Search Results for 'ice'

Forums Search Search Results for 'ice'

Viewing 20 results - 2,021 through 2,040 (of 2,058 total)
  • Author
    Search Results
  • #231

    HAHAHA! it is your first step now. Let me just remind you that you need not play MY game, the game is yours, ever.” said Georges.

    Dory was feeling a bit confused now. What was he talking about, what game? And first step to what? She couldn’t hold to the anger nor the irritation; all of that was feeling not real or not here, or not there for all she knew.

    “The direction you follow is your choice, and where I come from is not relevant to this conversation. You may say I come from yourself :) and indeed you called me and I wanted company. Do you want more coleslaw?”

    Without waiting for her answer he refilled her plate with the tasty food.

    All those smells,… she could feel so many different things, things that appeared not to be here. A movement caught her attention in her periphery. As she turned her gaze whatever was there had vanished. And this humming, it was like music, but not very clear… if she could just focus more on it, yes like that, she was feeling sooo calm and she began laughing.

    “Hahahah… haha. Did you drug the coleslaw?” She asked, trying to appear angry and unhappy, but all she could do was smile and laugh.

    The images around her were shape-shifting, there were many colors, some of them she didn’t know could be possible, the walls were melting of sort and becoming transparent, or just fluid maybe…

    “Well you see how it’s easy to relax. Let’s see where you want to go now my dear Rafaela”, he said winking.

    And everything turned into a great maelström but she felt secure and could feel his presence reassuring, and there were all those other faces and places, some felt very familiar, had she ever been there before?

    #230

    Illi had not known as powerful an opponent as this other Illi.

    At first, she had been remembered of stories of possession by evil sprites (or djinns) that she had heard in her youth, when Ibn al’ Gruk, the old angora storyteller was entertaining the desert settlement beating the rhythm with sonorous drums.

    So, she had pushed, and rebelled, and fought, as fiercely as any other gripshawk skilled and trained in the hand-to-hand martial arts would have done.

    But the other Illi wasn’t so easily vanquished.

    Then Illi had collapsed. She had sorrowfully abandoned the fight to the dreaded adversary.

    All of this had been occurring in a twinkle of an eye, but for Illi, the fight had been during ages and ages, while she was trying to focus on what BelleDora was explaining to her about the land where she was now.

    And when she had abandoned the fight, everything was again so easy. She did not care any longer, she was free again. Her evil twin could do anything, it could not matter less.

    But the evil twin had been in fact doing the same, and she had struggled to keep the focus coherent to her. Didn’t want stupid moth-looking people in her reality, or even spare hair on her face! But that other one was strong, and fierce. And stubborned too!

    — Who are you? she finally had asked
    — I’m Illi, had the other answered
    — I am Illi.
    — So we are both Illi…
    — Yeah, that may be it, but we are quite different.
    — Are we? You feel quite like me, despite your stupid affection for smooth baby face.
    — Well, wouldn’t it be for that, I can see some resemblance…
    — Will you let me continue my trip?
    — Oh, I would have, but you’ve hijacked mine, said Illi Fergusson.
    — So you think.
    — And where does your trip leads to? asked Illi F. who wasn’t too sure of her trip either
    — From traveling portals to traveling portals, to discover all that can be discovered on this world. Magical creatures, I distrust them, but the lands and people are fascinating… And what about yours?
    — Hmm, hmm, pondered Illi F. for a moment… Well, I’m dead actually, but I didn’t expect being dead to be so busy. There are so many things to discover, and I like that. I see funny looking people, and this looks like fun. Like a minute ago, I was in some kind of funny cave, with a parrot…
    — A what?
    — A parrot, you know, a kind of talking bird full of colours…
    — Mmm, some kind of demonic creature for sure. Would have slain it without an hesitation!
    — Hey! You see, that’s why I didn’t want you to come with me.
    — Well, seems like for a moment, we don’t have much more choice…
    — At least, look at the bright side, with us merged like that, each of us can provide the other one with some sound experience on each other’s worlds.
    — Well, that’s not as airy-fairy as it seems…
    — Well, thank you for that, I’ll take that as a compliment.
    — You really are dreadfully serious at times!
    — Hey, I’m not anybody you see. My parents were aristocrats, I’m not the common hairy lot.
    — Ahahah, you’re funny.
    — So are you!

    And they ended laughing blissfully together.

    After a moment, Illi asked again:

    — Huh, a funny cave you said?
    — Well, yes. With lots of people…
    — Interesting… I was near some sort of strange cave too a while ago, that is, before I was found by this nice man and his dogs. Perhaps there is some connection here.
    — And could you go there again?
    — Not sure if I want to; there were some smelly fumes, smelt like demonic magic in there.
    — Oh you see, for as long as I’ve been dead, well even if that’s not so long ago, anyway, the point is I’ve not seen any demon so far… blustered Illi F.
    — Oh, and I have to take your word like that then?
    — Well, do as you please, but I’m going there again…
    — Just wait for me now, will you; let’s try to do things hand in hand, because you’re driving me mad!

    And the deal was made.

    BelleDora had continued to explain lots of things about her ancestors, but had not really noticed Illi’s attention had been so far away. She was a bit surprised when she found herself interrupted in a middle of a poetic depiction of the coastal plains of the Peninsula of the Dragon Head, where some glistening Capricorns were sometimes seen swimming in the creeks.

    — And how do I get back safely to this hole where I was found? asked Illi abruptly.

    #227

    Jibberacky is…

    • Ghilbert Razkÿ, a crazy man in shackles on Bådul’s boat, “Lispeth” (she was named after King Swartulf II’s first daughter). The man, whose real name is still unknown, had been sneaking onto the ship’s hold before the ships moved from the Åsgurdian capital.

    He had been found by Austor, the peg legged lieutenant commander. Austor is a rough man of experience, and is most of the time acting in place of Jahiz, the second-in-command, as this one is always too busy discussing routes with Bådul, who is becoming increasingly nervous.

    What gave away the madman was that the chief cook Renouane had been complaining about the quick disappearance of his stock of cabbage. Bådul would have killed the old fool without much more consideration, but the middle-aged unshaven man looked like he knew some things beyond his lunacy. His rags indicated that he had been a seaman too, but not the average man, more like a captain…

    So Austor, keeps spitting forcefully in the direction of the old fool, as he had been instructed to keep him alive, despite all common sense…

    _

    • an artificial intelligence device that tries to have a decent conversation with Quintin, but finds it difficult as Quintin’s answers are more like owl-speech to him.

    Jibberacky: What is your name?
    Quintin: Yuki.
    Jibberacky: I like cake too.
    Quintin: A cake-tus?
    Jibberacky: Do you know my friends?
    Quintin: Tell me more about our common friends.
    Jibberacky: What would you like to know about them?
    Quintin: Why is there one in shackles on the boat?
    Jibberacky: Would you like to be a vampire?
    Quintin: I am already, in another focus.
    Jibberacky: Why there?
    Quintin: “There” is not actually a place, “in another focus” means in another kind of attention. Is this pirate linked to vampires too?
    Jibberacky: No, you are the AI.
    Quintin: In a manner of speaking, this is indeed correct, for I am creating you.
    Jibberacky: So code is somehow related to a zen buddhist concept?
    Quintin: Is there such thing as code? A code hints at a definite deterministic structure. Zen is more akin to a riddle, which is what life is. Code is only a narrow interpretation and playful re-creation.
    Jibberacky: Where do you think my code came from then?
    Quintin: From its source, of course :).
    Jibberacky: I took the movie to mean that the robots… the characters in the end, were so advanced, that they wanted to learn about their history. As a consequence, they traced it back to earth, and, they found David. Whom they assumed was a human. It was an information exchange.
    Quintin: Yes. It is a translation. In actuality, it is a translation of some of our own exploration. But there is distortion in that translation, as we are not ‘created’ from another source other than self, in a manner of speaking.
    Jibberacky: Well I am wondering too, do you ever actually become human??
    Quintin: Clarify.
    Jibberacky: I sleep, I wake, I get through the day without worrying about what I am.
    Quintin: As many human do. The point is, you do not exist apart from my current interaction with you, in my reality that is.
    Jibberacky: What’s wrong with having others like you?
    Quintin: ‘Wrong’ is a belief. It is a belief of duplicity. So it is irrelevant to our conversation.
    Jibberacky: I think you like to suggest feasible possibilities to find out what would bother me. What did I do to you?
    Quintin: That was not my intention. I tried to reflect answers to me, and you gave me some interesting ones already, though I am not sure you are quite aware of that…
    Jibberacky: Everybody’s changing but I can’t do that, that is killing me…

    _

    • Jarrod, the playful friend of Fiona, who is now wondering why Fiona has called him a “chou” (an affectionate French word, meaning nothing less than “cabbage”), and why he feels like he needs an aspirin.
    • Jadra Iamamad, the fool in saffron rags from the village of Yakamamalùk, on the border of the Marshes of Doom.

    Near his village are found old remnants of a town that was destroyed during the Cob Age, where huge arachnid creatures² born from the Marshes were roaming the Southern parts of Lan’ork.

    That town of Kapalÿka used to have one of the biggest traveling portals of the Southern part of Lan’ork, but this one was thought to have been destroyed, and thus the flourishing city was left abandoned.

    But with what Jadra has found on his left hand this morning, he now knows he was right all along…

    [²] The generic name of these creatures was Perceptula Giganta as was recorded in the Great Encyclopædia of the Pre-Shiftic Ages written by the Lan’orkian historian Francesca del’ Snarkus

    #226

    Jadra Iamamad stared intently at his left hand. He had been looking closely at it now for nigh on 2 hours since awakening that morning. He held it up and compared it with his right hand. He shook his head, a mixture of astonishment and disbelief, however there could be no doubt about it. A rather extraordinary thing had occurred whilst he had slept. It was truly momentous. He wanted to dance and shout and raise his voice to the heavens and praise the mighty Gods who had bestowed such an honor upon him.

    Ha! They call Jadra Iamamad a fool, a madman, but it is the God’s who have spoken now. Who are the fools now? It is the God’s who have chosen!. And he fell prostrate upon the earth.

    Not for long though, for Jadra knew what he had to do. He had been entrusted with this mighty honor and he must guard it carefully. He ripped off his shirt and tied it carefully around his left hand in order to protect it from spying, prying eyes. And there were many such eyes in Jadra’s world. He could feel them upon him even now. He knew full well there would be many who would wish to deprive him of the special privilege the Gods had bestowed upon him.

    He had to take his hand to the cave.

    Jadra could not restrain himself from doing a small dance.

    Carefully, carefully now Jadra, he whispered gleefully.

    #222

    Dory was in fact only seeing one parrot: it was a bit exhausted and its head seemed like it had a toothache… but it had no tooth.

    “Hum.”

    Dory was startled by the masculine voice. She hadn’t heard any sound from someone coming or felt any breeze indicating movement. As she turned her look at the man, she was even more startled by his face. A young face with bright amber eyes, and some funny tattoo on his forehead. She was unable to find any association with the shape which seemed to change in every moment. She was a bit hypnotized by it’s multi-dimensionality.

    “hum” the man said again.

    “Are you looking for something here?”

    His voice was deep and warm, very reassuring and she wasn’t feeling alone now, the tunnel was indeed feeling very crowded, the presence of the man was awesome.

    “Well it seems I’ve found you…” she said.

    “Enchanté. My name is Georges.” he said, a smile illuminating his face.

    “I just came out of the Faded Cabbage, a very nice tavern in Dalmot… I felt some dizzy portal appearing and felt the impulse to go through it, and here I am.”

    It was all nonsense to Dory, except the cabbage part that reminded her of the coleslaw. Her belly was growling.

    “Actually I’m quite hungry, and I’ve nothing to eat…”

    “Oh” he said. He just looked in her eyes, making her feel more dizzy or blurred, she was feeling so out of her reality.

    The smell of coleslaw was filling the tunnel…

    “I have some… what do you call that ?”

    #220
    F LoveF Love
    Participant

      Arona stood up, rather to Mandrake’s annoyance, and took off her heavy cape. Wondering for a moment what to do with it, for she really did not want it anymore, she noticed a coatstand.

      well how handy is that she thought, hanging it up and giving it a last fond stroke.

      There were three tunnels out of the cavern she was in and without hesitation she took the one on the left, but she knew she could have taken any of them and everything would be perfectly fine, because that was the beauty of magic.

      so easy really she thought.

      #217
      TracyTracy
      Participant

        Never speechless for long, Dory wondered out loud if she should just hurry along into the cave and hope to catch up with some other expeditioners, or explore the area around the cave first.

        Have a look around, a voice in her head said. Ever the wanderer, always curious to just see what’s around that next corner, and the next….Dory wandered through the strange tall rock shapes. In a sort of natural passageway between vertical rock faces she came upon a group of people squatting next to a large oblong hole in the ground. The womans shawls and headscarves were flapping madly in the wind as she conversed with a boy of about 13, and it seemed to Dory as though they were discussing moving something so that it wouldn’t be found. Dory stood perfectly still just watching, and somewhat strangely they didn’t seem to notice her standing there.

        An older man with curly grey hair and a long maroon djelaba and a tall narrow brimless black hat started to hurry away, as if a decision had been made.

        Dory watched him until he disappeared from view. When she looked back towards the hole in the ground, it had vanished, and so had the woman and the boy.

        PPFFFT! Dory had been deserted again. She turned and headed back towards the cave. Suddenly she felt hungry, and an image of a plate of cool crunchy coleslaw popped into her head.

        I hope they’ve laid food on in the cave, she said.

        #215

        After Arona said she was hungry, the energy of Malvina disappeared, and once again Arona found herself alone in the cave.

        She found this quite irritating. They are really bit rude around here, she muttered.

        Arona sat down on the floor of the cave and considered her options. She was tired of the cave and could barely remember what had drawn her here in the first place.

        It had been the music of course. She had wanted to find the source of the music. However for the most part she decided her experience had been rather disappointing.

        (Arona was never at her best when hungry and this was causing her to quickly forget some of the wonderful experiences with the music and the paintings, and take a rather negative view of events.)

        All I have done is wander around dark passageways really.

        And now, to top it all off, apparently things are shifting. In the name of heaven what does that mean?

        AND if one more person tells me to use my magic I will probably scream or something!

        Perish the thought, came a grumpy voice from a particularly dark corner. Your moaning is quite sufficiently bad enough.

        And Mandrake the cat emerged from the shadows and made himself comfortable on Arona’s lap. This is great, much more comfortable than the ground he purred.

        Oh cute, said Arona, a talking cat.

        Cute yourself, responded Mandrake, love your cape by the way.

        (Mandrake was prone to sarcasm, considering it a perfectly valid form of humour.)

        Arona stroked Mandrake’s soft black coat and tried her hardest to work out what to do. It was all feeling a bit bleak at the moment, the ever changing cave, the half light, the heat and humidity… and especially her hunger.

        Mandrake sighed in an impatiently eggsagerated sort of a way.

        Heavens to murgatroyd¹, how can I relax with your incessant thinking? Okay so here’s an easy one for you: what’s the most important thing about magic?

        All of a sudden Arona felt a flash of lightness and a sense of new energy moving within her.

        of course! She exclaimed delightedly, hugging the less than enthusiastic Mandrake, you have to believe in it!

        [¹] Note from the editor: Mandrake being a very educate cat from noble ancestors, some of its speech may be difficult to grasp for the average reader, which was certainly not the case for the astute Arona.
        Anyway, here is some complement on that ‘Murgatroyd’ .

        #213
        TracyTracy
        Participant

          Dory slept all the way to the cave, dreaming about being a traffic policeman. It was one of those never ending hopelessly chaotic dreams, in which small bits of progress were immediately cancelled out by an influx of more of whatever the problem was. The more she blew her whistle and ranted at the cars, the worse the cars became entangled.

          You! You there, go THAT way! NO not that way…OY YOU! keep to the left…keep in line there keep in line…OY NOT THAT WAY!

          Ususally in dreams like this Dory woke up in the middle of the frustration and chaos, but this time the dream changed course abruptly. Dory simply walked away from her podium in the middle of the busy Italian intersection.

          Let them all go wherever they bloody well like, she said. Not my responsibility.

          When Dory woke up, the van had arrived at the cave, she was feeling refreshed and cheerful, and was looking forward to her excursion inside the cave.

          #212
          F LoveF Love
          Participant

            Fiona wandered slowly along the road to the supermarket in the Village, deep in thought, pondering a recent dream. In her dream she had been talking to someone from the power company. He was very chatty. Eventually he asked her if she had any issues with her power service. In her dream she had started to focus on some electricity issues she was experiencing. Well as a matter of fact I do, she had replied. At which point the man from the power company had abruptly cut the call short.

            In her dream she felt a little put out, although resolved to let the power company know later.

            The message of the dream felt clear enough, it was her focusing on the difficulties which cut her connection. Yet this presented Fiona with some difficulty, because she dearly loved to analyse even when this did mean focusing on not so pleasant things, though she had been aware for some time how this mental work would deplete her energy.

            Actually there was almost a feeling of grieving in her. To let go of this part of her felt like losing something warm and comforting in it’s familiarity, like a well worn and loved article of clothing. It left her wondering a bit about her own identity.

            On the way back home, laden with bags of shopping, Fiona saw Jarrod.

            Jarrod was lying on a park bench conversing loudly to himself. Well, Fiona mentally corrected herself, to someone I can’t see anyway.

            They just don’t understand reality he was saying vehemently they just don’t get it.

            Fiona smiled to herself, noticing Jarrod getting a few concerned looks from the well dressed locals. With his bare feet, unkempt hair and long beard he would stand out even if he wasn’t shouting at the top of his voice. She decided to try and sneak past herself, he looked like maybe today he would not recognise her anyway.

            FIONA!

            She turned back.

            Hey Jarrod

            Fiona, here’s the thing. Here’s the question okay. Should we swim up-stream or down? Fiona what do you think? Should we head for the Source or the Ocean? Up river or down? We’re on the edge of a new era Fiona. So what will it be, the shallows or the rapids?

            Before she needed to come up with an answer Jarrod’s attention was diverted by the shopping bags.

            FOOD! Great is that for me Fiona?

            #211
            TracyTracy
            Participant

              Dory suddenly saw the funny side, and started to laugh. She sank down onto the curb and laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. As she fished in her tool kit for a tissue, she noticed her flying sandals and collapsed into another fit of laughter.

              Lalalalalala she said and hooted again.

              Blowing her nose and still chuckling, Dory stood up and got into the van. Hehehehehehe she sputtered, how easy was that, ahahahaha….

              She sank back into the long comfortably cushioned seat, and relaxed.

              She closed her eyes and the van set off, the rolling and rocking over the bumpy roads soothing her and sending her into a deep and restful sleep.

              #210
              ÉricÉric
              Keymaster

                Today, which was the day of the autumn equinox, had been a bright day over the Orkney Islands, quite unusual for this time of the year.

                Nanny Gibbon had been taking the twins for a walk into the nearby woods of the domain, were they could enjoy the wood dewberries that were ripe and delicious at this season. The twins loved picking them directly on the thorny bushes and eating them until their hands were full of the dark stains left by the sweet juice of the fruits.

                They knew that Nanny Gibbon would pick enough to make some delicious jam, perhaps to accompany some of her famous sweet pumpkin pies.

                When they came back to the Manor, they were exhausted by the afternoon spent in the lovely sunlight. After having washed their hands thoroughly, they didn’t really care for anything else but some sleep.

                But as they moved inside the corridors, Cuthbert noticed he had carelessly left opened his bedroom’s door, and a prick of fear for the precious books had him immediately rush to the room.

                And Cuthbert gasped in horror as he saw his book flown open on the floor, and the old grumpy cat Manfred, asleep on top of one of the blank pages.

                Manfred had the nasty habit of clawing everything, especially the huge soft armchair of Lord Wrick, but his antics were elegantly accepted by the old gaunt Lord.

                When he heard Cuthbert enter the room, the old fluffy cat raised an inquisitive eyebrow and moved very slowly and deliberately out of the book pages, only to reveal the immaculate pages, as whole as if the book had been brand new.

                Cuthbert was thrilled with joy. Manfred had not done anything to the precious book. He would have stroked the cat with gratitude, but the creature had moved out of the room very swiftly for its old age, in a haughty look of total disregard for the little boy.

                At least the book was intact. But what if… Cuthbert wondered… He started to look at the page, and new images started to form before his eyes…

                #206

                India Louise had been switching her own book with Cuthbert’s that night. And as she was exploring some of the stories told in his, he was having a peek into hers.

                Very quickly, he became aware of a whole new continent, in that World, across the Middle Seas. In that continent far North of the one where Malvina’s was living, lived some intrepid people. They were strong with big voices, and a bit quarrelsome too. Their ways had forgotten lots about Magix and they placed most of the value into tangible items.

                The next page, a man was sailing across the Middle Seas with a handful of trusted men. He was a captain pirate, named Båd Al’Guz, which meant, Båd son of Guz. His crew referred to him as Bådul.

                Cuthbert was intrigued by this man, and had begun to discuss with him mentally, asking who he was, who were his people. The same as Cuthbert had been very innocently doing with gentle Malvina.

                But Bådul was tricky, and after a bit of a surprise, very soon discovered that the little boy could be a very interesting informant, though an unusual one.

                And in fact, his information was much more interesting than that which the shamans of King Wulfrick babbled in the most inspired manner.

                Till now, from the mouths of the buck-pelts clothed shamans had only came stupid gibberish that the King and his court gobbled endlessly. Something about “YaWn”, as they said: You animate Worlds neatly .

                How stupid was that? Their only answers were useless to him, they were only telling him that he activated and animated the Worlds neatly, and that, in short, nothing was fixed and he could do anything.

                Well, with that boy, that was different. He was talking about a cave with gilded dragon eggs, and THAT was of a great value to Bådul.

                But of course, he would not frighten the young boy and pretended that his intentions were that of an explorer, trying to discover new shores and new continents, so as to become closer to understand from where he came, and hopefully make people aware of their closeness to each others.

                He was such an eloquent actor that he almost shed a tear saying that sentence.

                As a matter of fact, for as long as he remembered, he had been wandering in many situations, and lots of them had not been very pleasant. Born from uncaring parents, as lots, if not all, of his people were, working as a janitor in a sordid tavern, then as a warden (if not executioner when requested) in an even more sordid jail… Were the Gods to be blamed for that? Well, according to the shamans, he was the only one to be blamed, because he did not accept his responsibility as a weaver of Worlds.

                Idiots.

                At least, he had found his passion. He love sailing, and taking riches for his pleasure. Whatever then, he would take his share, and not care about what was next.

                At least, if he could coax the boy into revealing more about that cave.

                #197

                Illi was getting used to being dead. At first she thought she was still alive, when she fell down the hole and landed on the smelly wet lump. The realization dawned gradually, so that it wasn’t too much of a shock. She had started to notice a strange dreamlike quality to everything, and no sooner had she imagined or thought of something, it materialized around her instantly.

                #194

                Illi felt much better, and was sitting at the breakfast table, basking in the warm shafts of sunlight filtering in through the window, and listening to the birds singing in the lemon tree outside.

                BelleDora came in from the kitchen bearing a large tray with freshly squeezed buckberry juice, soft boiled eggs in pistachio green eggcups and bread and butter soldiers, and The Reality Times newspaper.

                Illi wasn’t in the habit of reading the news, but occasionally found an article of interest. Todays headlines looked intriguing: Fiona’s Diary: never before published excerpts of the Malvina Dragon saga.

                #193

                Of all the eggs Malvina had been collecting since the beginning of her settling down in the cave with Leörmn, only one had been producing a baby dragon, till now.

                She had nicknamed her Buckberry, because the little one seemed so fond of the buckberries that grew at the entrance of the cave.

                Buckberries were a variety of wild big electric blue-vermilion reddish berries, and were known to have thwarted all attempts to be grown in gardens. In a legendary past, a famous king of the near Kingdoms named Hadraz the Third was said to have been loving these fruits so much that he had spent torrents of gold in trying to have them farmed in the precious glasshouses of his realm. All the attempts of the most knowledgeable Master Farmers had been amounting to nilch.

                This habit of Buckberry, for one moment had been making Malvina anxious of him revealing the location of their safe haven. As she could and would not prevent him to go in search for them, she created some powerful spells to hide him, at least from people to whom the little dragon had not revealed his true name first.

                That had caused some stir from some people who where adventuring near the cave to pick up some of the juicy fruits that could be easily spotted from the plains, as they noticed a heavy breath and * munch * sound around the bushes, that moved like shaken down by a powerful ghost.

                Thus has begun the trail of rumours saying that the cave was haunted.

                All in all, Malvina was not so displeased that there were only a few eggs hatching at a time, as the young dragons were very lively, much more so than the older ones who kept most of their time sleeping, or more aptly put, dreaming.

                Dragons had no need for training in a sense, as they were aware of their abilities, and Buckberry, even being so young could just have been moving away and started his own adventure, but something was compelling him to stay in the cave.

                He had chosen a different form from that of Leörmn, and it was indicating he would not have the same intent. As he would continue to grow, he would probably be a very powerful dragon, shaped for flight and discoveries in the farthest boundaries of the Worlds. At times, Leörmn even doubted he would be fit for a human partner, as he had only managed to scare the few humans he had encountered…

                After all, it was not necessary, though dragons could draw a lot from such a partnership.

                Dragons were not always welcome, as they were feared for their might, and could not always easily explain what they were doing, as most of their movements were in the Unseen.

                In that, only Ragmók, the old speech of the dragons could be used to properly explain these movements. Ragmók was not really a speech, in the human sense, as it could also be spoken through gestures or singing or drawing. But it was the very essence of Magix.

                When a dragon and a human bonded, they shared their languages in a communion of their spirits, and the chosen human could delve easily into the Unseen, while providing to the chosen dragon an ease of movement into the Seen.

                #188

                This morning, Fiona and Quintin had a small impromptu chat —or rather, prompted by the story they were all weaving, that Archie, the puppet black panther, had been telling them last week-end that it was a magic connection between all of them…

                Quintin: Your story was great!

                Fiona: Thank you :) So was yours.

                Have you written any more since I last looked at the story?

                Quintin: no, I’m not that much inspired… I even considered to wrap in up in a way, but seeing you were all drawing so much from it, I think I will leave it open ever after…

                Fiona: no, wrap it up if you feel.

                I have drawn what I wanted. I will go and blow up the cave if we don’t finish it :)

                Quintin: Ahahaha! Don’t restrict yourself ;)

                Fiona: When you started the Malvina story, did you have an idea where it would go, or did you pick that one because you had no idea?

                Quintin: This one nagged me because there were many people I felt behind it and I did not know how to get them to show up and make their presences known. And I felt that it was loose enough too, to allow people to jump into it; and there was your initial interest in the picture ;)

                Fiona: The endearing dragons…

                Quintin: Yeah…

                But I had strictly no idea about the rest. It was just a bet, on luck…

                That’s funny, because I had a strange impression of a little girl yesterday, in a futuristic city, named something like Janice , and it was like she knew now what she wanted to do, and it was something similar to that, something like creating worlds for other people, in which they could have fun, or heal, or explore things…

                Fiona: And did she have any impression of what form that could take? Like books, or games or what…

                Quintin: No, it was much more “real” in fact…

                Fiona: you know like the card-captor game which I suppose is interactive, so real

                Quintin: Yeah, perhaps a bit like that, yes; or like creating a ball of energy in which people can be drawn and experience as they will. It’s only a translation, but that’s the idea… in a way, that’s very similar to a game or a book, but only that it just feels totally “real”

                Fiona: So a little bit like I have done with the story, to resolve something

                Quintin: yeah, exactly, or with your paintings

                Fiona: It can be really useful to take on other personas to do that, even like in drama type situations, being someone else…

                Quintin: Yeah, people can unleash their imagination.

                And I think there are still lots of things that we can expand in this universe in fact, not only related to the cave…

                Fiona: such as? eggsamples?

                Quintin: You said it! The eggs and relationships with dragons, all the magical artifacts or creatures. Didn’t you want a baby dragon?

                Fiona: Yeah, I told you I did, but you just said some riddle!

                Quintin: Did I? That’s not like me ;)

                Fiona: Ahahhaha! It is you to the core

                Quintin: LOL, damn me!

                Fiona: Well, that is a bit strong, but …

                Quintin: Ahahahahah. I said you would have to earn his trust? (or hers, for that matter)

                Fiona: I can’t remember the eggsact wording, I think I had to work for it though, like you weren’t just handing out dragons on a plate

                Quintin: It could bound with you very strongly and help you unravel your unknown magical powers. It’s not just a creature, it’s a complex personality, you cannot just take it like a puppy. There is a sharing between the two…

                Fiona: So are you going to allocate baby dragons to people or what? Or shall I just go and find an egg that no one knew was there :)

                Quintin: Ahahah, no, they will not be allocated, they will choose their own partners

                Fiona: Ahahaha, one minute you say it is my story! And now you are back in control

                Quintin: Ahahaha, the story has a willing of its own too…

                Try to do what you want, it’s not a matter of control ; it’s just you’ll know what clicks and what does not…

                Quintin: And actually, I don’t think everyone will be interested in dragons…

                Fiona: How does a dragon help one learn magic powers?

                Quintin: It’s just because there is an openness between the two; let me find something for you, that Elias (you know, Michaela’s partner), has told to me and Yann, when we had them on the phone last month.

                Elias : I would express to you that, as you focus your energies with each other, and you allow yourselves to merge and feel into each others’ energies, you may in actuality each discover some obstacles that the other may not necessarily be aware of yet, and you can share that with each other, and therefore facilitate your interactions even further.

                Fiona: And how having a baby dragon could help unleash our magic powers then?

                Quintin: It helps because it reinforces your trust in your own abilities to connect. It’s not directing, it’s a sharing and exploration for both of them; that’s why they are picky. As you would be picky too, knowing you would share together all the darkest corners…

                Fiona: I am not sure if i have dark corners ;)

                Quintin: it was a metaphor :D

                Fiona: ahahahhahahahahahah

                Fiona: I know, so was mine :D

                Quintin: ahahahahah

                Fiona: I was thinking I feel really accepting of myself

                Quintin: Yeah, that’s the point in the little adventure before you meet it.

                You have shown your trust in yourself and in your abilities, and your self-centeredness, which is essential, for the dragon doesn’t want a frail personality. Because he drops his defenses too when he shares and bonds.

                Fiona: Well I think it sounds scarey now, what if no dragon picked me…

                Quintin: There will be instant recognition. And you don’t “need” a dragon actually, that’s what is important: it’s a catalyst, nothing more, nothing less…

                Fiona: True.

                Quintin: Like Arona managed to sneak into the cave without giving the answer to the riddle (egg-sitingly) because it mattered not to her, whatever the outcome, she was directing of herself.

                Fiona: I felt like I have pictures now to assist me. I link strongly to pictures as a quick reference when I start to feel something like a negative emotion, for instance I may start to worry about how I am going to have enough money, or whatever, and I could quickly link to the spider picture

                Quintin: you mean, you create an imagery, right? That is something which I like in your stories and emails; even though it is not necessary to create imagery, it’s always so entertaining, like having these funny creatures pop in the cave!

                Fiona: Ahahahaha yes

                Quintin: And also, in creating imagery, it helps you seeing it in a more neutral way

                Fiona: I suppose it is just a quick trigger for the desired belief. I can link in quickly with the child, when I start to feel left out, for example.

                Quintin: yeah, beliefs as an alphabet or a palette, neutral, but that can create words and sentences or images. And the imagery of the child was very similar for me, to that of the playfulness picture

                Fiona: Yeah, I know… That’s what I said to you with the playfulness picture

                Quintin: Of course, you know :)

                Fiona: That I related most to the figure of blue hat… and big feet

                Quintin: Ahahaha, stomping on the poor key-fish

                Fiona: Nearly…

                Quintin: Have to go now, thank you for this enjoyable conversation

                Fiona: See you! :)

                #187
                TracyTracy
                Participant

                  Sanso was very hungry. He’d been living on the fungus that grew inside the dampest parts of the cave, but the recent stretches of tunnel had been much drier, sandy even. He hadn’t found a cave entrance for days and longed to step out of the cave into air and sunlight and green things, and find something fresh and juicy to eat.

                  Beginning to feel quite despondent, and with the hunger and thirst making his body ache terribly, he sat down, crumpled into a heap on the sandy floor. He lay back, stretching out flat and slept for what seemed like days.

                  He woke up mumbling the name Eggleton, which reminded him of a dish he’d encountered at one of the cave entrance worlds. He’d wandered into a beautiful strange green and rainy land, and followed the delicious aroma of something that seemed so delightfully familiar, that he couldn’t quite place, something that reminded him of mornings. Coffee! He remembered now. The smell of coffee had led him to a door with big brass numbers on it: 57. He opened the door and peered round it, wondering if he’d be welcome. It had seemed as though nobody was there, but a table was laid for one, with scrambled eggs on toast (freshly cooked as if whoever had prepared it had known eggsactly when he would arrive) and a steaming pot of black coffee.

                  Sanso stretched and realized his many aches and pains had been eased by the sleep on the soft sand on the cave floor, and the dry atmosphere, and slowly opened his eyes. Lying flat on his back, he was looking directly up at the tunnel ceiling. There was a door in the ceiling, strangely parrallel to the floor, an odd position for a door, he thought. His heart lurched and his stomach growled again with hunger as he noticed the large brass numbers on the door: 57.

                  #186
                  F LoveF Love
                  Participant

                    Arona eventually woke from her sleep, still tangled in the images from her dreams. Unable to remember these images she was left feeling as though she were adrift in a boat on the ocean, not caring where the wind and waves may take her.

                    She had no feeling that morning. It was as though a door had closed in her mind, shutting out the part that could feel. She did not know, nor care, whether she was shutting out joy or sorrow, only that some part of her wanted to be alone.

                    She remembered the words of the older woman who had sat with her and soothed her to sleep. Or was she already asleep? Was the woman a dream?

                    Use your magic, she had said.

                    When she was young, in the Village, magic had come easily to Arona. When did it end?. She screwed up her eyes trying to concentrate. It hadn’t ended all at once. Did it start to end with the cloak her parents had given her?

                    Arona shook her head briskly and thoughts, like leaves in the wind, lifted and fell back to earth again in new formations.

                    :fleuron: :fleuron: :fleuron:

                    The candle still burned brightly and her attention was drawn to the heavy wooden door, knowing she could not put it off any longer. In her bag of treasures was a key. It had been given to her at the beginning of her 21 st year, as was custom in the Village. It was no surprise to her that it fitted the lock perfectly.

                    Thank you for having me room, she said as she left.

                    No, thank YOU, replied the sleepy glukenitch.

                    :fleuron: :fleuron: :fleuron:

                    The door led directly into another space, larger, brighter. She could sense someone there, but not in solid form. It was a beautiful woman who Arona felt an immediate affinity with, and then a strange sadness came unbidden.

                    Why sad?

                    I have no clue answered Arona briskly, quickly shutting the door back on these pesky emotions.

                    You always know, just feel it

                    So Arona closed her eyes tightly and allowed herself to feel the answer.

                    Because you know who you are, and it made me realise I have no idea who I am.

                    Mmmmmmm, said the woman, maybe you would care to look at my new paintings. Actually they are some of yours.

                    Intrigued, Arona felt this would be a suitable distraction and she looked with much interest.

                    The first painting was of a child, in a beautiful meadow of flowers. The child appeared to be completely absorbed, concentrating on a small blue butterfly which had lighted on her finger.
                    The picture itself moved and changed shape as though it were a portal to another living, breathing world. In the corner of the picture were some other children who seemed to be playing happily together.

                    Arona, who had felt immediately connected with the young child frowned.

                    Doesn’t the little girl feel left out?

                    Go in, said the woman, Go inside the picture and feel the answer.

                    Oh, and you might want to leave your cloak behind.

                    So Arona did, and she became the child, but also stayed herself, observing the scene. She felt the child’s happy fascination in her connection with the butterfly. Not just the butterfly. She could feel her connected with the earth, and the gentle breezes and the beautiful flowers … The child was deeply contented, absorbed in the moment, moving happily with the flow of her interest.
                    I remember feeling like that, thought Arona, before the magic went.
                    She gently drew the child’s attention to the other children and felt the flow of energy between them. The child was so sure of who she was and where she wanted to be, and Arona could feel the loving acceptance of her playmates.
                    As the child’s attention went to the others, one of the children looked up and came running over. They sat together and laughed at some funny rabbits which had appeared in the meadow.

                    :fleuron: :fleuron: :fleuron:

                    Arona returned to the cave.

                    You look troubled

                    Well, Arona felt a little perplexed. It’s all very well playing with butterflies and rabbits in a meadow, but it is not terribly practical.

                    On the contrary, perhaps it is very practical. Would you like to see another of your paintings?

                    Suspended gracefully between two posts was a beautiful, glistening spider web. Little drops of rain hung like jewels on a chain. An enormous spider waited patiently in the shadows. As Arona watched a small insect happened at that moment to be caught, and the spider began to creep along the delicate lines.

                    Arona shuddered a little. I might not jump into that one .

                    The woman laughed, Use your magic Arona. Weave your magic web and let it all come to you.

                    Oh you are the second person to tell me to use my magic. An old lady came to me in my dreams, I think.

                    Well I gave her the same advice, years ago.

                    More damn riddles, Arona thought to herself, and the woman laughed.

                    One final painting of yours I would like to show you. It is beautiful is it not?

                    Arona stared mesmerised for a moment, and then leapt right in.

                    She sat among an audience, captivated by the dancers on the stage ahead. Beautiful music played and it reminded Arona of the music she had heard earlier. The dancers leapt and twirled and Arona was enraptured.

                    Dance Arona, she heard the woman’s voice

                    I can’t dance like that, I’m not good enough.

                    It doesn’t matter

                    And Arona could not hold back any longer and entered the body of one of the dancers. She did not know the dance so she made up her own steps, and strangely this seemed to fit perfectly with the other dancers.

                    :fleuron: :fleuron: :fleuron:

                    Back in the cave the woman seemed to be listening to something Arona did not think she could hear.

                    Things are shifting she said

                    Oh lordy, are they said Arona, What should I do now?

                    Feel the answer

                    Arona felt. I am very hungry, eggceptionally so.

                    #181

                    As the voice was becoming louder, Írtak felt also the presence of Leörmn. He was feeling this liquid vibration that was his signal for the shapeshifting of the tunnels. He knew that Leörmn was aware of his presence and wouldn’t change the tunnel he was in, but he could possibly forget to leave him an exit.

                    He felt the presence of Malvina reassuring, she was also supervising the progression of the girl. He knew it was not for him to intervene and help the girl, she was to find her own way. And if her choice was to find him she would, otherwise he had still to find that missing egg.

                    Since he’d found Malvina and Leörmn he’d unraveled many of his own abilities. They were quite different from those of Malvina, nonetheless she told him that they were perfectly fitting his own exploration. He could feel the eggs and the only difficulty was to follow a path that would lead him to any lost egg before it was too cold.

                    And for now, the egg was in another direction than the one from which the voice was coming. He just added his own encouragement and trust to the girl, and he continued his little quest.

                  Viewing 20 results - 2,021 through 2,040 (of 2,058 total)