Plot danger and beasties!

So i'm starting to feel that i've gone from making my story bigger to making a different story all together. It seems to be a thin line between the two.

In other news, filling out my beastiary and i'm at like 20 races? i need more, more i tell you!!!

k laterz!

Upcoming Projects for 2014!

Kay so I'm moving at the beginning of 2014, and my plan is to begin writing after settling in.
I've got 5 projects in the works, as those of you who follow the blog know.
My main focus will be on "Wild Cards", "Seeds of Prophecy", "Curses", and "City of Mirrors".
"Heart of Stone" might end up becoming a novella, since the writing style i'm planning on using for it is a bit "fluffy". lol

Anywasy, see. ya'll then! ^_^

Some ametuurish art for "Seeds of Prophesy"

Here's a picture of Reginald. It's not super great, but yeah. ^_^

Here's the original.

Here's the edited version.

Free Fiction Tuesday: Seeds of Prophecy (Part 4)

“What do you thinks wrong with him, Toby?” said Phiobe, from where she sat watching Ubrin investigate the open space between the house and the wall separating the foreign dorms from the rest of the campus.

“I don’t know, Phi. He did seem rather off though, and don’t think I didn’t notice the way Ubrin was sniffing at him.” Toby replied, continuing to place his belongings in order within the first floor room that Phiobe hadn’t clamed for herself.

Tobias and Phiobe had arrived at the house shortly after the midday bell to find their belongings had already arrived and been placed in the first floors living area.  The living area was modestly furnished in neutral tones of white and beige, and took up most of the first floor. Further inspection had revealed a small sink and cooking prep area to the left of the main entrance as well as two large rooms with adjoining bathrooms along the back part of the floor. Having taken that in Reginald had shown the siblings to the second floor by way of a set of discrete stairs. The second floor was much like the first except where the first floor had only had two rooms the second had four, split into pairs with a bathroom set between them and each having access to the large balcony which spanned the back of the house.

The house itself did not appear to have hosted residents for quite some time though it had, as Reginald had explained, been cleaned in preparation for the siblings arrival.

The reason for the lack of other residents, Reginald had also explained was that although the group of two story homes that sat in a circle surrounding the open courtyard area were available exclusively for use by all foreign students, because of the other options available to such students often the six buildings went without residents.

Shortly before arriving at what would be their new home for the length of their stay at TUAMA, Reginald had pointed out one of those options. Across from the Foreign Students dorms were a row of dorms dedicated to different campus groups. Slightly bigger in size then the foreign students dorm houses, these Group homes served the housing needs of particular members of the student body.  Reginald had explained, though he hadn’t pointed out specific buildings, that certain abilities caused tension within other dorms or were simply easier on all involved when housed separately from the general population of students.

For example, he had said, persons with natural or cultivated ensorcellment abilities often chose to be housed in the group dorm dedicated to those with that particular ability since they were often treated with distrust by other students. While those with strong precognitive or empathic abilities where often invited to join the NUCOGPATH house since it had been found that certain types of Nulls helped temper the side effects of those gifts.

Faculty homes were placed along the opposite side of the paving hosted the Group homes eventually ending at the Headmistress’s home itself. While this path branched off from the one ending in the foreign homes, it started at the schools gates and ran solidly across the campus connecting the many separate buildings.

The campus tour had begun with that first step out of the Administrative building which, while Toby had thought of the Administrative Building as being a singular structure, Reginald had revealed, was actually part of what the school referred to as The Quad. The square structure was actually four buildings surrounding an open courtyard that had been built into each other. The corner the siblings had been in was the Administrative Building, which also housed business classes on it’s second floor, while the corner above it housed the student infirmary and the medical arts classes. Next to the Administrative building’s corner was the Library and Language spellcraft arts buildings corner leaving the that corner to house the student cafeteria with general education classes held on it’s second floor.

It had almost been time for the midday meal when Tobias and Phiobe had finished speaking with Headmistress Imsenko, so Reginald had offered to start their tour at the cafeteria and answer any questions they might have.

~*~

(to be continued)

Free Fiction Tuesdays: Seeds of Prophecy (Part 3)

 This week's installment completes the scene started last week. It's a bit long, i guess. I haven't done any editing so i'm sure there are a bunch of mistakes at the moment. I'll be posting some stuff this week to go along with this post, IE. a "what's what in Omoria series". lol I hope you guys like it. As always feedback is appreciated. Smooches.

 (Continued from part 1 in last weeks installment of Free Fiction Tuesdays)

“Very good, Mr. Lanae. We do in fact have many foreign students such as yourself, who much like you and your sister, will be experiencing different cultures in addition to studying their abilities in preparation for positions they will hold later in their lives.”

Sighing out a breath in relief that his answer had been satisfactory, Tobias raised his head to catch a pleased smile directed at him from the Headmistress’s mouth.

“Now Miss Lanae, since your brother so gallantly volunteered to answer my first question you can answer my second. “

Darting a glance his sisters way, Tobias wasn’t surprised to see her paling. In fact she was paling rather quickly, so he leaned over and touched her arm in solidarity. His gesture seemed to startle Phiobe out of her abrupt stupor, and giving him a relieved smile she took a few shallow breaths before speaking.

“Yes, Headmistress.”

 “Good. What do you know of me?”

Slightly disconcerted by the question Phiobe took a moment to answer, and when she did it was with a questioning voice.

“You are Knoirys Imsenko, Headmistress of The Universal Academy of Magical Arts, also known as TUAMA, in Neder.”

“That is correct. What else?”

Unsure as to where this line of questioning was heading Phiobe’s face began to take on a look of confusion. To Tobias the heavy pause and pinched lines between her brows was a dead giveaway that his twin was going over everything they had both learned about Headmistress Imsenko , her thoughts probably racing in their effort to find the answer to what was obviously not a simple question, but a test of sorts.

“You are obviously Susmarian, Headmistress. Your eyes mark you as being of the ruling class… Although in all honesty, I haven’t seen eyes quite like yours before which leads me to think their effect is not simply your Susmarian heritage. I’ve been told you’re a Dream Mage of the highest caliber, which probably explains why I’ve heard you referred to as The Starless Dreamer. You’re also an Elemental Master, having shown at least a Wizards level of competence in the eleven elements.”

By the time she had finished speaking Phiobe restless fidgeting made it obvious that she wasn’t very comfortable under the scrutiny of Headmistress Imsenko.

“Your information is accurate, Miss Lanae. I do in fact hail from Susmar, and I do belong to a very esteemed family, but that will have no bearing on my position at this school. As far as my eyes are concerned, part of what you’ll be learning here a TUAMA is that certain types of abilities have physical manifestations. In my case because of my strength as a Dreamer my eyes bear this appearance. There are other manifestations some far stranger than mine, but those are things you will be taught in your practical magic courses… My dear, something under your coat appears to be trying to escape.”

Apparently Phiobe’s continued fidgeting had agitated Ubrin, causing the child sized creature to journey forth from beneath her clothing, where she had hidden him, to investigate.

Taking in Ubrin’s turtle shaped face, it’s leathery skinned humanoid body, clawed hands, and shell covered back Headmistress Imsenko took a moment to glance at the file she had been reading when they entered her office. She then turned back to Phiobe where she sat with Ubrin in her lap, after picking him up to curtail his wonderings.

“I was not informed you would be bringing a…pet. I’m sorry to inform you that they are not allowed in the dorms and that you will have to seek out alternative lodgings for it.”

“Him.” Tobias quickly rushed to say, seeing the look of growing trepidation on his sister’s face.

“Excuse me, Mr. Lanae?”

“Him. Ubrin is a him, and he is not a pet. He’s a ground swan, and my sister’s Shouhana. They cannot be separated.”

It was obvious that the Headmistress was slightly taken aback by Tobias’s forceful tone, but he couldn’t help it when defending his sister’s best interests.

“Cannot be separated? I find that very unlikely, Mr. Lanae. It is the strictest policy of this school that pets are not allowed to stay in the dorms.”

“Then we will have to make other arrangements. My sister must not be separated from her Shouhana under any circumstances; it is the will of our goddess.”

Tobias was upset that they wouldn’t be able to stay in the dorm, but his sister’s wellbeing trumped whatever previous plans had been made. Reaching out across the gap between their chairs, Tobias took her hand and received a smile in gratitude, before he turned back to face the Headmistress.

However, the look on the Headmistress’s face was not the anger he had expected. Instead he found the Headmistress had slightly tilted her head to the side and was looking at them in an almost quizzical way.

“What do you mean it is the will of your goddess?”

Withholding a sigh of exasperation, for Tobias had assumed that the Headmistress of such a renowned center of learning would already know the intricacies of his sister’s position Tobias spoke carefully in response to the Headmistresses question.

“As you already know, Tsurans share a close bond with the Spirit of Wood. So close in fact that when one of our people is in need and invokes the goddess she will often assist them in some way. Phiobe and I are twins, and at our birth there were…complications. Our birth mother is the High Priestess of Viridpla, the voice of the goddess among our people. This closeness gifted me with a stonger connection to the goddess then most of my people, but it left Phiobe with pieces of herself missing. Don’t misunderstand, there was nothing wrong with her physically or mentally, but spiritually she needed more than what she was born with.
So the goddess gifted Phiobe with Ubrin.”

“How did this gifting take place?”

“The High Priestess told us that the goddess called all the creatures that would come to Phiobe to her. So for many days all sorts of strange creatures, fearsome beasts from the wilds, and gentle domestic animals came to where Phiobe was kept. Then one day all the animals departed the infant Phiobe’s side and a large ground swan matriarch appeared. In the matriarchs arms was what appeared to be a runt of a ground swan liter, Ubrin. He would have died, but after being placed next to Phiobe it became obvious they were meant for each other, that they were Shouhana. They complete each other. So I hope you can now understand why their being separated is unthinkable.”

For a few moments the Headmistress was thoughtfully silent before pursing her lips.

“I am unfamiliar with this term, Shouhana… but listening to your explanation it bears a remarkable similarity to something in the magical community we call a Familiar. Natural Familiars, if that is what Ubrin is for your sister, are exceedingly rare. However, Familiars in general are quite common among magic users.”

“Does that change things, Headmistress? If Ubrin is a Familiar?” Phiobe said, the hope obvious in her words.

“Yes child, it does indeed. There are special rules regarding Familiars. They are not considered pets, and so they are allowed in the dorms, but they are not allowed to wonder freely upon the ground of the school. You will be responsible for… his care as well as his behavior. Is that understood?”

The way Headmistress Imsenko was looking at her made it quite clear the woman wasn’t actually asking a question as much as letting Phiobe know that while Ubrin would now be allowed to stay in the dorms with them, if he caused trouble they would find themselves in quite a different situation.

“Yes, Headmistress.”

Gathering a few packets of papers off her desk, the Headmistress handed them to Tobias and Phiobe.

“Moving along then, these are your welcome packets. Inside you will find your initial schedules, as well as copies of our schools policies. You are scheduled for testing and class placement tomorrow, Firesday. Sunsday night is the New Term Celebration Ball. Attendance is mandatory for foreign students. I will be seeing you there.”

A soft knocking sound carried across the room before the door opened to reveal a young man with shockingly red hair.

“Ahh, good timing, Reginald. Mr. and Miss Lanae may I introduce Mr. Werth. He will be assisting me by giving you a tour of the campus and showing you to your dorms in the Foreign Students Housing Quarter.”

With that the Headmistress once more turned her attention to her papers making it clear they were dismissed.

Saying a soft “Thank you” before quickly gathering their packets, Tobias followed Phiobe and their unexpected tour guide through the Headmistress’s outer office and the halls of the Administration building until they had reached the entrance.

Reginald gave them a smile before opening the door and walking out into the daytime sun. Taking a deep breath and his sister’s hand, Tobias and Phiobe stepped together into the unknown.  

Free Fiction Tuesdays: Seeds of Prophecy (Part 2)

This weeks installment is a bit long, so i decided to only post the first part of it. Hopefully next week will see the end of this scene, but since it's a very important scene as far as the setting is concerned it's very long. Long enough in fact that i've decided that last weeks installment will be added to this scene in it's entirety to make most of chapter one. Hope you like it and feedback will be appreciated. Thanks to the inspirations.

~*~

The Headmistress was a dark skinned petite woman who was most likely approaching the end of her middle years, that much was obvious to Tobias by the way streaks of graying hair intermixed themselves with what, he was sure, were once entirely raven tresses. Adding that information to the worldly picture of her he had begun building in his mind as he’d observed the artifacts in her waiting room he preceded cautiously observing the woman where she sat across from him and his sister reading what appeared to be their file. She was, in fact, practically dwarfed by the large wooden desk that sat between her and whoever was seated awaiting her attention.

Hoping to move along this meeting, Tobias softly cleared his throat before speaking softly.

“Good morning, Headmistress.”

If the woman heard his words she gave no indication, continuing to peruse the papers she held in her hands and making no motion to return his greeting,

‘Uhhh’ was Tobias’s only thought as the silence continued to build in the large room. Casting a quick glance at his sister he received a look that said she had about as much of an idea how to proceed in the situation as he did.

“You are the Lanae siblings, correct?”

It took a moment for Tobias to realize the speaker of the sharp inquiry was the previously silent woman across from him. Surprised by the abruptness of her speech Phiobe answered before he could figure out what she had actually said.

“Yes, Headmistress.”

“It says here you are from Tsur. You are the first of that place to attend this academy. If what I’ve read in the papers sent for your enrollment is any indication I believe it will be a privilege to help shape your education, but I get ahead of myself. Do you know why you are here, child?”

Since the question didn’t seem to be directed at either one of them, Tobias wasn’t sure who should answer. Trading another quick look with his sister he returned his attention to the Headmistress only to find himself looking at the strangest eyes he’d ever seen in his seventeen years.

That the woman was Susmarian had been obvious considering her skin, which was the color of freshly turned earth, and during their travels from Tsur, Tobias and Phiobe had been prepared as much as possible for what they could expect of the world outside their small island with its closed borders.

The people of Susmar, with its snow covered fields and soaring mountains, often possessed dark skin.  Tobias and Phiobe’s instructors had merely spoken of this inherent attribute as they would have any other characteristic of a group of peoples. What they hadn’t pressed during their tutoring sessions was that typical Susmarians had both dark skin and pale eyes. Intrigued by a seemingly strange feature compared to a Tsuran’s tanned complexion and earth toned eyes he had further inquired of the sailors they had traveled with and been regaled by their stories.

The sailors had spoken of the goddess Kytia Luna, the Spirit of Ice, and how after separating her lands from the continent which housed Neder, Rymal, and Worshan, creating the Sea of Sorrows, she who was the closest to Order of his many children had grown weary of the world and it’s workings and retreated to her frozen castle deep in the heart of Susmar. Many years later a man with skin like the night and eyes like the moon had appeared at her door and through perseverance he had thawed her heart. Together they had spent many years in happiness welcoming many children into their lives, and to each of those children Kytia Luna had given the most beautiful eyes in the world, from the softest of lavenders to the hardest amethyst. Those children would become the first Susmarians, the stars of the north, and it was said that only the decedents with those eyes could rule Susmar even to this day, though many Susmarians had eyes ranging from the palest blue to the harshest grey.

Even knowing to expect that the Headmistress’s eyes would be different from the Tsurans he had been raised around or even the sailors from mixed races that he’d traveled with, what Tobias hadn’t expected was that the Headmistress’s eyes wouldn’t be one stationary shade.

Her eyes were like the richest of twilights, a purple so deep it was like looking at the moon flowers that grew high atop the ancient volcano that had formed Tsur. That in itself would have been the strangest thing Tobias had ever seen, if it hadn’t been for the lightening and darkening shades of lavender that seemed to drift across the woman’s iris like clouds across an alien sky.

Unable to pull his gaze away, Tobias found himself answering the woman’s question without the need for further prompting.

“We’re here because The Universal Academy of Magical Arts is the most prestigious school on Omoria. Word of the quality of its instructors has reached even our island home. Its graduates are all well educated in their crafts, and among its foreign students reside the sons and daughters of the nobility as well as the children of the most esteemed merchants, artisans, and scholars. “

Snapping his mouth shut on the last, Tobias threw a startled look at his sister before resting his eyes firmly on his hands, which lie gripping his thighs.

‘Well that was awkward…’

(to be continued...)

The tale of Kytia Luna and her thawing will be one of the first stories I tackle after i stop running this book for Free fiction Tuesdays and start posting companion tales. ^_^
PS- the symbol  ~*~  does not have any special meaning it's simply a place holder between scenes. 

Free Fiction Tuesday: Seeds of Prophecy (Part 1)

“Are you sure we’re in the right place Toby?” Phiobe asked for what seemed like the sixth time in five minutes.

“I’m sure.” replied Tobias, “Weren’t you paying attention when I gave them our information?”

“Ummm…”

Turning away from his perusal of the Rymalian ceremonial masks decorating the northern wall of the Headmistress’s waiting room, Tobias settled his piercing green gaze upon his sister were she sat quietly blushing and shifting in her seat

“Rot it, Phi. We're here for a reason, and it’s not so you can let your mind wander.”

A softly cleared throat informed the twins that the Headmistress was ready for them, and reminded  Tobias of the fact that this was not the time for a private conversation that could be continued later. Besides it wasn’t like any amount of yelling had ever gotten through to his unfocused twin.

Being the oldest by mere minutes had burdened Tobias with always having to be the more practical of the two siblings, since Phiobe always seemed to claim her younger status as an excuse to act irresponsibly and get out of trouble.

Even today, after spending the past two months traveling to this foreign place from their island home of Tsur, far to the east in the middle of the Redro Sea, she hadn't learned to be more aware of her situation, despite the weight of their task as the first students from their home country to study at The Omorian Academy of Magical Arts.

Slightly shorter than his own five foot nine inch height Phiobe shared the same coloring of olive skin, dark brown hair, and green eyes all Tsurans did. She even wore her hair long just as Tobias did save that her’s was worn loose in a style befitting a young woman of seventeen, while he wore his in a multitude of tight braids as befitting a young man. In fact, they looked pretty much the same except for Tobias’s height, broader jaw line, and lack of womanly curves which Phiobe boasted quite a few of.

No, what really set them apart at the moment, thought Tobias as he helped his sister to her feet and began to lead her towards the Headmistress’s private office, where the her secretary was currently holding the door open as a signal that they should now enter, was the deferring states of their dress.

Casting another irritated glance over his sisters clothing, from the toes of her soft boots and continuing up past the dark slacks and the crisp white shirt covered by the rather large and shapeless brown coat she was using to hide Ubrin, Tobias did have to marvel at her ability to collect dirt and wrinkles with seemingly little to no effort. His own boots were relatively clean by comparison, as were his black slacks, long sleeved white shirt, and more form fitting jacket especially considering they had both arrived by coach at the academy gates only a half hour ago. Although, upon reflection, they had immediately been directed by the academy registrar to appear before the academy's esteemed Headmistress leaving no time to roll around on the ground which, Tobias thought, Phiobe apparently had.

‘Well none of that matters now’ he thought, ‘we’ll just have to get through this and hope she doesn’t make too bad of an impression.’

 

Sighing softly to himself, Tobias quickly helped his sister arrange herself and her voluminous coat in one of the chairs situated before the headmistress's desk, before taking the other seat himself and turning his full attention towards the woman who now held their future in her hands.