Large Scale Experiment

They built a new planet like their own, with the same stars, planets and moons around it. They built it in a place where time went faster so they could observe its evolution better. They built it as primitive as they could, and made sure all the same things happened to it. They counted the numbers, and the letters in the DNA and they were fascinated with all of it. They watched life evolve and they scribbled notes about numbers of legs and shapes of plants. When a dominant life form started to emerge they were very pleased with their progress and they recorded all it did with great enthusiasm. They watched it learn to count and farm, they watch nomads settle and build towns and cities and countries. They counted the numbers and they counted the letters in the DNA. In the end, their greatest failure was creating a world that was ultimately different from the one they had. But to those they had been studying, it was Earth’s greatest success. 

 

Dreams of Angels

Part 5 of Epic Co-written Story

“Hey what happened?” Arthur asked the shaking girl in front of him.

She smiled back awkwardly, “I was in the Quest Hall, you know, in Raven’s Hollow and a guard surprised me and I attacked and then I panicked and then…” She trailed off, realising that the person in front of her was staring and slightly invading her personal space, he backed off apologetically and she continued “you know it wasn’t even really a problem for me, being there, I mean it’s not as if girls aren’t allowed, anyone can take a quest right?” And she chuckled at the absurdity of it. “I should probably go and apologise tomorrow, I mean it’s not like I can afford not to anyway…”

Nikke started to get up, her hood fell off and Arthur saw the wavy dark hair and the fragile pale skin, but what struck him most was the fire and defiance in the eyes of such a small girl. She was no longer a child but compared to him she wasn’t much. It intimidated him. And it shamed him that she had probably already been on many adventures when he had been cowardly stuck in an inn. It wasn’t a time when there were a lot of customers, just Lazy Bum (who seemed to live in the corner on booze and whatever the others’ charity could get him) but he was snoring peacefully, so Arthur invited Nikke to the counter to ask about her adventures as he offered her a drink. And then she offered to accompany him on his errand. He found out that Nikke had been taking small quests since she was 12 and living on the streets since she was 14. She had been looking for her childhood friend who had mysteriously disappeared (and who she suspected had been kidnapped) since she was 12. She found out that he’d had a pretty ordinary life until his parents moved out to his uncle’s farm outside the citadel and he had stayed, stubbornly insisting that he would become a soldier and go on exciting adventures. He’d discovered later that often it wasn’t the soldiers who went on adventures, it was the rogues, the rich discoverers, the hunters and the questers. He had half a mind to abandon his job, take a quest and discover the world. But the other half of his mind was more sensible and it reminded him that he might not survive long outside alone.

“So you mean you’ve never been outside?” Nikke laughed “How far have you ever been?”

“Hummingbird Bay and back,” he answered, embarrassed “I’ve also been in the districts around here but I haven’t had much time to go further. I have met a lot of interesting people though!”

“And do you buy them all a drink?” She wondered, half knowing the answer.

“That depends on whether they can afford it.” he winked, Nikke blushed and looked down. Arthur continued his answer more seriously, “The lady ones, sometimes. But there aren’t a lot of ladies around here who would go to the tavern alone.” He looked back at her, “And none of them have been on adventures or they don’t stick around the bar to talk about it.”

“Well that’ll all change soon when king dies and the princess becomes queen…” She said, unknowingly staring at a very precise point on the wall.

The king was old and talk was going around about what the princess would or wouldn’t do when she came to power. No-one asked which princess, everyone knew. Meanwhile the other princess was lying on the floor of her huge bedroom, brooding, sketching, thinking about her strong sister with the golden hair, bronze skin, silver or steel eyes. She was everything that a queen should be. Marissa was not. She was weak, crumbling under the weight of her armour, shield and sword so that the armorer had to make her a special light armour and shield and the weapon smith made her a rapier and a set of small daggers. Marissa had tanned skin, but it wasn’t bronze and her brown hair might be pretty, but it wasn’t gold. Her eyes were deep hazel and warm, they weren’t the eyes of the queen of an important military kingdom. She didn’t have the perfect body of her sister and the only thing she was better at was archery. She would be married to a faraway prince to keep relations and power. But she didn’t want that. What she wanted was to go on adventures, without guards, without even being recognised. She wanted to be free, to be renowned for something other than her name. And she wanted to fall in love, and to be able to stay with the person she loved forever; and she knew that this could never properly happen if she stayed royal. So Marissa planned her escape on her bedroom floor. She thought about what her new name would be, people would be looking for her and it would be stupid to keep her name, and besides she didn’t like it much. Malika? It had been what she’d call herself as a child whenever she escaped the castle to find friends before someone eventually found out. Or just Mali? It had been what her best friend had called her. Or maybe Angel? The orphans of Raven’s Hollow were all called Raven (it was their last name), so it would only be fit for her, coming from the castle which was in Angel’s Keep, to be called Angel… Or maybe she’d be better off with something completely different? She was sure of only one thing: she had to find Nikke Raven.

……………………….DundunDUN!!!Suchdrama…………………………………………

I actually meant to post this yesterday but I forgot
This is the FIFTH part of our Epic Co-written Story which remains unnamed for the moment (if you have any ideas feel free to share them in the comments). The last part is the last post (Encounter) so I won’t bother linking it and if you want the rest there’s a new fancy thing at the top of the page next to “about us” that says “Epic Co-written Story”!!! I’m very proud of that because I had no idea how to do it but I found out by trial and error, that’s the best way I learn things 🙂 (the earliest is at the bottom, I don’t know how to change that so it’s probably just going to stay that way).
Your turn now DragonSpark! (Tell your exams I said sorry 😉 )

 

DS Encounter

Allow me to summarize our story so far: A young man, Arthur, once ambitious and yearning for adventure, has now become tame and satisfied with his humble life as employee in the local inn. However, a spark of his past self still glimmers in the depths of his soul, waiting to be unleashed.  Meanwhile, across town, a young woman, Nikke, is breaking the taboo of gender roles by taking up bounties to track down criminals, slay mighty monsters, and explore uncharted land, adventures usually reserved to men. As a matter of fact, she accomplishes this task in a disguise, so as not to reveal her true nature. Rumours of another woman-knight are being whispered in the deepest areas of the guild hall. This feminine blade wielder is told to possess formidable strength, dexterity beyond imagination, and superhuman speed.

For Arthur, this was just the start of another day in Lionsden, a humble quarter of the capital. He worked as tavern boy in the King’s rest, a cosy tavern huddled between two small shopes, on the side of one of the quarter’s bigger streets. He did all kinds of things in the tavern. He served meals, made the beds, cleaned the rooms, ran errands, tended to horses, and even cooked a little. It wasn’t an easy life, but a satisfactory one, with enough purpose to rise in the morning, and enough coin to afford a bed at night. Over the years he had built a solid endurance and was quite fit, though not enough to join the royal guards he once admired. His clothes were rough, his shaving blade blunt, his hygiene barely satisfactory, but he was happy… Or at least, most times he was.

Indeed, his dreams of adventure and fame hadn’t quite all gone away, and a spark still shone in his eyes every time the young boy saw military cavalry in the streets, or when his errands took him into the forger’s district, where steel blades of all kinds were on display.

Meanwhile, down in Raven’s Hollow the vaguely feminine figure that was showing interest in the quest board was starting to attract unwanted attention. Nikke was usually careful when scouting the quest board for jobs, and looking out for the near-mythical woman-knight. She was always swift, discreet, and cloaked. However, this time, she had stayed for too long. One of the guards of the quest hall approached her from behind.

“Hey lad!” he shouted, “You know it’s impolite to wear a hood inside public buildings right?” Taken by surprise, Nikke realised her mistake. She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice as deep as possible. “I’ve seen more bizarre in these halls. Why call out such a minute piece of cloth when other hunters wear full suits of armors. However, if so is your wish, I will be on my way. My business here is done.” She turned swiftly, making the end of her cloak revolve gracefully.

“Just hold on a minute!” the guard said, grinning, almost perversely. His hand grabbed the back of the hood. He yanked it back and Nikke’s face was exposed to full daylight. Her eyes widened in surprise and shock. She thrust her elbow in the guard’s face. The guard barely had time to realize what happened when Nikke followed up by jabbing her heel into the man’s abdomen, using him as leverage to dart forwards, as the gasps of indignation started to echo on the high walls.

She swiftly jumped off a bench and over the heads of the two guards guarding the entrance, and ran into the streets, hoping to lose any pursuers in the crowd. However, her hopes were quickly dissipated when she heard the steady beat of a horse’s gallop closing in behind her.

“Get her!” The guard on the back of the horse had his sword drawn, murder in his eyes. “All that just because I happen to have breasts!?” Nikke spat. Luckily the crowded and narrow streets of the neighbourhood made it difficult for the guards to move forwards. The mass of people were spreading to let the horses pass barely faster than Nikke was pushing and shoving her way through the crowd.

Her luck ran out as she turned the corner. Another patrol of guards on horseback were making their way towards her. She was effectively surrounded. As she was evaluating her options, a young man with a heavy looking bag opened the door of the small building immediately to her right. Nikke didn’t think. She jumped through the door and into the building, hoping the patrol in front of her hadn’t noticed her, and knowing the patrol behind her had yet to turn that corner.

Arthur didn’t really have the time to realize what had happened. His eyes hadn’t yet recovered from the sudden stream of sunlight flowing through the door that a mass had pushed him onto the floor. Arthur, thinking the intruder was a mugger, reached for his knife. He shifted his weight forward, from his back to his feet, planting his free palm on the ground, and used the three limbs to stand up quickly, his knife hand ready to defend any oncoming assault.

However, instead of attacking him, the person that had shoved him back into the inn turned around, bolted the door shut, and collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. Arthur looked down on the strange, heaving figure at his doorstep, confused. He folded his knife, sheaved it and kneeled to the stranger, putting a hand on her right shoulder.

Nikke looked up at the young man kneeling in front of her, relief flooding her mind. Little did she know that this encounter was going to change her life forever.

Ctrl;toorganizeàNOTES………BUILDafantasyworldWithwords……………….comebacktime?………………….

Hello all! This is a continuation of our coop story, where BW and I take turns writing “episodes” or chapters. The ball has been in my park for a long time now, but my chapter is finally here. Where will BW take this? *dramatic voice* Find out next time!

For those whose memory needs refreshing, here is the preceding part, and if you are a new reader and missed all of it here’s the first part. On a closing note, this is my first story in months, so excuse the slightly rusty writing…. I have a few other rough drafts in the pipeline that I’ll try to polish before summer break. In the meantime, take care!

P.S: As an added bonus, I’ll include some of the sketches I did before writing this. I’ve been trying to get used to digital art. These are my first steps, but I’ll share them regardless:

 

Happy Colour

Yellow wellies
Trudging home
Side by side with imaginary
Red and blue ones,
The sky was dark
And the smell was of
Wet hair and disappointment
And new rubber.

Yellow bike
With only two wheels
And thick tires
And no balance at all,
The taste was metallic and red
And the smell was of
Exasperation
And new rubber.

Yellow pencils
New and sharp
With all the big girl stationery
That went with them,
Feeling all shiny
But the smell was of
Pencil dust and loneliness
And new rubber.

Yellow converses
Big school
No map to show
How to make friends,
Tasting the bitter held-back tears
And the smell was of
Concrete and shame
And new rubber.

Yellow motorbike
Recklessly fast
Caught in the silence
That was always too loud,
Sounding like crumbling waves
Under a ship
And the smell was of
Fire and silence
And new rubber.

---

I wish I could’ve shown the yellow motorbike (because it would’ve meant that I had one) but all I have are the converses. They’re new so when I wear them they’re so bright I feel like I have mini suns on my feet 😉
A lot of people think my favourite colour is red or yellow because I wear a lot of them but I wear them to stand out so that I can’t hide, I’m trying to be less shy. My favourite colour is actually orange but I guess you can understand that it was easier to find a red coat than an orange one. I still very much like yellow even if it’s not my favourite.

 

Untamed

Every night I writhe in the cage that society has created for me, but sometimes part of me escapes. And on full moons I take a new untameable form and the song in my head keeps getting louder until it blurs every other sound of the night. The pounding percussion resonates through my entire body as my paws attack the ground and I run. Beside me I can feel the violent strings in the wind and the angry voices singing out all that I can’t say. The transient piano comes and goes with no strings attached. Free. All I want is to be free. My song is not a song of hatred, it is not a song of resentment, but it is not a song of love. It is a song of hope. And on some days, when the song is louder, you might see a wild look in my eyes. It’s the life raging inside of me, trying to exist.

---

“I was looking for a breath of a life
For a little touch of heavenly light
But all the choirs in my head sang no oh oh oh

To get a dream of life again
A little vision of the start and the end
But all the choirs in my head sang, no oh oh oh…”
– Florence and the Machine, Breath of Life

 

European Summer says hi

I have so much rain on my glasses that I can hardly see. If I get run over, blame it on whoever invented hoodless raincoats.