This week, I am posting a game which is actually a sequel to another game!
The original game, SSShifty, can be found in the Pirate Kart for this year. (IGF Pirate Kart 2012)
My sequel to this game is SSShifty 2! Unlike the original, you can also swap blocks, enemies, and mines without having to swap your location! Simply use the swap gun (press C to use).
Enjoy SSShifty 2!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Hurtful reality
You may or may not have realized this, but sometimes life is the worst.
I can think of many times in which life has treated me right, but there come times when occasionally, I meet the point where life has decided (for whatever reason) to thrash me up one side and down the other.
As many of my friends know, I'm not on pleasant terms with my step-father. We have had a very rocky relationship for the longest time. Many times he has said "I love you", but few times has he shown it.
Tonight is one of the worst nights I have had in years. Ever since I was 11 years old, I've been lectured on who I should be and why by the people around me. Some of those people I cared about, like my grandmother. Others I cared nothing about them, like my vice-principals.
Tonight, my step-father decided to confront me on some very basic thoughts I have on both my life as a whole as well as my spiritual walk. For about 20 minutes, we were involved in a gradually escalating argument, which ultimately resulted in my mother intervening to bring to a halt. This did not occur, however, until my step-father used the name of my best friend (who had lived with us and recently moved out to be with his fiancee, causing me great sadness knowing he was moving and also great joy knowing he would be happy) as an insult. A slur, calling me by my friend's name to insult me, and simultaneously insulting my best friend and most important relationship.
Everyone has moments when they are hurtful to others. Sometimes it is an intentional thing, sometimes it is not. However much I would like to believe that my step-father didn't mean to be hurtful, I know that he was... at least when he made his last comment (the insult using my friend's name). Many times I have forgiven my step-father for being a man who desires respect, but gives none (or very little). Many more times I have forgiven my step-father for teaching me through his actions and his words that I am not a good person. More times, even, have I forgiven him for actions he took that involved him shirking his responsibilities as a parent. I am a forgiving person, because of the pain I have felt it comes in my nature.
Tonight, however, was a terrible blow. After weeks of feeling isolated, as if I had nobody to talk to, feeling forgotten and alone, the fatal blow is that my step-father sees fit to argue with me, and ultimately make veiled commentary about how I'm a terrible person, and how I shall be going to hell.
So, for those of you who do not know how arguments with my step-father go, let me give you the outline:
1) An issue is brought up. Whichever party does this does not matter, for this is just the start.
2) Now that the issue is at hand, expect my step-father to tell you his unsolicited opinion.
3) You may now provide your opinion, feel free to insert it here.
4) He will now provide you his opinion, and make an argument against yours, and probably include an ad-hominem or straw man fallacy with it. Also, expect at least one non-sequitur argument here.
5) You have many options at this point, respond however you wish.
6) Now that you have responded expect him to ignore any points you make, and make an argument using a logical fallacy that is known as denying the antecedent. Also, expect him to accentuate his argument with another non-sequitur.
7) If you make a rebuttal here, go on to step 8.
8) Now ignoring whatever you just said, or taking it out of context (eg. straw man), you can expect him to suggest that anything you have mentioned based on what he has said was your fault. (Eg. if he said something first, such as "all oranges are red in Canada", and later you tried to mention that according to him all oranges are red in Canada, he will imply that you suggested that, not him.) If you did not comment on anything he just said move on to 10.
9) He is now going to tell you that he doesn't need to provide a logical reason for anything he has been arguing, because he's automatically correct. (He is automatically correct because he's not going to claim responsibility for believing something, but rather pawn responsibility on someone with more authority, such as "God says so.")
10) At this stage, he now will make references to his proof, without having any knowledge of his proofs, and also without presenting any of them. However, he expects you to claim them as true, valid, and legitimate in spite of the lack of evidence to support him.
11) You may now make a counter argument, however he will interrupt you two words into it, and prevent you from saying anything in your defense.
12) He will now repeat everything he has said, and/or make a claim that you have been putting words into his mouth (which, I might add, is true... however, the words you're putting in his mouth are his own)
13) You may now attempt to call him out on his logical fallacies, or continue to make arguments, however know that if you do anything other than agree with him or let him win by ending the argument (you stop talking and walk away), he will continue to contradict you and himself in every way, while still making references to his proofs that he knows nothing about and has not presented.
14) You may repeat steps 2-13 as many times as you would like here, he is more than happy to continue spouting nonsense, telling you what he thinks, and ignoring or attacking you.
15) If someone intervenes, congratulations, you have lost, and he will make sure to get the last word.
16) If nobody intervenes, congratulations, you have not won, return to step 2 unless he gets angry, in which case move on to step 17.
17) He is now angry, expect him to yell as loudly as he can directly at you for as long as possible until you shut up. If you do not shut up, repeat steps 2-13 with 17 as part of each step. If you do shut up, proceed to step 18.
18) You have shut up, he will now insult you, remind you that he is right and that you are wrong, and essentially slap you in the face verbally one more time, adding insult to injury. He gets the last word. If you attempt to respond to his last word, return to step 3.
So, what do I find the most hurtful about his attitudes, and specifically his arguments? There are several things, but they are as follows (but in no particular order): he's family (and therefore should be supportive, but instead is destructive), he's stubborn (he ultimately follows the logical fallacy of Circular reasoning), and he's prideful (thus even if you have proven him wrong in no uncertain terms and have put the proof directly in front of him, he will still assert that he is correct). It comes down to the fact that more often than not, I feel like he doesn't love me, but rather he feels obligated to do anything he does because he doesn't want his wife to divorce him.
How am I to take any of this? Ultimately, I do not know. I cannot talk to him, for he won't listen. I could leave, but to do that requires financial stability that I do not currently have. I could ignore that all this has happened, but that's simply putting off until tomorrow dealing with this situation.
It comes down to this: in the most fragile time in my life that I have had in the last 4 years (and one of the most fragile times I've ever had), my step-father has once again proven that I might as well not exist. The sad part is, on a very deep level, I believe him. I feel little or no connection to the people around me. Everyone I have cared about in the past (aside from my mother, sister, grandfather, and grandmothers) have left me, treated me horribly (starting at some random point, and then continuing on indefinitely), or have stood idly by while my life has fallen to pieces while laughing at me.
I am anguished, saddened, deeply hurt and emotionally scarred. Before, I had little self-worth, but I felt confident that it was all imaginary. I had determined that I could overcome my deficiencies and be worth something. Now, I'm facing a point where I don't want to feel worth, I don't see any worth, and I'm being told that I'm worthless. More and more, I feel like an imposition on those around me, and like a leech rather than a friend.
I have started to wonder why I bother with trying to be nice to people. If good things and bad things happen to both good and bad people, what reason do I have to be good when it requires so much more of me?
I have for the past several months, perhaps even a bit more than a year (as time gets a bit fuzzy to me in this regard), felt stoic. Most of the time, I have had no feelings at all. The few times I have genuinely felt emotions they were negative over 90% of the time. For the sake of others around me, I have pretended as if I felt. When they expected happiness, I pretended I was happy. When they expected me to be surprised, I was surprised. When I was expected to be excited, that is what I would pretend to be. When I was expected to be sad, I was not (but it came across as being strong). When I was expected to feel normal (status quo, neither bad or good, just ok), I was truly either sad, or angry but I never let these things show.
There has been a song on my mind and heart lately. "Missing" by Evanesence. The lyrics say "you won't cry for my absence, I know. You forgot me long ago. Am I that unimportant? Am I so insignificant? Isn't something missing? Isn't someone missing me? Even though I'm the sacrifice, you won't try for me, not now. Though I'd die to know you love me, I'm all alone." This is how I have felt. So strongly have I felt exactly like this that for the past several months, I have listened to this song back-to-back over 100 times. To such a degree that I even wrote a story which relates to how I've felt: Seth.
All I have ever asked of those around me are a few simple things:
1) Respect me! I will try to respect you, please show me the same courtesy!
2) Love me! You don't have to be there for me all the time, but please show you care!
3) Be polite to me! Some things are rude, like cancelling plans at the last minute, for example, please try to avoid doing these things. If you can avoid stuff that is rude, please put forth some effort!
4) Be honest with me! I would rather you be a little hurtful and honest than lie to me to "protect me". However, I ask that when you are being honest, you also follow 1-3, being respectful, loving, and polite.
5) Seek me. I'm not difficult to find. If I have expressed a desire to hang out with you at all, please come looking for me. Spend time with me if ever you can. I might not be able to do it all the time, but at least try to connect with me.
These are not difficult things to do most of the time, and yet I cannot help but find them missing in my relationships. There has been a place where I have recently been finding an astonishing amount of inconsistency. At my college, there is a group I attend. I am trying to become more integrated with them, and I feel I'm doing a great job! However, in the individual relationships of the smaller group (part of the larger group at the college), there has been a huge problem regarding the lack of #3-5. Some have been rude, some haven't been quite honest, and some have been seemingly avoiding me.
What does this lead to? A life, which I am living, in which meaningless things are now the only reason I care to live at all. I have come to a place where I only find myself staying alive with the idea of "if I were to die now, I would miss out on all the cool video games coming out later this year". Were it not because of meaningless things like that I'd be praying for a swift death!!! Literally praying for one! I've come to thoughts of self-mutilation! The only thing I've been able to do to keep those thoughts at bay is think "It would be very hard to hide the scars that resulted from that, and it might make me less attractive to other people, which is something I don't want, considering I have enough going against me already." These are the thoughts that I've had! WHY!?
I needed to write this tonight. Maybe if someone out there who reads my blog reads this, they'll understand me better. I'm not going to kill myself, I'm not going to harm myself physically. I am, however, breaking down inside. My soul is dying, and I can't stop the decay. I'm feeling less and less like a real person daily. My emotions are now all minimal, if they exist at all. My friendships and relationships are something I don't feel invested in (I wouldn't miss any of my family if I were to move). I'm feeling like there is no reason for me to be alive except that I want to be alive, and for the most trivial reasons.
So, I ask of you all, anyone who is reading this:
please, don't let this happen to anyone else.
I feel I am already a lost cause. I don't think anyone can ever heal the emotional and spiritual wounds I have suffered, and I don't expect anyone to try, either. All I ask is that you would daily try to keep each other in mind. Do not let those you know slip into this oblivion. I cannot describe its darkness, for it feels as if life itself is all nothing but pain.
There is only one good thing which I have received from all the pain I've felt and all the sadness I've endured: as I have lost the ability to feel, I have gained a physical resistance to pain. No pain I feel physically can compare to the pain I have felt emotionally. I wish I had experienced physical pain instead, for unlike the wounds I have suffered... physical wounds heal with time, and scars eventually fade.
I can think of many times in which life has treated me right, but there come times when occasionally, I meet the point where life has decided (for whatever reason) to thrash me up one side and down the other.
As many of my friends know, I'm not on pleasant terms with my step-father. We have had a very rocky relationship for the longest time. Many times he has said "I love you", but few times has he shown it.
Tonight is one of the worst nights I have had in years. Ever since I was 11 years old, I've been lectured on who I should be and why by the people around me. Some of those people I cared about, like my grandmother. Others I cared nothing about them, like my vice-principals.
Tonight, my step-father decided to confront me on some very basic thoughts I have on both my life as a whole as well as my spiritual walk. For about 20 minutes, we were involved in a gradually escalating argument, which ultimately resulted in my mother intervening to bring to a halt. This did not occur, however, until my step-father used the name of my best friend (who had lived with us and recently moved out to be with his fiancee, causing me great sadness knowing he was moving and also great joy knowing he would be happy) as an insult. A slur, calling me by my friend's name to insult me, and simultaneously insulting my best friend and most important relationship.
Everyone has moments when they are hurtful to others. Sometimes it is an intentional thing, sometimes it is not. However much I would like to believe that my step-father didn't mean to be hurtful, I know that he was... at least when he made his last comment (the insult using my friend's name). Many times I have forgiven my step-father for being a man who desires respect, but gives none (or very little). Many more times I have forgiven my step-father for teaching me through his actions and his words that I am not a good person. More times, even, have I forgiven him for actions he took that involved him shirking his responsibilities as a parent. I am a forgiving person, because of the pain I have felt it comes in my nature.
Tonight, however, was a terrible blow. After weeks of feeling isolated, as if I had nobody to talk to, feeling forgotten and alone, the fatal blow is that my step-father sees fit to argue with me, and ultimately make veiled commentary about how I'm a terrible person, and how I shall be going to hell.
So, for those of you who do not know how arguments with my step-father go, let me give you the outline:
1) An issue is brought up. Whichever party does this does not matter, for this is just the start.
2) Now that the issue is at hand, expect my step-father to tell you his unsolicited opinion.
3) You may now provide your opinion, feel free to insert it here.
4) He will now provide you his opinion, and make an argument against yours, and probably include an ad-hominem or straw man fallacy with it. Also, expect at least one non-sequitur argument here.
5) You have many options at this point, respond however you wish.
6) Now that you have responded expect him to ignore any points you make, and make an argument using a logical fallacy that is known as denying the antecedent. Also, expect him to accentuate his argument with another non-sequitur.
7) If you make a rebuttal here, go on to step 8.
8) Now ignoring whatever you just said, or taking it out of context (eg. straw man), you can expect him to suggest that anything you have mentioned based on what he has said was your fault. (Eg. if he said something first, such as "all oranges are red in Canada", and later you tried to mention that according to him all oranges are red in Canada, he will imply that you suggested that, not him.) If you did not comment on anything he just said move on to 10.
9) He is now going to tell you that he doesn't need to provide a logical reason for anything he has been arguing, because he's automatically correct. (He is automatically correct because he's not going to claim responsibility for believing something, but rather pawn responsibility on someone with more authority, such as "God says so.")
10) At this stage, he now will make references to his proof, without having any knowledge of his proofs, and also without presenting any of them. However, he expects you to claim them as true, valid, and legitimate in spite of the lack of evidence to support him.
11) You may now make a counter argument, however he will interrupt you two words into it, and prevent you from saying anything in your defense.
12) He will now repeat everything he has said, and/or make a claim that you have been putting words into his mouth (which, I might add, is true... however, the words you're putting in his mouth are his own)
13) You may now attempt to call him out on his logical fallacies, or continue to make arguments, however know that if you do anything other than agree with him or let him win by ending the argument (you stop talking and walk away), he will continue to contradict you and himself in every way, while still making references to his proofs that he knows nothing about and has not presented.
14) You may repeat steps 2-13 as many times as you would like here, he is more than happy to continue spouting nonsense, telling you what he thinks, and ignoring or attacking you.
15) If someone intervenes, congratulations, you have lost, and he will make sure to get the last word.
16) If nobody intervenes, congratulations, you have not won, return to step 2 unless he gets angry, in which case move on to step 17.
17) He is now angry, expect him to yell as loudly as he can directly at you for as long as possible until you shut up. If you do not shut up, repeat steps 2-13 with 17 as part of each step. If you do shut up, proceed to step 18.
18) You have shut up, he will now insult you, remind you that he is right and that you are wrong, and essentially slap you in the face verbally one more time, adding insult to injury. He gets the last word. If you attempt to respond to his last word, return to step 3.
So, what do I find the most hurtful about his attitudes, and specifically his arguments? There are several things, but they are as follows (but in no particular order): he's family (and therefore should be supportive, but instead is destructive), he's stubborn (he ultimately follows the logical fallacy of Circular reasoning), and he's prideful (thus even if you have proven him wrong in no uncertain terms and have put the proof directly in front of him, he will still assert that he is correct). It comes down to the fact that more often than not, I feel like he doesn't love me, but rather he feels obligated to do anything he does because he doesn't want his wife to divorce him.
How am I to take any of this? Ultimately, I do not know. I cannot talk to him, for he won't listen. I could leave, but to do that requires financial stability that I do not currently have. I could ignore that all this has happened, but that's simply putting off until tomorrow dealing with this situation.
It comes down to this: in the most fragile time in my life that I have had in the last 4 years (and one of the most fragile times I've ever had), my step-father has once again proven that I might as well not exist. The sad part is, on a very deep level, I believe him. I feel little or no connection to the people around me. Everyone I have cared about in the past (aside from my mother, sister, grandfather, and grandmothers) have left me, treated me horribly (starting at some random point, and then continuing on indefinitely), or have stood idly by while my life has fallen to pieces while laughing at me.
I am anguished, saddened, deeply hurt and emotionally scarred. Before, I had little self-worth, but I felt confident that it was all imaginary. I had determined that I could overcome my deficiencies and be worth something. Now, I'm facing a point where I don't want to feel worth, I don't see any worth, and I'm being told that I'm worthless. More and more, I feel like an imposition on those around me, and like a leech rather than a friend.
I have started to wonder why I bother with trying to be nice to people. If good things and bad things happen to both good and bad people, what reason do I have to be good when it requires so much more of me?
I have for the past several months, perhaps even a bit more than a year (as time gets a bit fuzzy to me in this regard), felt stoic. Most of the time, I have had no feelings at all. The few times I have genuinely felt emotions they were negative over 90% of the time. For the sake of others around me, I have pretended as if I felt. When they expected happiness, I pretended I was happy. When they expected me to be surprised, I was surprised. When I was expected to be excited, that is what I would pretend to be. When I was expected to be sad, I was not (but it came across as being strong). When I was expected to feel normal (status quo, neither bad or good, just ok), I was truly either sad, or angry but I never let these things show.
There has been a song on my mind and heart lately. "Missing" by Evanesence. The lyrics say "you won't cry for my absence, I know. You forgot me long ago. Am I that unimportant? Am I so insignificant? Isn't something missing? Isn't someone missing me? Even though I'm the sacrifice, you won't try for me, not now. Though I'd die to know you love me, I'm all alone." This is how I have felt. So strongly have I felt exactly like this that for the past several months, I have listened to this song back-to-back over 100 times. To such a degree that I even wrote a story which relates to how I've felt: Seth.
All I have ever asked of those around me are a few simple things:
1) Respect me! I will try to respect you, please show me the same courtesy!
2) Love me! You don't have to be there for me all the time, but please show you care!
3) Be polite to me! Some things are rude, like cancelling plans at the last minute, for example, please try to avoid doing these things. If you can avoid stuff that is rude, please put forth some effort!
4) Be honest with me! I would rather you be a little hurtful and honest than lie to me to "protect me". However, I ask that when you are being honest, you also follow 1-3, being respectful, loving, and polite.
5) Seek me. I'm not difficult to find. If I have expressed a desire to hang out with you at all, please come looking for me. Spend time with me if ever you can. I might not be able to do it all the time, but at least try to connect with me.
These are not difficult things to do most of the time, and yet I cannot help but find them missing in my relationships. There has been a place where I have recently been finding an astonishing amount of inconsistency. At my college, there is a group I attend. I am trying to become more integrated with them, and I feel I'm doing a great job! However, in the individual relationships of the smaller group (part of the larger group at the college), there has been a huge problem regarding the lack of #3-5. Some have been rude, some haven't been quite honest, and some have been seemingly avoiding me.
What does this lead to? A life, which I am living, in which meaningless things are now the only reason I care to live at all. I have come to a place where I only find myself staying alive with the idea of "if I were to die now, I would miss out on all the cool video games coming out later this year". Were it not because of meaningless things like that I'd be praying for a swift death!!! Literally praying for one! I've come to thoughts of self-mutilation! The only thing I've been able to do to keep those thoughts at bay is think "It would be very hard to hide the scars that resulted from that, and it might make me less attractive to other people, which is something I don't want, considering I have enough going against me already." These are the thoughts that I've had! WHY!?
I needed to write this tonight. Maybe if someone out there who reads my blog reads this, they'll understand me better. I'm not going to kill myself, I'm not going to harm myself physically. I am, however, breaking down inside. My soul is dying, and I can't stop the decay. I'm feeling less and less like a real person daily. My emotions are now all minimal, if they exist at all. My friendships and relationships are something I don't feel invested in (I wouldn't miss any of my family if I were to move). I'm feeling like there is no reason for me to be alive except that I want to be alive, and for the most trivial reasons.
So, I ask of you all, anyone who is reading this:
please, don't let this happen to anyone else.
I feel I am already a lost cause. I don't think anyone can ever heal the emotional and spiritual wounds I have suffered, and I don't expect anyone to try, either. All I ask is that you would daily try to keep each other in mind. Do not let those you know slip into this oblivion. I cannot describe its darkness, for it feels as if life itself is all nothing but pain.
There is only one good thing which I have received from all the pain I've felt and all the sadness I've endured: as I have lost the ability to feel, I have gained a physical resistance to pain. No pain I feel physically can compare to the pain I have felt emotionally. I wish I had experienced physical pain instead, for unlike the wounds I have suffered... physical wounds heal with time, and scars eventually fade.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Flight of fire
A rather peaceful time had come upon the land of Minuet. The wars which had ravaged the lands generations ago were long past, and healing was underway. The devastation could have been much worse, but in the midst of the battles, as each side prepared to use their harmonic ankhs, the dragons had descended upon the lands.
Unheard of, nobody knew what to think of these dragons. From the east came Boleron, the great dragon of flame. From the south, the dragon Serenada of the Ice. From the west came Requiem, the dragon of the earth . From the north came Balladine, dragon of winds.
Boleron set ablaze the harmonic ankhs, reducing them to ash, Serenada with her mighty breath froze the wizard flames ravaging the land. Balladine swept away the smoke with a beat of her sky-spanning wings. Requiem caused great domes of earth to surround the wizards whom had been fighting in the war. Having stopped the fighting, the dragons spoke wisdom to the nations and their leaders. Wisdom of ages past.
"Too long we have stayed silent and uninvolved!" Came Belladine, with a roar with the might of a storm.
"Too long has man been consuming all like unquenchable flame!" Came Boleron, with a growl like an inferno ablaze.
"Too long have men's hearts been colder than glaciers toward each other!" Came Serenada, with a whisper like a thousand raindrops.
"Too long has war caused suffering on all the earth!" Came Requiem, with a rumble like a rock-slide.
United, the dragons called out, "We shall tolerate this no longer! Wars have come and gone, and yet still man has not learned! We are as one, our will be that man should learn unity. Should they fail, they may face discord together under us!"
Fearing the dragons, a peace settled over the land, peace which has lasted generations. The elders from that time are dead now, and record remains of the great dragon anthem but it is now only a story. The dragons kept a watchful eye on mankind, but over several years they had withdrawn. Still wary of humanity, they watched from their perches. In the north, Balladine took up residence in the cliffs of Aria. To the east, Bolero watched from the fiery peak of Fugue volcano. In the western valley, Requiem lay deep inside the Nocturne caves. In the south, Serenada resided on Bossa Nova Island.
As all this had passed, it was now legend to the younger generation. No more than fantasy tales spun late at night. Although the stories of the great dragon anthem were now seen as children's stories, war had not visited Minuet. The rulers had taken up the tradition of peaceful trade, all the rulers, except for one.
Spectral, the king of the Clef kingdom in the east, despised the weakness of his progenitors. Feeling it foolish to not take anything he could for himself, Spectral ordered his most skilled wizards to find any lost magics they could locate. The wizards, known as the Fractured, were diverse in their skills and some of the most experienced magic-casters alive. Using magics once thought lost, they discovered the blueprints to a mighty weapon: the harmonic ankh. Under orders from Spectral, the Fractured started constructing one in secret.
A young boy who had no home had made his way up to the volcano. Making several trips down from the cave a week, he would take care of all his needs. Occasionally, he would discover beautiful stones, or even occasionally prisimite or sonorite. When he went to town, he would sell the stones for enough money to buy what he couldn't forage for himself. He had kept a few magical stones for himself. Being on a volcano, he found more than enough fire prismite and fire sonorite to use in practicing magic. Although he had no formal training, he was gradually understanding how magic felt. When he grasped at the concentrated arcana inside the prismite, he could feel the red glow of the fire, and when he touched the arcana inside sonorite, he could hear the flames' crackle. Using this, he was able to learn enough to gain a fair understanding of magic.
The harmonic ankh was completed quickly. In a sudden flash of destruction, Spectral had unleashed the very sparks of war which had caused the dragon anthem years before. Spectral, using the forbidden magic, attacked the northern kingdom of Treble. In days, the peaceful plains and plantations were all but non-existent. The sound of the ankh did more than destroy the farmland of Treble. It also awoke Boleron.
During his daily excursion into the volcanic caves, the young boy heard an unusual sound. He felt the air ring with magical energy, and it felt like death. As quickly as it had come, it was gone, replaced by a new sound. It was the sound of life, the sound of a fire springing to life, and gurgling forth. Curious where this sound was coming from, the boy found a crack which he had not noticed before. Squeezing through it, he followed the sound. When he reached the other side, he saw an amazing sight. Before him was a giant creature, with scales like rubies, and talons of steel. It saw he boy, and came close.
"I sense in you great potential. Tell me, did you hear that loud noise?" The dragon asked the boy.
"It... sounded like death. I was scared, but you sound like life... you're not scary." The boy responded.
"I'm not scary? Even with these fangs, horns, claws? Even with my great size?" The dragon chuckled, like embers bouncing off of stone. His eyes drew close into slits as he looked at the boy. "You should fear fire, boy. It is a dangerous thing! I could toast you right now!"
"But your fire sounds so soft. It sounds like sunshine, and warmth in winter. I want to be close to that, even if only for now." The boy replied. The dragon stared at him for a moment, then he backed away.
"Tell me, boy, do you have a name?" Bolero inquired.
"I don't have one that I know of. I have lived on this volcano for a long time, and I don't have any family."
"Then I shall name you Forge, and ask if you would like to come with me. I have a feeling that I may find your presence useful in the future." Bolero stated.
"I like that name, it sounds warm!" Forge exclaimed, "I'd love to go with you... but what are you doing, and were are we going?"
"We are going to where that sound came from. I recognize it from not too long ago. I know what this must mean, but I doubt that my friends heard it. I did, but only because I was so close, as you were. I see you have the spark of magic in you. I may need you to use it, so I shall teach you the ways of the fire dragon as we travel. Although we dragons normally do not feel the need to rush, I fear that time may not be on our side. Climb upon my back, we shall take to the skies." Bolero called out.
Forge did as Bolero asked, and with a mighty bellow, Bolero took flight, bursting forth from the volcano. In the daylight from high in the sky, Forge saw a plume of smoke rising in the north. Although the sound of it was faint, he thought he could hear crying, screaming, and yelling drifting toward them on the wind. Bolero flew to Spectral's palace.
Bolero reached Spectral's palace, and heard the sound of death once more. A bright light flared out of one of the buildings, and clipped his left wing. The damage done caused him to spiral out of control for a moment, and Forge fell off. Bolero, sensing Forge's plummet toward the rocks below, cast a powerful dragon spell: flight. Forge suddenly floated midair. Surprised, he looked around, and realized that he was being held afloat by magic. Hurriedly, he rushed to Bolero whom was now flying normally again, albeit favoring his right wing more.
"Quickly, get on my back again. The sound of death, the harmonic ankh, is too powerful for me to approach alone. We need to retreat and gather help. If I hadn't gotten hit, I could probably have destroyed it, but the problem we're looking at now is far bigger. Let us go."
Forge, thankful for Bolero's willingness to save him from a fall that would have killed him, felt closer to the dragon than before, and was angry he had gotten hurt. He got on Bolero's back, and they quickly headed north, to meet with the dragon of the winds, Balladine.
As Bolero and Forge flew off to the north, a loud sound came from behind them, approaching quickly. Forge, too curious to just ignore it turned and looked. He saw that they were being chased by another dragon. This one, however, seemed less solid. Looking at the dragon was difficult. It seemed to shift in the air, never keeping its form exactly... and it was not like looking at a real dragon, but rather a shadow of one. Forge nudged Bolero as best as he could to indicate he should look. When Bolero turned and saw the dragon approaching, he seemed immediately angry and on edge. Diving down suddenly, he dropped Forge off on the ground, then quickly took flight again. Forge could do nothing but watch.
For several tense minutes, Bolero and the mysterious dragon of darkness battled midair, talons and teeth shining. The sun glinted off of Bolero's scales, and seemed absorbed by the form of the dark dragon. Finally, after an intense exchange of blows, Bolero shot a white-hot searing blaze from his mouth, incinerating the other dragon.
Exhausted from the battle, Bolero landed next to Forge. He was injured, several scales having been torn away, and although it seemed impossible, given his being a fire dragon, he was scorched where the scales had been ripped away. Taking a moment to rest, Bolero started talking with Forge about what had just happened.
"You're probably wondering what that was, Forge. Am I right?"
"It... it felt like magic, but it wasn't warm like you, it didn't feel like fire. I don't know how you could have gotten burned!"
"You're right, it was magic. You're also correct about how I shouldn't be able to get burned. That was a dragon made from old magics. Ones that we dragons had thought were lost a long time ago. It's natural that when we came together they didn't use it. After all, it takes large amounts of magical power to create a dragon of shadow. Naturally, shadow dragons aren't as powerful as their actual counterparts. No doubt they summoned it because they had struck me with the ankh and thought I would be wounded enough to be vulnerable to it. Because it's made of dark magic, it sears, scorches and burns like no other thing does. I survived because of my thick magical protection provided by my scales. That is why I put you down. Normally, getting touched by one of them will destroy something utterly."
"Wait, so it was... made of darkness? Actual darkness?"
"Yes, and seeing that our enemy is in possession of powerful ancient magics, I am convinced we will need the help of all three of the other dragons. Tonight, we camp while I heal. Tomorrow at first light, we fly to Balladine with haste. I would to go north now, avoiding the shed of more innocent blood, but if I reveal myself now, I might not have the strength to resist another attack. While we wait, allow me to teach you about magic. At the very least, I need to teach you how to defend yourself against dark magic and keep yourself from falling to your death in the event of my incapacitation midair."
"Wait, so you're going to teach me how to fly? Like I did before?" Forge asked, anxiously.
"No, for you, it will not be the same. I am a dragon, my magical capacity is deep. You are a young boy, and you will still need many years before you have the magic to fly yourself as I provided you ability earlier. What I will teach you will be enough to allow you to fall slowly, or at a pace that you desire, but you will fall. Over time, you'll be able to stay airborne longer, and eventually you may have the power to fly freely. That is not for now, however. We start simply, and the most important thing I can teach you right now is how to protect yourself from the dark magic you just witnessed."
Forge looked disappointed, but he accepted that he might not be capable of great feats of magic just yet. For the rest of the day, Boleron taught Forge how to cast a protective shell of light magic around himself. Forge took to the magic fairly well. Boleron was impressed, and seeing Forge's quick advancement, he taught Forge the spell of flight.
Before settling down for the night, Boleron asked Forge what magic he knew from before they had met. Forge showed him a few tricks he had learned using fire sonorite and prismite. Boleron was both impressed and humored.
"You show aptitude for magic, but your technique is so strange. Most wizards do not cast magic in this way. Being able to do it without the use of stones, at that! You might be able to learn a bit of dragonfire magic. Would you care to try?"
"Yes! Yes! But to be fair, although I can cast without stones to aid me, I can't really learn much on my own without them. I have to... know... what the magic feels like or sounds like... before I can really understand how it works."
Boleron chuckled deep inside, producing a sound that seemed like the gentle roar of a hearth. With a sparkle in his eye, Boleron told Forge he saw potential within him beyond most people. He explained that to feel or hear magic of an element, one must only know what the thing feels like or sounds like... at least, for the four elemental magics. Fire was warm, and crackled. Water was cool and soothing, and gurgled. Wind was refreshing, and whistled. Earth was solid, and rumbled. He explained how there were other magics, too. They weren't elemental, so it was more difficult to learn, which is why Boleron was so surprised at Forge's ability to learn the light shield shell.
"Very well, now that I have explained to you some of the basics of magic, let us start with the most simple of dragonfire spells. Follow my directions closely. If you manage to do these steps right, and have the strength to pull the pure warm fire from within yourself and things around you (like me), you will be able to create a dragonfire ball. A dragonfire ball will only harm things with malicious intent." Bolero stated, then he drew a series of drawings on the ground showing the somatic components of the spell.
Forge tried to follow the directions, but he kept forgetting what came next and kept having to look back. The first time he tried, he didn't do it right because he had looked back at the drawings too much. Bolero encouraged him to try again, telling him that the movements would begin to come naturally with practice. Forge continued to practice, and after several minutes, he successfully created a small glowing ball of shimmering fire. It was so small, it seemed only a spark, like a firefly lighting up the evening. And after a few moments, Forge felt a bit tired, and the ball fell from his grasp onto the grass. Forge suddenly panicked, and as he did his concentration lapsed and the fire went out. Bolero laughed, and reminded Forge that dragonfire won't hurt things that aren't malicious.
"Ok, but what if it was used on something evil?" Forge asked. Bolero looked serious, and responded in a grave tone.
"It's not about evil or good! It's about intent. If the caster perceives something as seeking to do harm to them, it will destroy it utterly. I'll give you an example. Look at that tree over there on the ground." Bolero signaled with his tail a log which was rotting in place in the forest. Opening his mouth wide, a sigil appeared in front of it, and then a roaring ball of fire blasted forth hitting the rotting log. After a moment of blinding light, Forge looked at where the log once was. Entirely destroyed, there was no sign it had ever existed. Everything around it was untouched.
"This is the power of dragonfire. I may teach you more, but know this... if you ever use dragonfire for evil, I shall have to seek you out and destroy you, as that is my responsibility for teaching you powerful magics. I must teach you, though, for you are my ally in a war that will shake the world through arcane and mundane alike."
The following day, Forge and Bolero began making their way north. Forge was amazed by the speed of Boleron's healing. Although he was still missing scales, his wing had healed where it had been hit by the ankh, and his other scratches and burns had recovered. As they flew northward, Forge noticed a large number of people riding horses below.
Shortly after the people had seen them, there was a roar, as a spear of black energy arced past them, barely missing Boleron. The men below were wizards working in service to Spectral, and they had started casting dark magic spells at them. Forge thought quickly, and yelled toward Boleron.
"I have an idea, but I need your help! I'm going to jump, you breathe dragonfire at me!" Forge yelled.
"What? Nonsense! I can defeat them alone! Do not unnecessarily endanger yourself!" Boleron roared back, but as he did, Forge had jumped off his back. Angry, and concerned for the fate of Forge, he swooped around and followed the plan reluctantly.
As Forge fell through the air, he put up his light shield. As the dragonfire started flaring behind him, Forge cast a small flare of dragonfire, but it wasn't the sparkling color it had been before. It seemed blue and flowing. He caught the stream of dragonfire that Boleron had spewed toward him in his small ball of light. It was absorbed, and the ball became huge and shifting blue. He turned and flung it toward the men on the ground. It splashed, and when the smoke cleared, they had all been frozen, unable to move but still alive. As Forge continued falling, he stopped casting his armor, and replaced it with the flight spell, and he suddenly slowed to a reasonable pace.
Forge landed on the ground safely, and Boleron landed next to him. His eyes sparkled with amusement and wonder. Being totally frozen, the wizards couldn't move, giving Boleron the idea to see what they could learn. Using his flame breath, Boleron thawed one out. Right away he could tell he was out classed. He surrendered. Boleron asked him several important questions.
"Do you work for the eastern king?"
"Yes, we work for him, but indirectly. We receive our orders from the high wizard of his court. We are the Fractured, and if anything happens to us, there are still others whom will rise up from the Fractured to do the will of the high wizard." The Fractured lackey responded.
"Who is the high wizard of the Fractured?"
"The great wizard: Cacophon. He is the most skilled of us all. Even you dragons would stand no chance against him directly!"
"What is your goal, why are you headed north?"
"We are claiming the territory which we marked as part of Clef yesterday. We're also under orders to stop you from heading north if we see you along the way. Apparently, Cacophon believes you're a threat, but it seems that even you cannot do anything against the might of the harmonic ankh! Oh, and by the way, I must thank you for freeing me."
Suddenly, Boleron realized that answering the questions he had asked was a ploy the enemy was using to distract him from the others being freed. They burst out of the ice, and as a group, they fired their spells at Boleron, whom with a single wing-beat dodged them by jumping high into the air. Sensing the difficulty in hitting him, the wizards redirected their beams of darkness. In unison, they flew toward Forge from all directions. Forge braced himself with his shell of light, but one lone streak pierced him through the chest.
Screaming in agony, Forge fell to the ground. Enraged, Boleron cast a spell at them with the intent to kill. In mere seconds, a dragonfire meteor fell from the heavens, smashing into the Fractured. Hastily rushing to Forge's side, he found himself worried about Forge's life. In horror at Forge's draining life-force, Boleron cried a single tear. When it landed on Forge's wound, Forge was suddenly healed. A few minutes later, Forge awoke, unsure what had happened.
Boleron explained what had happened and also commented on his magical power, to survive a fatal blow long enough for Boleron's tear to heal him. Forge asked if he did well, and Boleron admitted that he didn't expect Forge to come up with such a creative technique as turning dragonfire into a dragonice flare. Showcasing his incredible recovery, Forge attempted to jump onto Boleron's back.
He was surprised when his flight magic instinctually activated, and he didn't simply start climbing, but actually flew up to Boleron's back. Curious at what had happened, Forge asked.
"How... how did I do that? Boleron, have I gotten more powerful so quickly?"
"When I saved your life, I did so by infusing part of my life-force in you. Naturally, with that you'll experience a boost in your magical power. I didn't expect it to be so dramatic." Boleron commented. As they took flight toward the north once again, Forge took a closer look at his chest and saw a strange scar. It was dark black (despite his otherwise tan complexion), and in the shape of a '#'. It didn't hurt, but he was not sure how to feel about it. It was right over his heart, after all.
"Don't we need to get headed to the northern dragon... what's the name? Balladine? Knowing those guys are out in force and with orders to attack you if they see you, we should probably go as quickly as we can." Forge asked, holding on tightly to Boleron.
"Yes, yes we do. And I'm pleased you remembered the name. Balladine of the north winds. My other companions are Serenada of the southern waters and Requiem of the western earth. You should remember their names, in case something happens and we get separated for any reason. After all, we need all four dragons (myself included) to stop the wave of darkness I sense creeping over the land." Boleron sped up, rushing with all haste to the north. The battle ahead would not be easy, but the dragons now had a secret weapon they had never counted upon, Forge.
Unheard of, nobody knew what to think of these dragons. From the east came Boleron, the great dragon of flame. From the south, the dragon Serenada of the Ice. From the west came Requiem, the dragon of the earth . From the north came Balladine, dragon of winds.
Boleron set ablaze the harmonic ankhs, reducing them to ash, Serenada with her mighty breath froze the wizard flames ravaging the land. Balladine swept away the smoke with a beat of her sky-spanning wings. Requiem caused great domes of earth to surround the wizards whom had been fighting in the war. Having stopped the fighting, the dragons spoke wisdom to the nations and their leaders. Wisdom of ages past.
"Too long we have stayed silent and uninvolved!" Came Belladine, with a roar with the might of a storm.
"Too long has man been consuming all like unquenchable flame!" Came Boleron, with a growl like an inferno ablaze.
"Too long have men's hearts been colder than glaciers toward each other!" Came Serenada, with a whisper like a thousand raindrops.
"Too long has war caused suffering on all the earth!" Came Requiem, with a rumble like a rock-slide.
United, the dragons called out, "We shall tolerate this no longer! Wars have come and gone, and yet still man has not learned! We are as one, our will be that man should learn unity. Should they fail, they may face discord together under us!"
Fearing the dragons, a peace settled over the land, peace which has lasted generations. The elders from that time are dead now, and record remains of the great dragon anthem but it is now only a story. The dragons kept a watchful eye on mankind, but over several years they had withdrawn. Still wary of humanity, they watched from their perches. In the north, Balladine took up residence in the cliffs of Aria. To the east, Bolero watched from the fiery peak of Fugue volcano. In the western valley, Requiem lay deep inside the Nocturne caves. In the south, Serenada resided on Bossa Nova Island.
As all this had passed, it was now legend to the younger generation. No more than fantasy tales spun late at night. Although the stories of the great dragon anthem were now seen as children's stories, war had not visited Minuet. The rulers had taken up the tradition of peaceful trade, all the rulers, except for one.
Spectral, the king of the Clef kingdom in the east, despised the weakness of his progenitors. Feeling it foolish to not take anything he could for himself, Spectral ordered his most skilled wizards to find any lost magics they could locate. The wizards, known as the Fractured, were diverse in their skills and some of the most experienced magic-casters alive. Using magics once thought lost, they discovered the blueprints to a mighty weapon: the harmonic ankh. Under orders from Spectral, the Fractured started constructing one in secret.
A young boy who had no home had made his way up to the volcano. Making several trips down from the cave a week, he would take care of all his needs. Occasionally, he would discover beautiful stones, or even occasionally prisimite or sonorite. When he went to town, he would sell the stones for enough money to buy what he couldn't forage for himself. He had kept a few magical stones for himself. Being on a volcano, he found more than enough fire prismite and fire sonorite to use in practicing magic. Although he had no formal training, he was gradually understanding how magic felt. When he grasped at the concentrated arcana inside the prismite, he could feel the red glow of the fire, and when he touched the arcana inside sonorite, he could hear the flames' crackle. Using this, he was able to learn enough to gain a fair understanding of magic.
The harmonic ankh was completed quickly. In a sudden flash of destruction, Spectral had unleashed the very sparks of war which had caused the dragon anthem years before. Spectral, using the forbidden magic, attacked the northern kingdom of Treble. In days, the peaceful plains and plantations were all but non-existent. The sound of the ankh did more than destroy the farmland of Treble. It also awoke Boleron.
During his daily excursion into the volcanic caves, the young boy heard an unusual sound. He felt the air ring with magical energy, and it felt like death. As quickly as it had come, it was gone, replaced by a new sound. It was the sound of life, the sound of a fire springing to life, and gurgling forth. Curious where this sound was coming from, the boy found a crack which he had not noticed before. Squeezing through it, he followed the sound. When he reached the other side, he saw an amazing sight. Before him was a giant creature, with scales like rubies, and talons of steel. It saw he boy, and came close.
"I sense in you great potential. Tell me, did you hear that loud noise?" The dragon asked the boy.
"It... sounded like death. I was scared, but you sound like life... you're not scary." The boy responded.
"I'm not scary? Even with these fangs, horns, claws? Even with my great size?" The dragon chuckled, like embers bouncing off of stone. His eyes drew close into slits as he looked at the boy. "You should fear fire, boy. It is a dangerous thing! I could toast you right now!"
"But your fire sounds so soft. It sounds like sunshine, and warmth in winter. I want to be close to that, even if only for now." The boy replied. The dragon stared at him for a moment, then he backed away.
"Tell me, boy, do you have a name?" Bolero inquired.
"I don't have one that I know of. I have lived on this volcano for a long time, and I don't have any family."
"Then I shall name you Forge, and ask if you would like to come with me. I have a feeling that I may find your presence useful in the future." Bolero stated.
"I like that name, it sounds warm!" Forge exclaimed, "I'd love to go with you... but what are you doing, and were are we going?"
"We are going to where that sound came from. I recognize it from not too long ago. I know what this must mean, but I doubt that my friends heard it. I did, but only because I was so close, as you were. I see you have the spark of magic in you. I may need you to use it, so I shall teach you the ways of the fire dragon as we travel. Although we dragons normally do not feel the need to rush, I fear that time may not be on our side. Climb upon my back, we shall take to the skies." Bolero called out.
Forge did as Bolero asked, and with a mighty bellow, Bolero took flight, bursting forth from the volcano. In the daylight from high in the sky, Forge saw a plume of smoke rising in the north. Although the sound of it was faint, he thought he could hear crying, screaming, and yelling drifting toward them on the wind. Bolero flew to Spectral's palace.
Bolero reached Spectral's palace, and heard the sound of death once more. A bright light flared out of one of the buildings, and clipped his left wing. The damage done caused him to spiral out of control for a moment, and Forge fell off. Bolero, sensing Forge's plummet toward the rocks below, cast a powerful dragon spell: flight. Forge suddenly floated midair. Surprised, he looked around, and realized that he was being held afloat by magic. Hurriedly, he rushed to Bolero whom was now flying normally again, albeit favoring his right wing more.
"Quickly, get on my back again. The sound of death, the harmonic ankh, is too powerful for me to approach alone. We need to retreat and gather help. If I hadn't gotten hit, I could probably have destroyed it, but the problem we're looking at now is far bigger. Let us go."
Forge, thankful for Bolero's willingness to save him from a fall that would have killed him, felt closer to the dragon than before, and was angry he had gotten hurt. He got on Bolero's back, and they quickly headed north, to meet with the dragon of the winds, Balladine.
As Bolero and Forge flew off to the north, a loud sound came from behind them, approaching quickly. Forge, too curious to just ignore it turned and looked. He saw that they were being chased by another dragon. This one, however, seemed less solid. Looking at the dragon was difficult. It seemed to shift in the air, never keeping its form exactly... and it was not like looking at a real dragon, but rather a shadow of one. Forge nudged Bolero as best as he could to indicate he should look. When Bolero turned and saw the dragon approaching, he seemed immediately angry and on edge. Diving down suddenly, he dropped Forge off on the ground, then quickly took flight again. Forge could do nothing but watch.
For several tense minutes, Bolero and the mysterious dragon of darkness battled midair, talons and teeth shining. The sun glinted off of Bolero's scales, and seemed absorbed by the form of the dark dragon. Finally, after an intense exchange of blows, Bolero shot a white-hot searing blaze from his mouth, incinerating the other dragon.
Exhausted from the battle, Bolero landed next to Forge. He was injured, several scales having been torn away, and although it seemed impossible, given his being a fire dragon, he was scorched where the scales had been ripped away. Taking a moment to rest, Bolero started talking with Forge about what had just happened.
"You're probably wondering what that was, Forge. Am I right?"
"It... it felt like magic, but it wasn't warm like you, it didn't feel like fire. I don't know how you could have gotten burned!"
"You're right, it was magic. You're also correct about how I shouldn't be able to get burned. That was a dragon made from old magics. Ones that we dragons had thought were lost a long time ago. It's natural that when we came together they didn't use it. After all, it takes large amounts of magical power to create a dragon of shadow. Naturally, shadow dragons aren't as powerful as their actual counterparts. No doubt they summoned it because they had struck me with the ankh and thought I would be wounded enough to be vulnerable to it. Because it's made of dark magic, it sears, scorches and burns like no other thing does. I survived because of my thick magical protection provided by my scales. That is why I put you down. Normally, getting touched by one of them will destroy something utterly."
"Wait, so it was... made of darkness? Actual darkness?"
"Yes, and seeing that our enemy is in possession of powerful ancient magics, I am convinced we will need the help of all three of the other dragons. Tonight, we camp while I heal. Tomorrow at first light, we fly to Balladine with haste. I would to go north now, avoiding the shed of more innocent blood, but if I reveal myself now, I might not have the strength to resist another attack. While we wait, allow me to teach you about magic. At the very least, I need to teach you how to defend yourself against dark magic and keep yourself from falling to your death in the event of my incapacitation midair."
"Wait, so you're going to teach me how to fly? Like I did before?" Forge asked, anxiously.
"No, for you, it will not be the same. I am a dragon, my magical capacity is deep. You are a young boy, and you will still need many years before you have the magic to fly yourself as I provided you ability earlier. What I will teach you will be enough to allow you to fall slowly, or at a pace that you desire, but you will fall. Over time, you'll be able to stay airborne longer, and eventually you may have the power to fly freely. That is not for now, however. We start simply, and the most important thing I can teach you right now is how to protect yourself from the dark magic you just witnessed."
Forge looked disappointed, but he accepted that he might not be capable of great feats of magic just yet. For the rest of the day, Boleron taught Forge how to cast a protective shell of light magic around himself. Forge took to the magic fairly well. Boleron was impressed, and seeing Forge's quick advancement, he taught Forge the spell of flight.
Before settling down for the night, Boleron asked Forge what magic he knew from before they had met. Forge showed him a few tricks he had learned using fire sonorite and prismite. Boleron was both impressed and humored.
"You show aptitude for magic, but your technique is so strange. Most wizards do not cast magic in this way. Being able to do it without the use of stones, at that! You might be able to learn a bit of dragonfire magic. Would you care to try?"
"Yes! Yes! But to be fair, although I can cast without stones to aid me, I can't really learn much on my own without them. I have to... know... what the magic feels like or sounds like... before I can really understand how it works."
Boleron chuckled deep inside, producing a sound that seemed like the gentle roar of a hearth. With a sparkle in his eye, Boleron told Forge he saw potential within him beyond most people. He explained that to feel or hear magic of an element, one must only know what the thing feels like or sounds like... at least, for the four elemental magics. Fire was warm, and crackled. Water was cool and soothing, and gurgled. Wind was refreshing, and whistled. Earth was solid, and rumbled. He explained how there were other magics, too. They weren't elemental, so it was more difficult to learn, which is why Boleron was so surprised at Forge's ability to learn the light shield shell.
"Very well, now that I have explained to you some of the basics of magic, let us start with the most simple of dragonfire spells. Follow my directions closely. If you manage to do these steps right, and have the strength to pull the pure warm fire from within yourself and things around you (like me), you will be able to create a dragonfire ball. A dragonfire ball will only harm things with malicious intent." Bolero stated, then he drew a series of drawings on the ground showing the somatic components of the spell.
Forge tried to follow the directions, but he kept forgetting what came next and kept having to look back. The first time he tried, he didn't do it right because he had looked back at the drawings too much. Bolero encouraged him to try again, telling him that the movements would begin to come naturally with practice. Forge continued to practice, and after several minutes, he successfully created a small glowing ball of shimmering fire. It was so small, it seemed only a spark, like a firefly lighting up the evening. And after a few moments, Forge felt a bit tired, and the ball fell from his grasp onto the grass. Forge suddenly panicked, and as he did his concentration lapsed and the fire went out. Bolero laughed, and reminded Forge that dragonfire won't hurt things that aren't malicious.
"Ok, but what if it was used on something evil?" Forge asked. Bolero looked serious, and responded in a grave tone.
"It's not about evil or good! It's about intent. If the caster perceives something as seeking to do harm to them, it will destroy it utterly. I'll give you an example. Look at that tree over there on the ground." Bolero signaled with his tail a log which was rotting in place in the forest. Opening his mouth wide, a sigil appeared in front of it, and then a roaring ball of fire blasted forth hitting the rotting log. After a moment of blinding light, Forge looked at where the log once was. Entirely destroyed, there was no sign it had ever existed. Everything around it was untouched.
"This is the power of dragonfire. I may teach you more, but know this... if you ever use dragonfire for evil, I shall have to seek you out and destroy you, as that is my responsibility for teaching you powerful magics. I must teach you, though, for you are my ally in a war that will shake the world through arcane and mundane alike."
The following day, Forge and Bolero began making their way north. Forge was amazed by the speed of Boleron's healing. Although he was still missing scales, his wing had healed where it had been hit by the ankh, and his other scratches and burns had recovered. As they flew northward, Forge noticed a large number of people riding horses below.
Shortly after the people had seen them, there was a roar, as a spear of black energy arced past them, barely missing Boleron. The men below were wizards working in service to Spectral, and they had started casting dark magic spells at them. Forge thought quickly, and yelled toward Boleron.
"I have an idea, but I need your help! I'm going to jump, you breathe dragonfire at me!" Forge yelled.
"What? Nonsense! I can defeat them alone! Do not unnecessarily endanger yourself!" Boleron roared back, but as he did, Forge had jumped off his back. Angry, and concerned for the fate of Forge, he swooped around and followed the plan reluctantly.
As Forge fell through the air, he put up his light shield. As the dragonfire started flaring behind him, Forge cast a small flare of dragonfire, but it wasn't the sparkling color it had been before. It seemed blue and flowing. He caught the stream of dragonfire that Boleron had spewed toward him in his small ball of light. It was absorbed, and the ball became huge and shifting blue. He turned and flung it toward the men on the ground. It splashed, and when the smoke cleared, they had all been frozen, unable to move but still alive. As Forge continued falling, he stopped casting his armor, and replaced it with the flight spell, and he suddenly slowed to a reasonable pace.
Forge landed on the ground safely, and Boleron landed next to him. His eyes sparkled with amusement and wonder. Being totally frozen, the wizards couldn't move, giving Boleron the idea to see what they could learn. Using his flame breath, Boleron thawed one out. Right away he could tell he was out classed. He surrendered. Boleron asked him several important questions.
"Do you work for the eastern king?"
"Yes, we work for him, but indirectly. We receive our orders from the high wizard of his court. We are the Fractured, and if anything happens to us, there are still others whom will rise up from the Fractured to do the will of the high wizard." The Fractured lackey responded.
"Who is the high wizard of the Fractured?"
"The great wizard: Cacophon. He is the most skilled of us all. Even you dragons would stand no chance against him directly!"
"What is your goal, why are you headed north?"
"We are claiming the territory which we marked as part of Clef yesterday. We're also under orders to stop you from heading north if we see you along the way. Apparently, Cacophon believes you're a threat, but it seems that even you cannot do anything against the might of the harmonic ankh! Oh, and by the way, I must thank you for freeing me."
Suddenly, Boleron realized that answering the questions he had asked was a ploy the enemy was using to distract him from the others being freed. They burst out of the ice, and as a group, they fired their spells at Boleron, whom with a single wing-beat dodged them by jumping high into the air. Sensing the difficulty in hitting him, the wizards redirected their beams of darkness. In unison, they flew toward Forge from all directions. Forge braced himself with his shell of light, but one lone streak pierced him through the chest.
Screaming in agony, Forge fell to the ground. Enraged, Boleron cast a spell at them with the intent to kill. In mere seconds, a dragonfire meteor fell from the heavens, smashing into the Fractured. Hastily rushing to Forge's side, he found himself worried about Forge's life. In horror at Forge's draining life-force, Boleron cried a single tear. When it landed on Forge's wound, Forge was suddenly healed. A few minutes later, Forge awoke, unsure what had happened.
Boleron explained what had happened and also commented on his magical power, to survive a fatal blow long enough for Boleron's tear to heal him. Forge asked if he did well, and Boleron admitted that he didn't expect Forge to come up with such a creative technique as turning dragonfire into a dragonice flare. Showcasing his incredible recovery, Forge attempted to jump onto Boleron's back.
He was surprised when his flight magic instinctually activated, and he didn't simply start climbing, but actually flew up to Boleron's back. Curious at what had happened, Forge asked.
"How... how did I do that? Boleron, have I gotten more powerful so quickly?"
"When I saved your life, I did so by infusing part of my life-force in you. Naturally, with that you'll experience a boost in your magical power. I didn't expect it to be so dramatic." Boleron commented. As they took flight toward the north once again, Forge took a closer look at his chest and saw a strange scar. It was dark black (despite his otherwise tan complexion), and in the shape of a '#'. It didn't hurt, but he was not sure how to feel about it. It was right over his heart, after all.
"Don't we need to get headed to the northern dragon... what's the name? Balladine? Knowing those guys are out in force and with orders to attack you if they see you, we should probably go as quickly as we can." Forge asked, holding on tightly to Boleron.
"Yes, yes we do. And I'm pleased you remembered the name. Balladine of the north winds. My other companions are Serenada of the southern waters and Requiem of the western earth. You should remember their names, in case something happens and we get separated for any reason. After all, we need all four dragons (myself included) to stop the wave of darkness I sense creeping over the land." Boleron sped up, rushing with all haste to the north. The battle ahead would not be easy, but the dragons now had a secret weapon they had never counted upon, Forge.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Seth
Seth awoke to the sound of his alarm. Turning it off, he grabbed some clothes, and a towel. He took a shower, and then after drying, got dressed. After walking downstairs, he poured a bowl of cereal, and had breakfast. He slipped into his shoes as he left for work.
At work, he typed in front of the computer screen. Reading his new emails about what his next assignment in the project would be, he prepared a new project space for his programming. After a few hours of working, he was off duty, and he headed to college.
When he arrived, he went to the cafeteria, where his friends normally spent their time between classes. He sat at their table and listened to them talk about things. A few minutes later, he pulled out his lunch which he had packed the previous night. Quietly eating, he continued to listen to his friends talk about a wide range of topics. From the absurd, to the crazy, to funny, and serious, Seth found the flowing conversations his friends had intriguing.
Shortly after his friends had started to depart for class, Seth also had to leave for class. He had been hanging out with his friends for an hour and he didn't want to be late. As Seth walked to class alone, he frowned slightly. It was going to be just another day, after all, he thought.
Arriving in class, he paid close attention to the teacher. There was a test next week. Seth took notes, and highlighted several lines in his textbook. Seth would likely make a "B" on this test, after all, his record in testing was fairly consistent. After class, Seth went to the library and looked up a few materials he needed to reference in a paper due in a few weeks.
When he had finished at the library, Seth sat outside the Student Facilities building. There were lots of people there, and some of them were doing interesting tricks on the pavement. One guy was juggling, another guy was riding on single-wheel mini-skateboards (one for each foot), and there was a group of girls who were playing hacky sack with a rainbow colored Hacky ball.
Seth waited for several hours, hoping one of his friends would hang out with him, but none of them did. Many of his friends passed by, but none of them spent any time with him. Feeling a bit let down, Seth drove back home.
Before he started on his homework, he started dinner. It would cook while he was studying in the dining room. He spread his books out on the table, as well as his notes and reference materials. He studied, and when it was time to check the food, he found that it was ready to eat. Putting his study materials and homework away, he got out his plate, and served his dinner. Seth was a bit tired of eating alone, but the food tasted good, so he ate in silence again.
As he headed to bed, he softly sang a song. It had a tune, but no words. As he sang, he thought about his routine. It was typical. Today had been another regular day. Nothing new or special had happened. Nothing terrible, and nothing especially good either.
Quietly, he set his alarm for the next day, and then went to sleep. Laying in bed, waiting for sleep, tears fell from his eyes. But it was all part of his routine. Tonight would be no different.
The next day, Seth got to experience something different. After arriving at his college, he dropped his wallet getting out of his car and didn't notice. Then he tripped while he was walking to class. He fell down the hill, and landed in a ditch, slightly hidden from view. His head hit a sharp rock, and Seth died an hour later while he was still unconscious.
Several weeks later, someone smelled something horrible coming from the ditch, and when they looked, they found a decaying corpse. There was no form of identification on him at the time, so they tried to match his dental records. They found him. Seth's cause of death was obviously an accident, and even after investigation, it was determined he was a victim of circumstance, not foul play. There was no next-of-kin to call, so he got a typical state cremation. His assets were sold to pay for expenses, and his house was put up for sale.
A month after Seth's accident, Seth's boss sent out an email asking if anyone had seen the program for the project that should have been completed by then. The reply he received was that nobody knew who was supposed to do it. He reassigned the program to one of the other workers, and sent an email to Seth's email account.
"Stx035, because of your failure to turn in the work that we requested of you, your independent service contract has been annulled. Should you wish to turn in the program, you may do so no later than November 8th to receive compensation for work completed."
On the following day, Seth's friends (whom he had sat with daily) at college were talking when one of them suddenly stopped, asking an unusual question. "Hey, guys... does it feel like... something... or someone, is missing? I thought we had more people here normally."
Another one of the people at the table spoke up to address this claim. "Nah, I don't think so. I mean, we would have noticed, right? After all, we're all here every day, give or take a few. Seems like we're all here. You're probably just imagining it."
At the end of the semester, several teachers were disappointed. One professor wrote in her personal journal that there had been a student named Seth whom never showed up for class, but somehow always had his assignments turned in until around October, when he missed the first test. After that, not only did he never show up in class, but he failed to turn in any further work. She guessed that he had probably withdrawn from the class, but had not done so officially, and she was sad that she had to give this otherwise average student making "B"s on most assignments an "F" for the semester.
Nobody living knows about Seth's past. Although in pain and alone, Seth still had lived somehow, but now all that is left of Seth is this story. Nobody remembered him, nobody noticed him, and nobody cared.
At work, he typed in front of the computer screen. Reading his new emails about what his next assignment in the project would be, he prepared a new project space for his programming. After a few hours of working, he was off duty, and he headed to college.
When he arrived, he went to the cafeteria, where his friends normally spent their time between classes. He sat at their table and listened to them talk about things. A few minutes later, he pulled out his lunch which he had packed the previous night. Quietly eating, he continued to listen to his friends talk about a wide range of topics. From the absurd, to the crazy, to funny, and serious, Seth found the flowing conversations his friends had intriguing.
Shortly after his friends had started to depart for class, Seth also had to leave for class. He had been hanging out with his friends for an hour and he didn't want to be late. As Seth walked to class alone, he frowned slightly. It was going to be just another day, after all, he thought.
Arriving in class, he paid close attention to the teacher. There was a test next week. Seth took notes, and highlighted several lines in his textbook. Seth would likely make a "B" on this test, after all, his record in testing was fairly consistent. After class, Seth went to the library and looked up a few materials he needed to reference in a paper due in a few weeks.
When he had finished at the library, Seth sat outside the Student Facilities building. There were lots of people there, and some of them were doing interesting tricks on the pavement. One guy was juggling, another guy was riding on single-wheel mini-skateboards (one for each foot), and there was a group of girls who were playing hacky sack with a rainbow colored Hacky ball.
Seth waited for several hours, hoping one of his friends would hang out with him, but none of them did. Many of his friends passed by, but none of them spent any time with him. Feeling a bit let down, Seth drove back home.
Before he started on his homework, he started dinner. It would cook while he was studying in the dining room. He spread his books out on the table, as well as his notes and reference materials. He studied, and when it was time to check the food, he found that it was ready to eat. Putting his study materials and homework away, he got out his plate, and served his dinner. Seth was a bit tired of eating alone, but the food tasted good, so he ate in silence again.
As he headed to bed, he softly sang a song. It had a tune, but no words. As he sang, he thought about his routine. It was typical. Today had been another regular day. Nothing new or special had happened. Nothing terrible, and nothing especially good either.
Quietly, he set his alarm for the next day, and then went to sleep. Laying in bed, waiting for sleep, tears fell from his eyes. But it was all part of his routine. Tonight would be no different.
The next day, Seth got to experience something different. After arriving at his college, he dropped his wallet getting out of his car and didn't notice. Then he tripped while he was walking to class. He fell down the hill, and landed in a ditch, slightly hidden from view. His head hit a sharp rock, and Seth died an hour later while he was still unconscious.
Several weeks later, someone smelled something horrible coming from the ditch, and when they looked, they found a decaying corpse. There was no form of identification on him at the time, so they tried to match his dental records. They found him. Seth's cause of death was obviously an accident, and even after investigation, it was determined he was a victim of circumstance, not foul play. There was no next-of-kin to call, so he got a typical state cremation. His assets were sold to pay for expenses, and his house was put up for sale.
A month after Seth's accident, Seth's boss sent out an email asking if anyone had seen the program for the project that should have been completed by then. The reply he received was that nobody knew who was supposed to do it. He reassigned the program to one of the other workers, and sent an email to Seth's email account.
"Stx035, because of your failure to turn in the work that we requested of you, your independent service contract has been annulled. Should you wish to turn in the program, you may do so no later than November 8th to receive compensation for work completed."
On the following day, Seth's friends (whom he had sat with daily) at college were talking when one of them suddenly stopped, asking an unusual question. "Hey, guys... does it feel like... something... or someone, is missing? I thought we had more people here normally."
Another one of the people at the table spoke up to address this claim. "Nah, I don't think so. I mean, we would have noticed, right? After all, we're all here every day, give or take a few. Seems like we're all here. You're probably just imagining it."
At the end of the semester, several teachers were disappointed. One professor wrote in her personal journal that there had been a student named Seth whom never showed up for class, but somehow always had his assignments turned in until around October, when he missed the first test. After that, not only did he never show up in class, but he failed to turn in any further work. She guessed that he had probably withdrawn from the class, but had not done so officially, and she was sad that she had to give this otherwise average student making "B"s on most assignments an "F" for the semester.
Nobody living knows about Seth's past. Although in pain and alone, Seth still had lived somehow, but now all that is left of Seth is this story. Nobody remembered him, nobody noticed him, and nobody cared.
Honor
Today, at church, the pastor gave a sermon about honor.
Honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions; high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank; such respect manifested. This was how honor was defined.
I think about this definition and I wonder why this is so lost these days. I personally think that honesty is more simple, fairness more wholesome, and integrity to beliefs the most rewarding. So, why is it missing?
I think perhaps the problem lies in how people view the world today. How many people think of the world as an unfair, dishonest, anything-goes free-for-all? I would be willing to wager that at least in America, this thought pattern is common.
The question I pose is: if the world is unfair, dishonest, and a free-for-all, does that give us the right to be just as bad, or should we be striving to reach a higher standard? I think that we should make every effort to go above and beyond the way the world looks.
I try my hardest to be laudatory and edifying. In the most basic terms, I try to give compliments and be uplifting, and when it is time to point out changes that could be made, I try to do it only for the sake of helping the other person improve themselves. Everything I do, I attempt to do in kindness and love, for it's the one thing that's missing now more than ever.
Friday evening, I felt called to speak with a new friend. We had only spoken three times, but I wanted to talk to her. What I found was that she was in desperate need of a ride. I could have said I wouldn't do it. It would have been "fair" to me, but not "right". I would have been betraying my values, not holding onto my integrity. Furthermore, her house was on my way home! Why shouldn't I help her!?
Needless to say, I gave her a ride home (hopefully I was a blessing for her). She blessed me too, but I don't know if she realized how blessed I was by this 30 minute ride from college to her house. I hope that perhaps we will become good friends.
Everyone has sadness and pain (of one sort or another) in their lives. The question I see is "Knowing how bad sadness and pain hurts when caused by others, why aren't we doing more to keep from causing pain to those around us?" I know my goal is to not cause pain, avoiding that wherever I can. It might not be possible to avoid it entirely, but I can't use that as an excuse to just stop trying. That's how I see it.
Not everyone feels like I do, though. I can only hope that each person will find a way to be a joy and a blessing to others' lives.
Honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions; high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank; such respect manifested. This was how honor was defined.
I think about this definition and I wonder why this is so lost these days. I personally think that honesty is more simple, fairness more wholesome, and integrity to beliefs the most rewarding. So, why is it missing?
I think perhaps the problem lies in how people view the world today. How many people think of the world as an unfair, dishonest, anything-goes free-for-all? I would be willing to wager that at least in America, this thought pattern is common.
The question I pose is: if the world is unfair, dishonest, and a free-for-all, does that give us the right to be just as bad, or should we be striving to reach a higher standard? I think that we should make every effort to go above and beyond the way the world looks.
I try my hardest to be laudatory and edifying. In the most basic terms, I try to give compliments and be uplifting, and when it is time to point out changes that could be made, I try to do it only for the sake of helping the other person improve themselves. Everything I do, I attempt to do in kindness and love, for it's the one thing that's missing now more than ever.
Friday evening, I felt called to speak with a new friend. We had only spoken three times, but I wanted to talk to her. What I found was that she was in desperate need of a ride. I could have said I wouldn't do it. It would have been "fair" to me, but not "right". I would have been betraying my values, not holding onto my integrity. Furthermore, her house was on my way home! Why shouldn't I help her!?
Needless to say, I gave her a ride home (hopefully I was a blessing for her). She blessed me too, but I don't know if she realized how blessed I was by this 30 minute ride from college to her house. I hope that perhaps we will become good friends.
Everyone has sadness and pain (of one sort or another) in their lives. The question I see is "Knowing how bad sadness and pain hurts when caused by others, why aren't we doing more to keep from causing pain to those around us?" I know my goal is to not cause pain, avoiding that wherever I can. It might not be possible to avoid it entirely, but I can't use that as an excuse to just stop trying. That's how I see it.
Not everyone feels like I do, though. I can only hope that each person will find a way to be a joy and a blessing to others' lives.
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