drewccapp

Dragon's Mask

Arthur had not expected to see the monster he saw. He had seen some scary monsters, but this one was particularly so. The monster then spoke, and Arthur was surprised to understand some of what it said.

"Argoo gala? Has supper finished?"

He took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart. "Going to the library first. Can you press the button for me?"

Beneath the blanket and pillows he could feel himself shaking like a leaf. He had no idea if the monster would help. He had no idea if the library would open before the room he wanted to go to. If their choice came first he would certainly make a run for it, and he hoped that Riley would follow after.

Lantern

"How lovely! What a quaint little place. All this talk of light and hope has made me remember something I've forgotten to tell you: Shadow has got himself a new champion, one who will crush you and your precious dragon. And now I have something to tell him: there is a place still bathed in sunlight, that is ripe to be plunged into darkness. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear it."

Anise closed her eyes as she listened to the Lady of Stone's response. So she had become just as twisted as the Lord of Shadow. She had been prepared for such a tragedy, so this reaction did not upset her too much. However, now the stakes just got greater. Again, the Lady of Stone had another opportunity to kill her and once again the Lady simply gloated at her. She could not understand why that was the case. The Lord of Shadow and the Lady of Stone had all of this power and the both of them barely even tried to stop her. Their apparent inaction perplexed her.

Anise had no need for a champion. She was the champion of her own cause. Somehow, they did. Curiosity did peak in regards to who it could be. She had met a few people from sun-touched lands like herself at this point. It could be any number of them.

She heard Peck digging away with a shovel above her, and she looked up as soon as a beam of moonlight peeked through a freshly made hole. Bits of dirt fell to the ground before her. She could hear him shouting, but the roar of the Dragon drowned out his voice. The sword flared every time the Dragon roared, and Anise watched it as it flashed each time.

Could this sword be the Sun? It would make sense for the Lady of Light to be the one to secure the Sun. Maybe once she had been slain the Lady of Stone created that casket to seal her away and hide the sun with her. The only way she could know is if she presented the sword to the Dragon, and she had planned to approach the Dragon anyways now that she had Light and Water. A purification of light and water was needed to cleanse the corruption that the Lord of Shadow had allowed to settle on the Dragon’s bones.

Anise then looked at the moonlight. Light. Could she use it to travel? She connected herself with the beam of light and focused on the space above her where more light touched. She imagined herself being carried by the light until she stood right next to Peck.

LANTERN (redux)

Given the social motivation of the current roster, it was probably a very quiet boat anyway. xD

@Mokley

I know after some time (no more than a couple weeks) Elliot would start to speak with a few people he thought were either interesting or he would understand best. So, he'd probably relate to some of the quieter people and eventually communicate with them and be friendly.

Dragon's Mask

Arthur blinked with surprise as Riley rolled her eyes at him. What was wrong with his idea? When it came to hiding he was great at finding new and creative ways to hide. The skill he had most confidence in was hiding. He could not contain his confusion and bewilderment. In this world of monsters and people-turned-animals he was certain he could hide well once he learned about the space well enough.

He watched her climb into the pile of pillows with clear reluctance and nodded with a smile as she did. Without many options he was not surprised and still somewhat pleased with his quick thinking. She mumbled something after entering the pile, but at this point Arthur had refocused his attention to the door. He swallowed nervously as he felt the elevator coming to a stop.

LANTERN (redux)

Going to be interesting to have a couple varieties of the strong silent type of character.

LANTERN (redux)

Elliot the Last

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?
Elliot Allard The Last

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?
Elliot is best recognized by the birthmark that covers the right half of his face. After that his piercing blue eyes. He has a fairly normal build for his age and as a result if he had no birthmark would blend in with a crowd rather than stand out.

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?
Elliot is a bit off-putting. Not because he is rude, but because of his birthmark and how little he speaks. He often watches strangers carefully picking apart their actions and speech which alone can be disturbing. Although he is a bit odd to start, he is not unpleasant and even quite polite.

Elliot views himself as a patient man that knows the value of acting at the right time. He knows fully well his birthmark is a serious detractor to his initial impression, so he learned to be patient with people and wait to see if his disfiguration is enough to cause serious problems or if his polite demeanor is enough to change their mind. He knows fully well some people are not genuine and has learned to pay attention to tells and speech to see if they are genuine or false. He values the power of listening and feels that anyone that speaks too much has truly little to say.

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?
Elliot grew up in a large city called Rom. The city was built around a silver mine and eventually grew into textiles. He grew up in the keep of the city as the nephew of the lord mayor of the city. Being fortunate enough to learn how to read, Elliot spent most of his time in the city library as the smell of parchment was most comforting for him.

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?
Uncle Thomas Allard has acted as Elliot’s guardian and educator for as long as he can remember. His uncle taught him to read and write, and he encouraged him to figure out for himself his own path. This freedom built up Elliot’s respect for his uncle so much that any time he had a question he came to his Uncle for advice under most circumstances. Whenever he could, his uncle made time to help Elliot out. Even so, any time that Elliot had questions about his errant father Uncle Thomas grew evasive and never gave a clear answer which often put a strain on their otherwise close relationship.

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?
Ask Elliot directly and he would say his desired profession is historian, and he has been acting as an apprentice for three years. He has a love for learning the story of the world and uncovering each mystery has an magical charm. He has a love for finding the truth behind the rumors and discovering what really happened and how. No piece of history is too small for him as he feels each part has its role to play in the whole.

Elliot’s true strength is in his investigative skills and particularly in his observation. In order to find out the truth behind the rumors he had to develop the skill to detect the lies and inconsistencies. He unintentionally has ruined a couple plots of varying degrees as a result of such behaviors in humanity. Some as small as a simple lighthearted prank to more mean spirited acts. Fortunately, he has been wise enough to know how to act according to each situation.

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?
Elliot does not quite understand it, but he has a fear of meeting his real father. Uncle Thomas practically raised him as his mother was often ill and incapable to caring for him. He knows very little about his father and any questions raised brings about a very negative reaction along with an evasive response. He is afraid his father is a criminal or something and that if he should meet the man there would be only danger. The only thing he knows is his father left on an expedition ship never to be seen again, and he left very much against the wishes of his family.

Elliot’s greatest flaw is that he has a hard time trusting anything without hard evidence, and he does not trust his instincts if they hint at something being true without that proof. By extension words mean little to him without the action to back them up. He understands how easy it is for humanity to lie and trust is very difficult for him unless proven otherwise.

His next flaw is that he is slow to act. Often times he is the last to act. As a result he earned the title “the Last” by his peers as a mockery of his patience and apparent lethargy. He accepted it on with pride as he feels in many cases acting with patience and taking time to make a decision often delivers the correct or best results.

Elliot’s one and only secret is that as a result of an investigation preventing a cruel prank the prankster took great offense. The prankster cornered Elliot privately and assaulted him. Elliot defended himself vigorously and in the struggle the fight ended suddenly as Elliot accidentally broke his opponent’s neck. He ran away in a panic and later the body was found. Lucky enough there were no witnesses to his act of manslaughter, but the act itself weighs heavily on him to this day.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?
Elliot would love to document and entire history of the world. Its origins. The rise and fall of civilization. Along with all the mysteries in between.

What he needs is to forgive himself for the life he took and move forward with his life.

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
If Elliot were to have a supernatural ability he would want to have the ability to perceive and understand the history and events that have happened at any location, or around an item.

HOW HAS THE PLAGUE AFFECTED THEM? WHY ARE THEY ABOARD THE LEGEND'S FORGERY?
To Elliot the plague was worse than any war he had studied. Worse than any other epidemic in the history books. He lost every single person that mattered to him in life. His uncle. His mother. His cousins. The historian he apprenticed under. He documented every moment he could. He recorded the symptoms. He made every effort to try and find a pattern to the maddening disease, but to no avail. Every death reminded him of his own mistake which only sunk the knife of regret even further.

Eventually, it became clear he would need to escape the plague and find a new home. The entire population of Rom dwindled to merely a few hundred within months. The city simply died off. He took with him the recordings of all of the plague to act as a guardian of this disaster to protect its history as a reminder of just how vulnerable humanity is and left for the nearest port city, Gleifast. He was the last to leave Rom.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?
As I tend to develop a character intuitively and along the natural flow of the narrative I actually have no clue how I would like to see Elliot develop. I have the most fun watching a character surprise me as I work with them.

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.
Elliot’s father is still alive and acting as a leader of the Artificers. He has started a new life there and is completely unprepared for the sudden appearance of his first son. Their first meeting will decide their future forever.

LANTERN (redux)

I decided to go with the historian. I have a good feeling about this guy.

Elliot the Last

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?
Elliot Allard The Last

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?
Elliot is best recognized by the birthmark that covers the right half of his face. After that his piercing blue eyes. He has a fairly normal build for his age and as a result if he had no birthmark would blend in with a crowd rather than stand out.

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?
Elliot is a bit off-putting. Not because he is rude, but because of his birthmark and how little he speaks. He often watches strangers carefully picking apart their actions and speech which alone can be disturbing. Although he is a bit odd to start, he is not unpleasant and even quite polite.

Elliot views himself as a patient man that knows the value of acting at the right time. He knows fully well his birthmark is a serious detractor to his initial impression, so he learned to be patient with people and wait to see if his disfiguration is enough to cause serious problems or if his polite demeanor is enough to change their mind. He knows fully well some people are not genuine and has learned to pay attention to tells and speech to see if they are genuine or false. He values the power of listening and feels that anyone that speaks too much has truly little to say.

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?
Elliot grew up in a large city called Rom. The city was built around a silver mine and eventually grew into textiles. He grew up in the keep of the city as the nephew of the lord mayor of the city. Being fortunate enough to learn how to read, Elliot spent most of his time in the city library as the smell of parchment was most comforting for him.

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?
Uncle Thomas Allard has acted as Elliot’s guardian and educator for as long as he can remember. His uncle taught him to read and write, and he encouraged him to figure out for himself his own path. This freedom built up Elliot’s respect for his uncle so much that any time he had a question he came to his Uncle for advice under most circumstances. Whenever he could, his uncle made time to help Elliot out. Even so, any time that Elliot had questions about his errant father Uncle Thomas grew evasive and never gave a clear answer which often put a strain on their otherwise close relationship.

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?
Ask Elliot directly and he would say his desired profession is historian, and he has been acting as an apprentice for three years. He has a love for learning the story of the world and uncovering each mystery has an magical charm. He has a love for finding the truth behind the rumors and discovering what really happened and how. No piece of history is too small for him as he feels each part has its role to play in the whole.

Elliot’s true strength is in his investigative skills and particularly in his observation. In order to find out the truth behind the rumors he had to develop the skill to detect the lies and inconsistencies. He unintentionally has ruined a couple plots of varying degrees as a result of such behaviors in humanity. Some as small as a simple lighthearted prank to more mean spirited acts. Fortunately, he has been wise enough to know how to act according to each situation.

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?
Elliot does not quite understand it, but he has a fear of meeting his real father. Uncle Thomas practically raised him as his mother was often ill and incapable to caring for him. He knows very little about his father and any questions raised brings about a very negative reaction along with an evasive response. He is afraid his father is a criminal or something and that if he should meet the man there would be only danger. The only thing he knows is his father left on an expedition ship never to be seen again, and he left very much against the wishes of his family.

Elliot’s greatest flaw is that he has a hard time trusting anything without hard evidence, and he does not trust his instincts if they hint at something being true without that proof. By extension words mean little to him without the action to back them up. He understands how easy it is for humanity to lie and trust is very difficult for him unless proven otherwise.

His next flaw is that he is slow to act. Often times he is the last to act. As a result he earned the title “the Last” by his peers as a mockery of his patience and apparent lethargy. He accepted it on with pride as he feels in many cases acting with patience and taking time to make a decision often delivers the correct or best results.

Elliot’s one and only secret is that as a result of an investigation preventing a cruel prank the prankster took great offense. The prankster cornered Elliot privately and assaulted him. Elliot defended himself vigorously and in the struggle the fight ended suddenly as Elliot accidentally broke his opponent’s neck. He ran away in a panic and later the body was found. Lucky enough there were no witnesses to his act of manslaughter, but the act itself weighs heavily on him to this day.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?
Elliot would love to document and entire history of the world. Its origins. The rise and fall of civilization. Along with all the mysteries in between.

What he needs is to forgive himself for the life he took and move forward with his life.

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
If Elliot were to have a supernatural ability he would want to have the ability to perceive and understand the history and events that have happened at any location, or around an item.

HOW HAS THE PLAGUE AFFECTED THEM? WHY ARE THEY ABOARD THE LEGEND'S FORGERY?
To Elliot the plague was worse than any war he had studied. Worse than any other epidemic in the history books. He lost every single person that mattered to him in life. His uncle. His mother. His cousins. The historian he apprenticed under. He documented every moment he could. He recorded the symptoms. He made every effort to try and find a pattern to the maddening disease, but to no avail. Every death reminded him of his own mistake which only sunk the knife of regret even further.

Eventually, it became clear he would need to escape the plague and find a new home. The entire population of Rom dwindled to merely a few hundred within months. The city simply died off. He took with him the recordings of all of the plague to act as a guardian of this disaster to protect its history as a reminder of just how vulnerable humanity is and left for the nearest port city, Gleifast. He was the last to leave Rom.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?
As I tend to develop a character intuitively and along the natural flow of the narrative I actually have no clue how I would like to see Elliot develop. I have the most fun watching a character surprise me as I work with them.

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.
Elliot’s father is still alive and acting as a leader of the Artificers. He has started a new life there and is completely unprepared for the sudden appearance of his first son. Their first meeting will decide their future forever.

Dragon's Mask

An absolute panic rose up through all of Arthur's body when the elevator started moving. Then he heard Riley ask if he had any ideas. He scanned the elevator quickly. Looking at the pile of pillows and the blanket. Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

"How about we pretend to be a monster?" Arthur suggested and then grabbed the blanket and covered the pile of pillows with it.

He lifted the blanket and climbed into the pile of pillows. After readjusting himself he wrapped a part of the blanket around his head so only his face could be seen through the pillows and blanket. He imagined he looked fairly intimidating being so "large" in the pile wrapped in the shawl of the blanket.

"This place is full of monsters, right?" He asked. "So if we're a monster they'll ignore us. Come on! Get in!"

He felt pretty proud of his idea.

LANTERN (redux)

I've decided I will not be rebooting the Princess of Riverforde Anise Sinclair, and I shall be making an entirely new character. I'm stuck between a young historian who's best skill is actually more along the lines of a PI and a genius and seasoned surgeon obsessed with avoiding death at all costs.

Leaning towards the investigative historian.

Lantern

Anise smiled and blushed as Peck wrapped a blanket around her. She truly appreciated everything he had done for her since they first met. Everyone that had helped her until this point she felt gratitude for. She promised herself to pay that assistance back threefold.

Suddenly, the earth swallowed her whole. She should have expected this reaction from the Lady of Stone. Their introduction began with the Lady trying to bury her alive. Even so, the experience of falling was startling. The landing was soft in spite of landing on the earth. The darkness was not so bad especially with the Sword of Light in her hands.

"I have no interest in trees and blood and kings."

The Lady of Stone moved like a shadow on the walls, a ripple of a figure that paced around Anise. "Look around you. Shadow and I understand one another. The cold and the dark and the barren suit me. I'll drink up the blood that's spilled. I'll swallow the buried dead. I'll swallow you." There was a grin in her voice.

Anise watched as the Lady paced around her. She now understood. She could only imagine how living so long in the darkness could create an appreciation for it. She approached the Lady and placed a warm hand onto her shoulder.

"Have you forgotten?" Anise asked softly. "Have you forgotten what it was like to feel the warmth of the sun? The beauty of life? The earth I know is a warm place full of life. The earth works together with the trees, water, fire, air, light, and darkness to create a beautiful world." Anise closed her eyes and brought forth the image of her world in her mind.

Using the light of the sword and the image she conjured in her mind, Anise unconsciously created a shimmering image behind her of her the Kingdom of Riverforde. The image of the sun in the sky. The warm earth. The plants and trees growing off the gifts of the earth and the old dying trees returning to the soil from whence they came. People being born, living off the land, and dying only to return to the land. Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Trees, Light, and Darkness all worked together in cycles and unison.

"I'm sure this is why the Dragon brought myself and other Sun Children here," Anise reopened her eyes. "I'm sure this land used to flourish just like mine. We can make that a reality again. How would you like that?"

She enveloped the entire space with light and warmth. Healing and soothing. "Remember how relaxing a sun-baked stone feels? Isn't it nice?"