening off to Harriet's left and tapering to a corner on the right, a corner that Evan was rapidly getting pressured towards. There weren't any plants around aside from a few stout bushes, but Harriet ignored them. On the ground not too far from her feet was a strange, two-pronged spear. She hefted it and ran at the creature, thrusting it as hard she could into its back.
It yelped in pain, pulling away from the weapon and turning, looking up to face her. Its eyes went wide, and she took its surprise as an opportunity. She thrust the weapon at the creature's neck, catching it between the prongs and sinking the blades into the stone behind him. The weapon buried itself deeply, putting pressure on the creature's throat and causing it to gag, although it could still breathe. It dropped its enormous weapon, grabbing at the haft of spear as Harriet let go, unsuccessfully trying not remove it from the rock behind him and never breaking wide-eyed contact with the woman before him.
It was only then that Harriet realized the huge creature was looking up in order to meet her gaze.
To Be Continued.
Harriet landed solidly on what felt like stone. The rushing water pouring in from multiple directions prevented her from standing straight, but she managed to keep upright. Unable to see past the cascade in front of her, she felt out ahead with one hand while slowly sliding her foot forward until she kicked a steep step. She took a high step up and repeated the process.
She slowly climbed up about four steps before she made it out from under the waterfall. There was still some water flowing about her hips, but she was able to see again. Each step now brought the water level lower. She went up a few more steps until the flow no longer forced her to bend over to keep her footing. She turned around to see Vicky still standing at the edge, although she was now at eye-level and watching Harriet finish her climb.
Harriet opened her mouth to tell Vicky to stay put and she'd be back in a moment, but she didn't have a chance. All that came out was "Vicky!" as the girl looked away, glancing down the fall and taking the single step off the edge. Harriet only paused for a moment before rushing back down the steps and into the water.
She only fumbled for a moment before she managed to grab the young girl's arm. Not wanting to injure her again, she shifted her grip around the girl's waste and pulled her the direction that she had just came from, pulling up when she came to a step to help her find them. They made it to clear air quickly and they both gasped, hunching over and trying to catch their breath.
"Why did you jump?" Harriet asked between gulps of air. "I was going to come back for you!"
"And how were you going to do that?"
Harriet looked back the way they came. The gap was far to wide to jump, and there was no purchase with which to climb back to the ledge they came from. Even if they were, climbing up through a waterfall wasn't really an option.
"Also, when you came out of the water," Vicky continued after she finished catching her breath, "you didn't have that tired look on your face anymore. I thought maybe the waterfall would help with the cloudiness that was in my head, too."
Harriet straightened up as she looked back at her student. She was right; the fog was gone, and she could think clearly. She's fairly certain she would not have tried that jump had she been thinking straight. Then again, how much of anything that's happened recently.
Vicky was stilled hunched over, although she didn't look like she was breathing hard any more. The girl's face and neck now had angry black-and-blue patches that matched the one on her wris.
Harriet furrowed her brow. The water wasn't flowing hard enough bruise, especially on an athletic girl like Vicky. In fact, she should have had her face down, so it couldn't have bruised her there. She checked her own arms and shoulders, but there was no sign of injury. "Vicky, are you ok?" she asked.
The girl flushed, the bruises themselves almost seeming to pale. Before she had a chance to respond, though, there was a crashing sound above, echoing from the cave mouth, followed by a scream. A scream that sounded distinctly like Evan.
Harriet tapped Vicky lightly on the back to get her moving and took off up the steps. Upon crossing through the strange stone circle, she found herself on a winding staircase cut into the stone of some sort of cave, the source of the flowing water nowhere to be seen on the dry floor. The dark red, clay-like walls were lit by an unknown source, but Harriet was happy to finally be able to see where her feet were going to fall. The two of them continued their exhausting pace up, sprinting across the periodic landing as they continued upwards. Their steps echoed through the cave, becoming quite loud in spite of the soft surface.
Harriet stopped abruptly as she noticed something on the ground of one of the landings. It was generally human in shape: it was about five-and-a-half feet tall (well, long right now), with a head, torso, two arms and two legs. It was muscular, almost stocky, and lying on its back it looked like some sort of wrestler who just lost a match.
The similarities ended there. It was mostly nude, although it had no genetalia that Harriet could see. It had yellow, leathery skin, patched like scales in areas. It had three fingers and toes, each elongated and ending in a broad, dark nails. Its head had some sort of strange, blunted beak, ending in a substance just like those on its hands and feet. And coming from the back of its head was some sort of crest. Harriet was reminded of the pictures of dinosaurs she saw as a child growing up.
Vicky began to push by her, but Harriet stopped her with one hand out. The only things he was wearing was a hard wood-and-leather sheath that looked the type to carry a long, curved sword that was nowhere in sight, and some sort of back-harness. And its chest was moving up and down, its nostrils flaring, so Harriet knew it was still alive.
"We don't have time to stare, Miss Standford," Vicky said from next to her. "Evan's in trouble!"
She nodded, realizing there was little she could do but try to pass. Evan managed to, after all. "Just don't go near it. Stay as close to the wall as you can."
The two of them crept by as softly as they could; the strange creature did not move, just continued its heavy breathing. As soon as they were past arm's reach, they began their run. It was only a few more steps before Harriet noticed another ring of rock, opening up to a bright sky above. The clashing she had heard before suddenly started again, and this time should could tell it was not far from the opening.
Harriet barely registered that the sky was a deep purple and red before she burst through the stone ring. She looked up to see Evan, with a curved sword in one hand and a large, steel-banded wooden shield in the other, barely managing to maintain his footing in front of a creature much like the one that had passed on the way up, wielding an enormous double-handed sword.
Well, there were a few differences. This one's skin was grey, not yellow. Its head crest had three points instead of a rounded edge. And it stood well over eight-feet tall.
Its next blow shattered the thick shield Evan had on his arm. Evan cried out as more than half of the shield flew off, only leaving a few planks still connected to the leather straps. He held his sword out, readying to parry the next few blows but obviously worried how long he could hold up. Harriet thought he could almost see him shrinking before the creature before him.
She looked around quickly. The were in an open area with the same clay substance that was in the cave for the ground. There were thick rock walls that made up a tall cliff-face both behind and in front of them, opening off to Harriet's left and tapering to a corner on the right, a corner that Evan was rapidly getting pressured towards. There weren't any plants around aside from a few stout bushes, but Harriet ignored them. On the ground not too far from her feet was a strange, two-pronged spear. She hefted it and ran at the creature, thrusting it as hard she could into its back.
It yelped in pain, pulling away from the weapon and turning, looking up to face her. Its eyes went wide, and she took its surprise as an opportunity. She thrust the weapon at the creature's neck, catching it between the prongs and sinking the blades into the stone behind him. The weapon buried itself deeply, putting pressure on the creature's throat and causing it to gag, although it could still breathe. It dropped its enormous weapon, grabbing at the haft of spear as Harriet let go, unsuccessfully trying not remove it from the rock behind him and never breaking wide-eyed contact with the woman before him.
It was only then that Harriet realized the huge creature was looking up in order to meet her gaze.
To Be Continued.
The Nations of Radix: Declaria
Declaria was my "wild nation." The nation's original concept revolved more along the lines of a mix of rain forest and rolling savanna-like plains. However, the concept changed as the world did; rain forests became somewhat implausible in a world where the water was "fed" to other countries and oceans don't exist. When I decided that the Root of Creation, of life and chaos, would be coming up through it as well, it took another twist.
The country turned into a dense forest of deciduous trees, thinner at the edges where most of the larger towns were located. The closer one came to the middle of nation, the wilder the area would get, with great trees and the most barbaric of villages closer to the middle. At the very center of the world is a vast, half-sphere crater; all of the water that comes into the country, regardless of its point of origin, ends here, filling most of the five-mile-wide hole and turning it into a deep lake dozens of feet below the closest edge of land. Most people do not know what is actually right next to root; although legends tell about people disappearing or abducted to other worlds, those who know of these things know that the Fae make their home near the base of the root itself, and venturing to those lands means one may never come back; if they do, they will most likely not come back the same as they once were.
Since the country was centered around the idea of chaos, I decided that a singular ruling body was unrealistic. Any centered power-seat would be immediately rooted out by not only the anarchistic forces of the land, but also by those who lived here and considered themselves part of such a chaotic land. As such, I decided that any governing body would only meet periodically, and often in secret. It would be composed of defacto or informal leaders from any and all settlements, gathered by some of the greatest Terrestrial Mages who were capable of detecting colonies of living, thinking bodies throughout the country, as well as creating vast nets of communication lines between them through various means.
The immediate problem that tends to come from creating separate nations within a world (unless, of course, this is something you're intending to do from the beginning) is the tendency for some of them to be perceived as "good" and others as "bad." The tyrannical oppression of an empire versus the freedoms represented by the conglomerate of states run by the people. It's ingrained in many of us, to be honest, as it's how many of us were raised.
So when I first decided I wanted to create a nation that consisted of a large number of independent cities and villages, I was afraid most anything I wrote would be construed as some sort of allegory either for or against democracy. I wasn't entirely comfortable with construction, and I definitely wasn't ok with the idea of a back-woods society I was trying to create being compared to any sort of modern-day political construction.
As such, I decided I would make the "ruling body" consist of two things that would separate it from modern political schemes. First, I made it a shadow organization: although each member would do their best to represent the interests of their home, most did not make any within their home aware that meetings were happening, what they were discussing or where they were being held. Second, I added an illogical hierarchy, where villages with their own mages in the organization were given priority over those that were not, and that priority amongst the mages were given not by their power or strength, but actually the distance and area of effect a mage could control or influence at once.
After also removing the ability to create any legislature of any kind, restricting the body into a role where it could do little aside from setting up trade or evaluating threats, I was a bit more comfortable with the nation. To be honest, it's still my least favorite of the nations I created. At the same time, I think that's driven me to keep working on it.
The country turned into a dense forest of deciduous trees, thinner at the edges where most of the larger towns were located. The closer one came to the middle of nation, the wilder the area would get, with great trees and the most barbaric of villages closer to the middle. At the very center of the world is a vast, half-sphere crater; all of the water that comes into the country, regardless of its point of origin, ends here, filling most of the five-mile-wide hole and turning it into a deep lake dozens of feet below the closest edge of land. Most people do not know what is actually right next to root; although legends tell about people disappearing or abducted to other worlds, those who know of these things know that the Fae make their home near the base of the root itself, and venturing to those lands means one may never come back; if they do, they will most likely not come back the same as they once were.
Since the country was centered around the idea of chaos, I decided that a singular ruling body was unrealistic. Any centered power-seat would be immediately rooted out by not only the anarchistic forces of the land, but also by those who lived here and considered themselves part of such a chaotic land. As such, I decided that any governing body would only meet periodically, and often in secret. It would be composed of defacto or informal leaders from any and all settlements, gathered by some of the greatest Terrestrial Mages who were capable of detecting colonies of living, thinking bodies throughout the country, as well as creating vast nets of communication lines between them through various means.
The immediate problem that tends to come from creating separate nations within a world (unless, of course, this is something you're intending to do from the beginning) is the tendency for some of them to be perceived as "good" and others as "bad." The tyrannical oppression of an empire versus the freedoms represented by the conglomerate of states run by the people. It's ingrained in many of us, to be honest, as it's how many of us were raised.
So when I first decided I wanted to create a nation that consisted of a large number of independent cities and villages, I was afraid most anything I wrote would be construed as some sort of allegory either for or against democracy. I wasn't entirely comfortable with construction, and I definitely wasn't ok with the idea of a back-woods society I was trying to create being compared to any sort of modern-day political construction.
As such, I decided I would make the "ruling body" consist of two things that would separate it from modern political schemes. First, I made it a shadow organization: although each member would do their best to represent the interests of their home, most did not make any within their home aware that meetings were happening, what they were discussing or where they were being held. Second, I added an illogical hierarchy, where villages with their own mages in the organization were given priority over those that were not, and that priority amongst the mages were given not by their power or strength, but actually the distance and area of effect a mage could control or influence at once.
After also removing the ability to create any legislature of any kind, restricting the body into a role where it could do little aside from setting up trade or evaluating threats, I was a bit more comfortable with the nation. To be honest, it's still my least favorite of the nations I created. At the same time, I think that's driven me to keep working on it.
Deciduoh: the Dragons
I absolutely love dragons. I'm pretty sure this is abundantly obvious to anyone who has had any sort of extended interaction with me: "Oh, him? Yeah, he's obsessed about cartoons, swords and dragons." I'm sure conversations about me are much more colorful than that, but I like to imagine that something so innocuous has happened at least once.
Still, I've never been happy with the whole good vs. evil, colored vs. metallic, and a lot of other fantasy aspects of draconic sub-systems. Then again, modern/urban fantasy tends to categorize them as either some feral beast, or some old man on a mountain type of meme. Both of these bothered me.
And then I stumbled upon Temeraire and Naomi Novik. To say her stories were inspiring would be an understatement. The idea itself was absolutely amazing (The Napoleonic Wars with dragons as an air force?? That's just made of win!!), but more so than that, I fell in love with the dragons, and how they had grown in the human culture. It wasn't the question of what they were, but how they came to be that way, a question that I had not thought to ask at this point in the development.
And so I looked at dragons from a different point of view. Why are they in the world? Not only why am I including them, but also why are they a part of the world. As I began to answer these questions, the dragons themselves started to take shape on their own.
I started with the original question, of why I wanted dragons in the world. In my case, I wanted to include them as a sort of living embodiment of misunderstood prophecies. Dragons, I had decided, were often included in both end-of-world predictions, as well as saviors, and these legends/beliefs shaped the very societies in which they were found. As I wrote some more notes, I included more and more superstitions in with myths and religious texts. Eventually, something as simple as having a white dragon licking your hands could mean you would lose money that day, while a dark dragon rubbing against your back meant you would have unexpected support.
Then I began to approach their origins. A few days of brainstorming put them as not a creation of the gods but of the guardians, a balance to the humanoid races that is neither truly immortal or mortal. At first, I considered scrapping this, considering making their origins as enigmatic as the animals or monsters within the world. Eventually, though, I didn't want to make an intelligent (well, mostly intelligent) race quite so forgotten, especially when some of them might have lived long enough to remember when it happened.
Eventually, the dragons began to form themselves, the notes defining them far better than I could have if I stated from this end first: a race of creatures that share pieces of one soul that resides on a parallel plane, one that maintains the balance between life and death (the Veil). Some, gifted with a large part of the unnamed soul (ok, it has a name, but at this point it didn't), would have great power and intelligence, and even rule over humanoids in their domain; in others, it would be akin to a dog or cat, with its own personality but far from intelligible.
It was a strange concept, but one I really enjoyed in the stories for the world. My favorite plot with it involved a strange magic that was preventing pieces of the soul from rejoining the unnamed one. As such, the number of dragons in the world slowly began to dwindle as they were unable to return to the world in a new body (which doesn't seem to be a bad thing until the Veil was removed, causing life and death to run rampant around the world).
All in all, though, it was a fun jaunt through discovery, that actually managed to start with the story. My favorite way to start.
Still, I've never been happy with the whole good vs. evil, colored vs. metallic, and a lot of other fantasy aspects of draconic sub-systems. Then again, modern/urban fantasy tends to categorize them as either some feral beast, or some old man on a mountain type of meme. Both of these bothered me.
And then I stumbled upon Temeraire and Naomi Novik. To say her stories were inspiring would be an understatement. The idea itself was absolutely amazing (The Napoleonic Wars with dragons as an air force?? That's just made of win!!), but more so than that, I fell in love with the dragons, and how they had grown in the human culture. It wasn't the question of what they were, but how they came to be that way, a question that I had not thought to ask at this point in the development.
And so I looked at dragons from a different point of view. Why are they in the world? Not only why am I including them, but also why are they a part of the world. As I began to answer these questions, the dragons themselves started to take shape on their own.
I started with the original question, of why I wanted dragons in the world. In my case, I wanted to include them as a sort of living embodiment of misunderstood prophecies. Dragons, I had decided, were often included in both end-of-world predictions, as well as saviors, and these legends/beliefs shaped the very societies in which they were found. As I wrote some more notes, I included more and more superstitions in with myths and religious texts. Eventually, something as simple as having a white dragon licking your hands could mean you would lose money that day, while a dark dragon rubbing against your back meant you would have unexpected support.
Then I began to approach their origins. A few days of brainstorming put them as not a creation of the gods but of the guardians, a balance to the humanoid races that is neither truly immortal or mortal. At first, I considered scrapping this, considering making their origins as enigmatic as the animals or monsters within the world. Eventually, though, I didn't want to make an intelligent (well, mostly intelligent) race quite so forgotten, especially when some of them might have lived long enough to remember when it happened.
Eventually, the dragons began to form themselves, the notes defining them far better than I could have if I stated from this end first: a race of creatures that share pieces of one soul that resides on a parallel plane, one that maintains the balance between life and death (the Veil). Some, gifted with a large part of the unnamed soul (ok, it has a name, but at this point it didn't), would have great power and intelligence, and even rule over humanoids in their domain; in others, it would be akin to a dog or cat, with its own personality but far from intelligible.
It was a strange concept, but one I really enjoyed in the stories for the world. My favorite plot with it involved a strange magic that was preventing pieces of the soul from rejoining the unnamed one. As such, the number of dragons in the world slowly began to dwindle as they were unable to return to the world in a new body (which doesn't seem to be a bad thing until the Veil was removed, causing life and death to run rampant around the world).
All in all, though, it was a fun jaunt through discovery, that actually managed to start with the story. My favorite way to start.
The Precipitous Bar, part 3
For part 1, click here.
For part 2, click here.
The splashing stopped. A new sound rose in its place, a rushing sound Harriet didn't recognize at first. The water at her feet began to pick up more speed, as if in anticipation. It didn't take long for Harriet to figure out what the sound was; she hadn't heard the sound of a waterfall from the top in some time, and she wasn't exactly happy to hear it now. There wasn't much she could do, so she slowed down to make sure she didn't lose her footing.
Vicky followed suit. She took the opportunity to look over the edge; it was immediately apparent that she wished she hadn't. She paled visibly and returned to the center of the stream, walking closer to Harriet.
"Grab on to my shirt," Harriet said over her shoulder, "if it'll help you." Vicky harrumphed at the suggestion, but did not hesitated long before gripping the cloth tightly in her fist.
It wasn't long before she could make out the figure of Evan standing against a bright blue sky. The water had picked up to the point that Harriet had to place each foot carefully. She felt Vicky take a few stumbles, but she was strong and managed to keep herself standing through her grip on her teacher. Harriet called out Evan's name one more time; the dark silhouette turned to face them and waved.
Harriet tried not to stare as she approached, but without somewhere else to look it was proving difficult. On either side, there only sky, a sky that simply reminded her how high they were. Looking down only made keeping her footing that much harder, as she tried to think about every step instead of relying on instinct. Up only held a blank sky and vertigo. So she locked her eyes on the madly grinning boy down stream.
Long before she caught up, he turned his attention to a strange stone formation next to him. All Harriet noticed, though, was that he was standing only five feet from the edge of the water, right before it tumbled down to... Well, hopefully, she'd be able to drag him away before she found out where the water ended.
"Evan--" Harriet began as she came within a few strides.
"Before you go," he interrupted, "look. You're going to want to see this."
Harriet opened her mouth to yell and paused. She reminded herself she was standing before a waterfall, on some sort of stream that seemed to ascend into the sky, chasing a boy who seemed to stand on edge of the world without a care. Regardless of the reason, this was not a good place to start yelling. Instead, she looked down at where Evan was pointing.
Three large, semi-circular stones jutted out of the water, arranged to reveal strange characters carved along the curve. One of them was well out of the water, but the other two sat below the surface of the almost waist-high water. Despite the rushing water, the strange characters were still easy to make out.
Wait, waist high, rushing water? Harriet thought suddenly. Hold on, why--
"Can you read what it says?"
Harriet looked back up at Evan as she was pulled from her thoughts. "No," she said in response to his question. What was she thinking about? She couldn't place it. Her thoughts seemed slow, like they were coming through thick syrup.
Evan laughed, gesturing back to the strange statue. "Just follow along, I'm sure you'll get it." Before she could say anything, he began to chant in a deep rhythm.
"The climb was steep, the journey was long,
But no matter our pace,
We're late.
But we took the steps, and tried our best,
Is it luck? Ambition?
Or fate?"
Harriet was beginning to follow along. She knew he finished the first semicircle, and could almost make out the words on the next row. It was almost like the words were changing to something more recognizable as Evan continued his strange song.
"The door forbidden, found unbidden,
Can be found for one year, so
Fleeting.
Yet we come so far, for the Precipitous Bar
Patient and Driven.
Needing."
It all made sense. Before she realized it, Harriet found herself adding her own voice to Evan's. It wasn't long before Vicky's voice joined as well.
"Our emotions come real, our minds become steel,
The only true strengths are
Choices.
Now we stand before, and call for the door,
With our hearts, our souls and
Voices!"
A huge wave of air and sound pushed suddenly against Harriet, almost destroying her equilibrium. She closed her for only a moment and adjusted her stance, widening slightly bending more at the knees. The first boom was quickly followed by another, but they were no longer threatening. She opened her eyes.
A ring of thick rock, almost like a cave-mouth, hung in the air, some distance in front and above them. Stairs descended from it, and a strong flow of water poured out. The stairs and water came to meet the waterfall about ten feet down from the edge on which they stood, the two flows creating a thick downpour into the empty space below. The stairs continued to ascend through the strange, hanging rock formation, going into... nothing. And yet the water continued to flow down them, endlessly produced from whatever invisible source fed it.
Harriet gaped; from the gasp behind her, she imagined Vicky was doing the same. It took a moment to realize that Evan had stepped off the edge into the waterfall.
"Evan!" she cried, grasping for the place where he was just standing. Her mind was reeling, trying to keep up with a reality that wasn't obeying the rules any more. She grasped for anything that she could onto, a hand, a rock, a thought...
"Miss Stanford!"
She turned her head as fast as it would respond towards the sound. Although even that felt sluggish, she managed to do so quickly. Evan was standing at the mouth of cave, waving once again as if he did not have a concern in the world. He smiled at her as soon as he knew he had her attention, and then turned around once more, jogging up the steps and through the opening.
She looked back at Vicky, concern and anxiety filling her gaze. They did not say a word, but Vicky swallowed hard once and nodded. Turning back to the precipice, taking a deep breath and flattening her arms against her sides, Harriet jumped.
To Be Continued
For part 2, click here.
The splashing stopped. A new sound rose in its place, a rushing sound Harriet didn't recognize at first. The water at her feet began to pick up more speed, as if in anticipation. It didn't take long for Harriet to figure out what the sound was; she hadn't heard the sound of a waterfall from the top in some time, and she wasn't exactly happy to hear it now. There wasn't much she could do, so she slowed down to make sure she didn't lose her footing.
Vicky followed suit. She took the opportunity to look over the edge; it was immediately apparent that she wished she hadn't. She paled visibly and returned to the center of the stream, walking closer to Harriet.
"Grab on to my shirt," Harriet said over her shoulder, "if it'll help you." Vicky harrumphed at the suggestion, but did not hesitated long before gripping the cloth tightly in her fist.
It wasn't long before she could make out the figure of Evan standing against a bright blue sky. The water had picked up to the point that Harriet had to place each foot carefully. She felt Vicky take a few stumbles, but she was strong and managed to keep herself standing through her grip on her teacher. Harriet called out Evan's name one more time; the dark silhouette turned to face them and waved.
Harriet tried not to stare as she approached, but without somewhere else to look it was proving difficult. On either side, there only sky, a sky that simply reminded her how high they were. Looking down only made keeping her footing that much harder, as she tried to think about every step instead of relying on instinct. Up only held a blank sky and vertigo. So she locked her eyes on the madly grinning boy down stream.
Long before she caught up, he turned his attention to a strange stone formation next to him. All Harriet noticed, though, was that he was standing only five feet from the edge of the water, right before it tumbled down to... Well, hopefully, she'd be able to drag him away before she found out where the water ended.
"Evan--" Harriet began as she came within a few strides.
"Before you go," he interrupted, "look. You're going to want to see this."
Harriet opened her mouth to yell and paused. She reminded herself she was standing before a waterfall, on some sort of stream that seemed to ascend into the sky, chasing a boy who seemed to stand on edge of the world without a care. Regardless of the reason, this was not a good place to start yelling. Instead, she looked down at where Evan was pointing.
Three large, semi-circular stones jutted out of the water, arranged to reveal strange characters carved along the curve. One of them was well out of the water, but the other two sat below the surface of the almost waist-high water. Despite the rushing water, the strange characters were still easy to make out.
Wait, waist high, rushing water? Harriet thought suddenly. Hold on, why--
"Can you read what it says?"
Harriet looked back up at Evan as she was pulled from her thoughts. "No," she said in response to his question. What was she thinking about? She couldn't place it. Her thoughts seemed slow, like they were coming through thick syrup.
Evan laughed, gesturing back to the strange statue. "Just follow along, I'm sure you'll get it." Before she could say anything, he began to chant in a deep rhythm.
"The climb was steep, the journey was long,
But no matter our pace,
We're late.
But we took the steps, and tried our best,
Is it luck? Ambition?
Or fate?"
Harriet was beginning to follow along. She knew he finished the first semicircle, and could almost make out the words on the next row. It was almost like the words were changing to something more recognizable as Evan continued his strange song.
"The door forbidden, found unbidden,
Can be found for one year, so
Fleeting.
Yet we come so far, for the Precipitous Bar
Patient and Driven.
Needing."
It all made sense. Before she realized it, Harriet found herself adding her own voice to Evan's. It wasn't long before Vicky's voice joined as well.
"Our emotions come real, our minds become steel,
The only true strengths are
Choices.
Now we stand before, and call for the door,
With our hearts, our souls and
Voices!"
A huge wave of air and sound pushed suddenly against Harriet, almost destroying her equilibrium. She closed her for only a moment and adjusted her stance, widening slightly bending more at the knees. The first boom was quickly followed by another, but they were no longer threatening. She opened her eyes.
A ring of thick rock, almost like a cave-mouth, hung in the air, some distance in front and above them. Stairs descended from it, and a strong flow of water poured out. The stairs and water came to meet the waterfall about ten feet down from the edge on which they stood, the two flows creating a thick downpour into the empty space below. The stairs continued to ascend through the strange, hanging rock formation, going into... nothing. And yet the water continued to flow down them, endlessly produced from whatever invisible source fed it.
Harriet gaped; from the gasp behind her, she imagined Vicky was doing the same. It took a moment to realize that Evan had stepped off the edge into the waterfall.
"Evan!" she cried, grasping for the place where he was just standing. Her mind was reeling, trying to keep up with a reality that wasn't obeying the rules any more. She grasped for anything that she could onto, a hand, a rock, a thought...
"Miss Stanford!"
She turned her head as fast as it would respond towards the sound. Although even that felt sluggish, she managed to do so quickly. Evan was standing at the mouth of cave, waving once again as if he did not have a concern in the world. He smiled at her as soon as he knew he had her attention, and then turned around once more, jogging up the steps and through the opening.
She looked back at Vicky, concern and anxiety filling her gaze. They did not say a word, but Vicky swallowed hard once and nodded. Turning back to the precipice, taking a deep breath and flattening her arms against her sides, Harriet jumped.
To Be Continued
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)