Archive for November, 2011

Day #29-Maximus the Mathematician

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

#27 – Vinny

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

Vinny – shady guy eh?

 

#30 – The Tri-Iko

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

The Tri-Iko are the guardians of Rykiki, a wild and mountainous land whose few inhabitants suffer frequent attacks by dragons, ogres, giants, and all sorts of other dangerous predators.  At least it did – generations ago.  Today it’s a mostly peaceful land thanks to the original guardian who passed the sacred duty down through his family.  But as the years passed and no knew threats came the need for the guardians died out and now the Tri-Ikos are the last of the family line and are determined to bring back the guardian tradition and fulfill the sacred duty of their family.

The villagers and government view them as eccentric idiots or children playing a game and no one takes them seriously.  Of course all that changes when their land is threatened by a terrifying force no one can understand – a teenage high school student from a futuristic world in an alternate dimension.  When they share this information with the locals they are finally taken seriously – as in “you kids seriously need help”, and they’re thrown in what passes for a mental institution, which is pretty much like a prison, only worse.

The future girl – named Karen – rescues them and seeks their help searching for an important clue to a mysterious and almost forgotten landmark, and warns them that she’s been followed by people who are actually dangerous (she really isn’t).  Eager to uphold their sacred duty they join her in fighting foes far more dangerous than dragons or giants and discovering the secret to a long forgotten treasure trove of scientific technology.

Riko is the oldest and is the leader of the trio.  He is a good leader and a great fighter, but he’s impulsive and often acts without thinking.  Niko is the middle-child and she is very intelligent, specializing in strategy.  Although she may seem arrogant and unsocial at first it’s just her way of dealing with being shy and not wanting to be laughed at anymore.  Miko is the youngest and is the builder, creating all kinds of weapons that she co-designs with Niko.  She also loves to cook and is generally in charge of the domestic stuff like cooking, sewing, and laundry, which she enjoys doing. Her nickname is “Little Mother”.

Their father died before they were born and their mother died when they were 12, 10, and 9 respectively, leaving them for fend for themselves.  They were raised in the run-down gatehouse on the grounds of the ancestral home – a crumbled and decaying castle that was accidentally burned to the ground a hundred years ago.

#10 Mernok

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

Art by Michael Powell (@mpowelljr)
Words by Rolando Garcia (@roshow)

Billions of light years away, a body of water trillions of times Earth’s size exists in space. The center of this unique celestial body is a pulsing quasar. Misguided Earth scientists, never once considering that there could be intelligent life there, built an unstable wormhole connecting our corner of the universe with that quasar. Although they only managed to maintain the bridge open for a matter of microseconds, the results on the other end were catastrophic.

An advanced amphibian society had developed near the quasar over thousands of years. A group of their own scientists, on a standard data-gathering expedition, were ripped from their home world and pulled to Earth through the wormhole bridge. All but one, Mernok, died in transit. In a blink of an eye, Mernok found himself alone, without any of his own kind, on a strange planet. His initial reaction was rage and hostility. He abandoned all his advanced intellect and let loose with the primal, unstoppable rage his species was capable of.

Before Mernok could anything he might later regret, a group of Earth’s heroes lead by Revenger subdued him. Their nobility brought Mernok to his senses. To repay them, he pledged to use his skills as member of their heroic community, at least until he could find a way back home.

Today, Mernok is known as one of the most brilliant scientists on our planet… and one of the fiercest warriors too. He dreams of the day he can solve the problem of creating a stable wormhole and return home to tell his family about the adventures he’s had on Earth.

[Fun fact: there actually is a body of water surrounding a quasar, 12 billion light years away from Earth. Check it out.]

30 Characters in 30 Days – A Veritable Feast

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

30 Characters in 30 Days has proven to be a beast of a challenge. Especially because I am NOT AN ARTIST. I am a WRITER, so the challenge for me was to create interesting characters, biographies or stories. The art was not mine, except when it was created by me in a graphic design tool.

My art and challenge was to tell good stories or create interesting people for those stories. So some of these people will link to character bios, others will link to short stories. Was this challenging? Absolutely. Is it necessary? Even more so now after doing it, I realize new characters are in short supply as big businesses are only interested in dragging out the same old ideas again and again as long as they are profitable. And since the churning masses are quite happy with retreaded old ideas, it becomes nearly impossible for new ideas to be seen.

This makes it even more imperative for new creators, to put down their ideas, flesh them out and begin working so when the opportunity for something new to hit the screen, or become a book or find its way into a comic presents itself, you and your product are already refined, sharp, definite and ready for prime time. Contests like these can inspire you and others who see you and your work to take the risk of Creation.

Whether you succeed in this challenge or not is immaterial. What is important is that you recognized that it must be done by you. If you are going to call yourself a creative, such challenges need to be taken on, like the Labors of Hercules, to prove that you are worthy, to challenge your mettle, to sharpen your sword upon the enemies of deadlines, of production, of quality control and of ennui, lack of motivation and most of all, Fear. Actually both fears, fear of failure and fear of success, are equally able to prevent you from taking action. Challenges like this should spur your blood, and make you ready to create as if no one is watching, design as if no algorithm is taking note of your numbers.

I enjoyed this challenge and will spend the time until next November trying to turn these bits of writing into something larger and more magnificent than the seeds planted this month.

I challenge you to do the same.

You can find my writing in all of these places: http://myonepage.com/ebonstorm

Twitter: @ebonstorm
Google+: http://gplus.to/ebonstorm
A Matter of Scale: WordPress - http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com/
Mediasphere Curation: Tumblr - http://mediasphere.tumblr.com/
Tales of the Twilight Continuum: Weebly - http://ebonstorm.weebly.com/
Hidden Realms: Posterous - http://hiddenrealms.posterous.com/#!/68615711

Day 30: Dragon Keeper

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

These keepers of the dragons work in the nurseries with the hatchlings and will sometimes bond with the dragons…when this happens they become warriors.

#29 – Aiko Ushiba

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

The Pleiatic Seers are a group of the seven most powerful and pure oracles in the world.  Once every thousand years seven seers are chosen to be part of the creation of a set of prophesies for the next one thousand years. The gathering is called the Prophesy of the Whole and is held on the summer solstice.  The ruling constellation of the ceremony is the Pleiades for mythological reasons (the original seers were the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, hence the name Pleiatic Seers.)  The event is signaled by the birth of a child that contains all seven of the oracle powers – Sight, Touch, Smell, Head, Heart, Spirit-Light, and Blood, who is known as the Pleiona (the mother of the Pleiades in the myth) who is in charge of choosing and gathering all the seers together.  It can take years to find the right ones and then wait for the ages to align corrects – each seer must be a virgin woman between the ages of 7 and 49 (7 years apart each), with a single, specific, and powerful oracle ability.

Aiko is the youngest of three children and the only girl.  She was born into an old Japanese sorcerer clan living in Tokyo.  She was always a quiet child and once she learned to talk everyone learned why: she could see the future or past of anyone or anything she touched.  She revealed this ability when her parents tried to leave her with a babysitter who was a silent and unknown witness to a gang murder.  She flipped out, not knowing what to make of the images she could see in her mind but knowing they came from the sitter.  It took a long time for her parents to calm her down.

When they finally did they realized that Aiko was a Tacta seer, and a very powerful one to have such an experience at the age of three.  They helped the sitter and used their power and influence to protect her from harm when she agreed to tell the authorities what she had seen, to help Aiko as well as herself since they had basically both experienced it and both needed closure.

They family was surprised at Aiko’s abilities because even though they were a well-established sorcerer clan with a long and proud tradition in Japan’s history, there were never any known seers among the ancestors. This led to a genealogical search which uncovered a dark family secret.  Aiko is the last to be found of the Pleiatic seers and does not have much time to learn about what it is she will soon be going through.  However she is very intelligent and a very fast learner, though she doesn’t talk much and rarely smiles.

One word to describe her:  Intelligent.

Image created at smalldressup.com and dolldivine.com

#28 – Wakanda Fulton

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

The Pleiatic Seers are a group of the seven most powerful and pure oracles in the world.  Once every thousand years seven seers are chosen to be part of the creation of a set of prophesies for the next one thousand years. The gathering is called the Prophesy of the Whole and is held on the summer solstice.  The ruling constellation of the ceremony is the Pleiades for mythological reasons (the original seers were the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, hence the name Pleiatic Seers.)  The event is signaled by the birth of a child that contains all seven of the oracle powers – Sight, Touch, Smell, Head, Heart, Spirit-Light, and Blood, who is known as the Pleiona (the mother of the Pleiades in the myth) who is in charge of choosing and gathering all the seers together.  It can take years to find the right ones and then wait for the ages to align corrects – each seer must be a virgin woman between the ages of 7 and 49 (7 years apart each), with a single, specific, and powerful oracle ability.

Wakanda was born the only child to a loving couple with a relationship straight out of a romance novel.  Her father is the wealthy and powerful mayors of a small town in Northern Canada.  He was a billionaire from the US who fell in love with the librarian and local historian of a small town in Alberta he tried to buy in order to uncover a secret buried in the snow by a famous sorcerer over a thousand years before.

When Wakanda, nicknamed Wanda, was born the couple sensed there was something special about her.  By the age of three it became obvious that she was the rarest type of seer – an Odorata, one who can tell the future through smell and taste.  Such seers are rarely discovered because they don’t live past childhood.  She can taste the death of any animal whose meat she eats, and know the victim, murderer, and circumstances of a crime just by smelling dried blood on the pavement.  It’s an overwhelming ability but luckily her parents are caring, understanding, and rich so they moved up north as far from civilization as they could without living alone in the wilderness.

Being surrounded by cold and snow keeps overwhelming odors at bay, and she has a carefully prepared vegetarian diet of all natural foods…and Twinkies, which have no past or future.  No Ordorata seer as ever lived past thirty so they do what they can to make her life happy without spoiling her.  The result is a shy, clever girl with a deep understanding of the seriousness of her responsibilities and the life ahead of her.  She is in many ways very innocent and in other ways very mature.  She is a daydreamer who writes books and is home schooled, who lives in the snow and cherishes the sun.

One word to describe her: Wistful.

Image created at smalldressup.com and dolldivine.com

Grand Wanderer 30 Character Roundup

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

I made it. Despite a week of homelessness, moving across five time zones from Michigan to Hawaii, setting up a new apartment, spending all of yesterday at the DMV buying a car, and having my internet connection cut for three days, 30 Days of Characters was still completed on time. I’m quite pleased with the results, and once again the skills improvement has been significant.

#29 Agent Spektor

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

Agent Spektor

No one knows who Agent Spektor was before he died, but since his death he’s been working for U.N.S.C.E.N.E. as Agent Elvis-714’s partner.

Like all ghosts that try to interact with the living, Spektor wears clothes and a mask to show his form. His powers include the ability to pass through walls, levitation and on occasion, he can possess the living.

#27 – Iris Starshine

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

The Pleiatic Seers are a group of the seven most powerful and pure oracles in the world.  Once every thousand years seven seers are chosen to be part of the creation of a set of prophesies for the next one thousand years. The gathering is called the Prophesy of the Whole and is held on the summer solstice.  The ruling constellation of the ceremony is the Pleiades for mythological reasons (the original seers were the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, hence the name Pleiatic Seers.)  The event is signaled by the birth of a child that contains all seven of the oracle powers – Sight, Touch, Smell, Head, Heart, Spirit-Light, and Blood, who is known as the Pleiona (the mother of the Pleiades in the myth) who is in charge of choosing and gathering all the seers together.  It can take years to find the right ones and then wait for the ages to align corrects – each seer must be a virgin woman between the ages of 7 and 49 (7 years apart each), with a single, specific, and powerful oracle ability.

Iris is a third generation hippie.  She’s a new age neo-pagan, sun-worshipping, vegetarian, enviromentally conscious, yoga-enthusiast.  Her father is the owner of a small business that makes surfboards from recycled materials, and she’s graphic artist who designs most of the board artwork.  Her mother was a sorceress who had a brief romance with her father before realizing she liked material goods to much to give them for love.  She returned only to give him the option of raising of Iris or turning her over to an adoption agency.  Despite the harsh reality of her mother’s selfishness, Iris feels very lucky to have such a wonderful father and doesn’t hold a grudge.  She’s does her own thing and doesn’t care what anyone says.  She may seem annoying at first but her warm smile and sense of humor can win over almost everyone.

One word to describe her: Carefree

Image created at dolldivine.com

#30 Don Dada, The Dream Merchant

| November 30, 2011 | 3 Comments

Don Dada

Don Dada, The Dream Merchant

“I’m all up in your head, like colors when you shut your eyes” – Raphael Attar, “There’s A Lot of Numbers”

Don Dada, the Dream Merchant, aka the Sultan of the Surreal, aka Stacks Visions, aka Black Morpheus. In the Great Marketplace, he is the bringer of dreams, but not necessarily dreams that are good for you. Where attention flows, energy goes, so he’s more interested in getting you hooked on dreams that appeal to you rather than forcing you to process the information you need or stumble onto some great insight. When Don Dada took over the dream racket, he realized one important thing: the dreams people want can be standardized, and people will choose pedestrian dreams they can understand over the actual mysteries of the subconscious damn near every time. And either way, your dreaming activity still generates the same amount of energy for him.

If you should meet him in a dream, he will tell you this. He will always tell the truth, and share the deep mysteries, to those who want to hear it. Or he can feed you the dreams of riches and success that television told you you wanted. It’s all the same to him, he’ll keep dropping gems in the R.E.M. Due to his mix of bluntness and wisdom, he is occasionally invoked by gods and sorcerors who will trade rituals, dreams or secrets for answers.

The crown over his head is how sentient beings interpret his aura of raw power. His baleful eye, ringed by blue flame, pierces to the heart of things, and it’s something you don’t want directed at you personally. The disc in the place of his other eye records all dreaming activity for the Akashic Record. Needless to say, you don’t want to cross a dude who can be in your head at any time; and that pimp cane ain’t just for show. If you don’t know, now you know.

#26 – Eztli Ortiz

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

The Pleiatic Seers are a group of the seven most powerful and pure oracles in the world.  Once every thousand years seven seers are chosen to be part of the creation of a set of prophesies for the next one thousand years. The gathering is called the Prophesy of the Whole and is held on the summer solstice.  The ruling constellation of the ceremony is the Pleiades for mythological reasons (the original seers were the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, hence the name Pleiatic Seers.)  The event is signaled by the birth of a child that contains all seven of the oracle powers – Sight, Touch, Smell, Head, Heart, Spirit-Light, and Blood, who is known as the Pleiona (the mother of the Pleiades in the myth) who is in charge of choosing and gathering all the seers together.  It can take years to find the right ones and then wait for the ages to align corrects – each seer must be a virgin woman between the ages of 7 and 49 (7 years apart each), with a single, specific, and powerful oracle ability.

Eztli, or Ezzi, is a descendent of the Royal House of Tezcatlipoca – a secret sorcerer’s clan that rose during the Toltec period and migrated to the most powerful nation at the time, which is how they ended up as Aztecs.  They were conquered by the Quetzalcoatl Clan, a sorcerer family that had flown from the country centuries before and had vowed to return and seek revenge.  They all used to be friends, but a drunken party led to a family feud that would destroy several nations.

Ezzi was raised knowing her family’s history and their long tradition as Blood Oracles.  Although many Sanguas are tempted by the darkness of their medium, she is grounded in the worlds of tradition, philosophy, history, and mythology.  She knows her path, her purpose, the dangers that lurk there, and is determined to uphold the family honor without reducing the truth of her powers to bad plot in a gory B-movie.

She is calm, level-headed, and very intelligent, as compassionate as she is wise.

One word to describe her: Grounded.

Image created at dolldivine.com

#30 The Jazzman

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

The Jazzman is known as Josh, and he is the only one who matters in his little coffee shop. All he does is live life, and fight the evils of the common college populace.

#25 – Priya Chopra

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

The Pleiatic Seers are a group of the seven most powerful and pure oracles in the world.  Once every thousand years seven seers are chosen to be part of the creation of a set of prophesies for the next one thousand years. The gathering is called the Prophesy of the Whole and is held on the summer solstice.  The ruling constellation of the ceremony is the Pleiades for mythological reasons (the original seers were the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, hence the name Pleiatic Seers.)  The event is signaled by the birth of a child that contains all seven of the oracle powers – Sight, Touch, Smell, Head, Heart, Spirit-Light, and Blood, who is known as the Pleiona (the mother of the Pleiades in the myth) who is in charge of choosing and gathering all the seers together.  It can take years to find the right ones and then wait for the ages to align corrects – each seer must be a virgin woman between the ages of 7 and 49 (7 years apart each), with a single, specific, and powerful oracle ability.

The Chopra Sorcerer Clan of Delhi has been marrying the men off to seers for generations in the hopes that one of the descendants would be a Pleiatic seer.  Any girl in the last two generations who seemed a likely candidate was carefully trained and kept as a sacred seer until she turned fifty since that’s over the age of any Pleiatic seer. Then, with no real world experience or livelihood and with no chance to have children and an unlikely chance to marry, they were basically thrown out into the world to sink or swim.  All of this is because the last two Pleiatic Prophesies had a Chopra seer and that earned the family a thousand years of wealth and fame in the sorcerer’s world.

Knowing all this Priya tried to keep her powers a secret as long as she could.  When her abilities were revealed her family tried to treat her like a priceless porcelain doll, a role that carried no freedom.  She refused, ran away, and hid, using an assumed name and quietly training to be a doctor.  When she reached her goal she revealed herself to the Indian Seers and went back to her family on the condition that she still be allowed to work part time as a doctor.  They were furious with her, but it became obvious that she was a true seer and so when the International Seers United started searching they naturally went to the Chopras first and found Priya, who agreed only if the wealth went to charities and universities instead of her family.

One word to describe her: Determined.

Image created at dolldivine.com

#30 – End

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

A creature merely known as “End,” it represents neither death nor life… simply obliteration. It slithers into worlds, cities, homes, people, minds, and wipes away whatever it wants. It makes no sound, and it can hardly be seen. It’s the destroyer of life, memory, mass, energy, laws of physics, and all things. Nothing can stop it, and it’s pointless to try. It’s formless in every way. It can end all sorts of things at all sorts of scales… from tiny bacteria, to entire civilizations, to entire universes.

Some think End eats away parallel, failed universes, or eats away at time itself, destroying whatever else it wants out of sheer boredom or spite. Some say it is merely the “physical” manifestation of fate. Whatever it is, it’s clearly not of our world.. or of any world. Only one thing can be certain… that someday, End will come for our world, our entire world.

#29 Rerun

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

Rerun has no name he answers to, he has been precognitive since birth, and life is nothing more than a rerun to him. He covers his eyes, ears, nose, and moth as to center himself in one time set instead of living several

 

#24 – Nakimera Somersby

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

The Pleiatic Seers are a group of the seven most powerful and pure oracles in the world.  Once every thousand years seven seers are chosen to be part of the creation of a set of prophesies for the next one thousand years. The gathering is called the Prophesy of the Whole and is held on the summer solstice.  The ruling constellation of the ceremony is the Pleiades for mythological reasons (the original seers were the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, hence the name Pleiatic Seers.)  The event is signaled by the birth of a child that contains all seven of the oracle powers – Sight, Touch, Smell, Head, Heart, Spirit-Light, and Blood, who is known as the Pleiona (the mother of the Pleiades in the myth) who is in charge of choosing and gathering all the seers together.  It can take years to find the right ones and then wait for the ages to align corrects – each seer must be a virgin woman between the ages of 7 and 49 (7 years apart each), with a single, specific, and powerful oracle ability.

Naki is the second oldest and the third to be discovered, at age 33.  She was born in Nigeria to a woman who was raped by a local sorcerer.  There was a distant history of powerful seers but none recently.  Naki’s mother, Kia, was saved from humiliation and exile by a kind-hearted gay peace-corps man who married her and took them both to America.  He and Kia both hid their “shame” from the world until they came to the mutual realization that there was nothing be ashamed of for either of them. The strength they found in each other they passed on to Naki who became a Civil Rights Activist.  When her powers became obvious her parents searched for someone to teach her how to use them.

When the magic world became alive with the news of the Pleiona having been found, her mentor demanded she be tested and that’s how she was chosen.

One word to describe her: Unafraid

Image created at dolldivine.com

#30 BUCCANEER JONES – MONSTER HUNTER

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

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Day 23 Einstein Burroughs

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

Ordinary Spider-monkey turned genius via an IQ boosting helmet. Having been irresponsibly experimented on by humans, Einstein builds an army of Monkey-bots to liberate his kind.

Jon H – 30 Characters

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

Success! Whoohoo!

This was fun…challenging, but fun.

#30 The Stork is LATE!!!

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

As of today, Nov. 30th, my wife is officially past her due date.

We are expecting our second child and just like with the first, the stork is having a hard time finding his way to make the delivery on time…

Well, although this year’s 30 character challenge kicked my butt, I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it and I feel I’ve gained an increase in speed for putting out my cartoons. That is what I set out to accomplish. It was a great exercise  and I truly appreciate Tyler taking the time to put this together, thanks Tyler!

I hope to participate again next year and hope to see all of the fellow participants back as well.

Good luck and God bless to all.

Thanks,

Steve

#29 WW1 BODILESS WALKER

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

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#28 The Native

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

The white man is good at taking things from the Native people, and now they have stepped to far a Bernie Grengirg a New Yorker has claimed a native heritage as his own and started fighting crime.

#28 THIRD EYE

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

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#27 MANIAC

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

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#30 The G.R.A.C.E. Art/Creatives Academy (Galactic Residential Academy for Creative Excellence)

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

Most in the known universe who have the burning desire of creativity aspire to attend The G.R.A.C.E. Arts/Creatives Academy. (Galactic Residential Academy for Creative Excellence)
Painting, dance, drawing, creative writing, poetry, song, spoken word, crafting, mastery of any known musical instrument, graphic arts, cartooning, sculpting, architecture of multiple worlds,  clothing design – you name it and it is taught at The G.R.A.C.E  Art/Creatives Academy.

An entire planet devoted to nothing but exploring and expanding the gifts of creatives, spots to attend G.R.A.C.E. are desired throughout the universe. Even more desired are the teaching positions there. Almost every known species throughout the galaxies is represented in the global student body. Art / creativity produced by the students of the G.R.A.C.E. academy is desired and sought throughout the universe.

A completely neutral planet : (with a defense system of planetary scale involuntary teleportation- no fire arms required)  it is rumored to be one of the most peaceful places in the known universe.

 

 

 

 

#27 S&M Dancer

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

He was good at two things kinky sex and dancing so he decided to combine the two skills to fight evil in the world of life.

#30 The Grisaille Quincurion

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

At night, one might glimpse the Grisaille Quincurion. It is a rare thing to see her alone and rarer still to see her stumbling through the streets. However, she might be seen on some nights, ones which are completely random in date, alone and arms full of her most recent purchase. It has taken her years to track down all of these parts, and many more to bring them all together. Five pieces of–not a puzzle. A game. Five game tokens, scattered across the world (and yet so close, suspiciously close). She might not have been meant to find them all and unite them, but tonight the last one comes home.

She has private quarters in the Lord’s house (quarters which are no where near as luxurious as those ones–but that was a lifetime ago), but she brings the parcel to the Yards on the opposite side of town. While she has her doubts that it will be enough to keep him from interfering, it is safer the farther it is from him. She unwraps it carefully: her strength is inhuman (and what is that? Was that a type of imp?) but it is still awkward in shape and size. Cables run across the room, creating hazards and setting up for awful jokes, and she curses when she realizes that she set it upon some of them. She spends another ten minutes, and she knows this because she has a clock in this room. Timepieces are contraband these days, but this is not an ordinary clock. Three hands tell time, and five pendulum swing irregularly, sometimes slowing down and speeding up without rhyme but definitely with reason. The day they stop is the day that everything will be lost.

She plugs in her purchase, and the middle screen flickers into life. It buzzes with snow, but she expected that. She only wished to see that it hadn’t broken completely on the journey here. She stands in front of the ancient but robust monitor and types:

N45. 46.5148 E4 49.6 2011-11-30

The middle screen flashes many times like it was trying to send a message to her (blinkblinkblink blink blink blink blinkblinkblink) before settling on an image. A strange being is in a room. It sits on a chair before a mirror, fingering long, thin pieces of keratin. It is dark and wiry, falling to its chin (it looks like a chin, at least) in messy spirals which twist and turn in any direction. It seems unhappy with the keratin, tugging on it as if  it would grow faster that way. She rubs her own bald head self-consciously and wonders what sort of keratin would grow upon hers.

(Black, some would say.

White, others.

Fewer would point out that no one knows what colour she is. She never goes out without every inch of herself covered. Not even her four associates know, or are too loyal to her to say. Rumours fly, but no one is certain if she will see about the end of one universe or the beginning of another.)

The screens on the other machines flicker with the same strange message and glow with the light of these strange creatures. They are unlike from each other, but more like each other than they are like her and the rest of these broken kingdoms. Human, she thinks, because she cannot imagine what the word would sound like. She recognizes these beings, and knows that she is too early in their lives. Directing them now would only frighten them. She needs them unafraid when they enter (her past, making it, shaping it, destroying it,).

The Grisaille Quincurion might be seen at night, but she usually is not. She has learnt to walk in the darkness better than shadows, and she will see that her plan comes to fruition.

==> PRESS ENTER TO BEGIN

#23 – Sheridan McDonnell

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

The Pleiatic Seers are a group of the seven most powerful and pure oracles in the world.  Once every thousand years seven seers are chosen to be part of the creation of a set of prophesies for the next one thousand years. The gathering is called the Prophesy of the Whole and is held on the summer solstice.  The ruling constellation of the ceremony is the Pleiades for mythological reasons (the original seers were the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, hence the name Pleiatic Seers.)  The event is signaled by the birth of a child that contains all seven of the oracle powers – Sight, Touch, Smell, Head, Heart, Spirit-Light, and Blood, who is known as the Pleiona (the mother of the Pleiades in the myth) who is in charge of choosing and gathering all the seers together.  It can take years to find the right ones and then wait for the ages to align corrects – each seer must be a virgin woman between the ages of 7 and 49 (7 years apart each), with a single, specific, and powerful oracle ability.

Sherri is the oldest of the Pleiatic Seers, but she was not the first to be found.  Sherri was discovered by a distant relative when she was 44. The relative was from an Irish sorcerer family that moved to America in the 1840s.  The girl was tracing her roots and met up with Sheridan and realized that this woman was a pure Sensa and, although the girl had been hoping to become a Pleiatic seer herself, she put Sheridan in touch with Seers United in the USA who sent Cece to meet her.

At first glance Sheridan is a nice, older lady who grows herbs and makes candles.  She is the local midwife and comes from a long line of women with the “second sight.”  She is a strange mix of sweet and sour, being both kind and gentle at times, but also being harsh and short temptered at times.  She tries hard to be eccentric and is good enough at all that she does that she can get away with it.

One word to describe her:  Contradiction.

#29 – Pyangas

| November 30, 2011 | 0 Comments


The Kvell, after having their home planet completely ravaged by the Ekros’ search for resources, migrated to a new planet, swearing to never have anything to do with the nature-draining technology of the Ekros. Which proved quite a difficult task, since the planet they moved to seemed to be an entire deadly rainforest. They turned to the shamanistic arts to survive, and have evolved into a tough-skinned people who take no nonsense from anyone… and as such, are incredibly hard to deal with, both diplomatically and in combat. They swear to live off the land and the mystic arts, and those amongst them who use modern technology are banished from their world completely… with some groups even killing the blasphemers.

Pyangas is a high shaman in her city, tasked with protecting it from terrible flying monsters that like to come by to try to eat everyone every once in a while.  Like most of the Kvell, she is sturdy and hard-headed, and incredibly brave and proud. She has slayed every monster that has threatened her city, and every Ekros who dares to step foot in it as well.  Pyangas has welcomed many of other races into her home, and is always willing to perform magic for those who ask. She’s eager to share her wisdom and thoughts, although many find her heavy-handed and far too short-sighted.