Arvallon - "I'm Here"

She isn’t sure which ones are worse.

The nights where he’s fighting his unseen ghosts, moaning and crying in pain or fear until she is able to shake him awake.

The nights he shouts himself awake and has to take several minutes to remember where he is before she can even touch him.

Or the quiet nights, where she wakes up to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, bent over and looking utterly hopeless and alone.

Those are probably the worst, she decides, the nights when words just don’t seem to be enough, and all she can do is hold him and let him know the only way she can think of that he isn’t alone.

I’m here, she says with her body pressing against his, giving whatever comfort she can get him to take. I’m here.

(There's a few things off in this picture, mostly that Temple is a bit smaller than Arvallon and here she looks bigger, but I didn't realize it until I was finished with it, and it's not bothering me enough to go back and fix. >.>)

Arvallon - Leaving Makeb

 And more random story-time, only happier. Bioware finally introduced same-gender-romances on the planet Makeb, which Arvallon has been steadily working through. The problem here is, Arvallon is about as straight as you can get... which resulted in this popping into my head a few days ago. Enjoy.

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“That Lord Cypharat sure is easy on the eyes, isn’t he?” The look Kaliyo gave him was her “you won’t like what I’m about to say but I don’t care” one, though it was rather wasted since Arvallon wasn’t even facing her. “If you want him, then by all means go for it,” he replied absently. “Although I’d prefer if you didn’t bring this one back to the ship.”

The elevator door hissed open, and they stepped out and headed toward the shuttle that would take them back to the Phantom. “Oh, no, agent,” Kaliyo said, a positively wicked grin spreading across her face. “I wouldn’t want to encroach on your territory.” “That’s a first,” he quipped back, then suddenly stopped and spun around to face her. “Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?” Her grin became even wider, impossible as that seemed. “Oh, agent,” she practically purred. “You mean you really didn’t notice those looks he was giving you?”

 Arvallon just stared at her; he opened his mouth, then closed it without speaking, then blinked. Abruptly he turned back around and continued to the shuttle, picking up the pace until his walk was almost a run. Kaliyo, who had to trot to catch up, just barely heard him mutter, “Past time we were off this planet.” Snickering, she followed him to where the others were waiting.

Their expressions caused a few raised eyebrows, but Arvallon refused to say anything. He hadn’t counted on Kaliyo, though. “Sorry we’re late,” he heard her say before he’d even gotten to the shuttle door. “Agent just had to shake a lovestruck Sith off his trail.”

“Oh, shut up already,” he muttered, but now the crew’s faces had turned curious, and Kaliyo always did love an audience. “Seems Lord Cypharat isn’t immune to our agent’s charms,” she explained with a knowing grin.

Vector promptly turned to the shuttle and boarded it, trying to muffle his snort of laughter with one hand. Arvallon stared after him with a betrayed expression.

Temple frowned in mild confusion. “But... Lord Cypharat is a man,” she said slowly, then looked at Arvallon’s growing blush and Kaliyo’s smug grin. A light turned on. “Oh. Oh.” She blushed deep enough to match Arvallon, then she frowned again, more fiercely. “Well, he can’t have him,” she said firmly. “He’s already taken.”

That was enough for Lokin, who made a suspicious choking noise as he also turned toward the shuttle, a mortified Temple quickly following him. As Arvallon made to board behind them, Kaliyo sidled up to him again. “You know, agent, if you need more time to say goodbye properly...” She trailed off meaningfully, waggling her eyebrows at him. Arvallon was not amused. “Shut up, Kaliyo.” She was still laughing when they finally got back to the Phantom.

Arvallon - Aftershocks

Random story for Imperial agent Arvallon, in my attempt to work through what the class storyline has done to him. This takes place a month or so after the agent story ends, but before Makeb. Warnings for disturbing dream stuff and for spoilers, though I tried not to mention anything specific.

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Aftershock-

1. A quake of lesser magnitude, usually one of a series, following a large earthquake in the same area.
2. A further reaction following the shock of a deeply disturbing occurrence or revelation

The dreams all started the same; it was the faces that changed each night. Tonight it was Kaliyo who stood behind his prone body, the vibroknife in her hand dripping his blood onto the floor. “You never should have trusted me, agent,” she told him mockingly. “It just makes it easier to cut you down.” Arvallon’s back was throbbing and he could feel his lungs already filling with blood, but he tried to answer her anyway. “I never did trust you,” he managed. “It was all in your head.”

He gasped in pain, and suddenly it was Keeper looking down at him, her face sorrowful. “You’re not supposed to form attachments,” she said. “Do you remember why?” He couldn’t speak; the blood was filling his throat now, choking him. “Because you never know who you’ll be sending to their death next,” she reminded him sadly.

Abruptly the pain and the blood vanished, though the knife in the Minister’s hand still dripped red. “I tried to do the right thing. I failed,” he said in a monotone. It was surprising he could speak at all, with his throat slit practically from ear to ear. “This is the price of failure, Cipher,” he continued. “Remember that.”

“Arvallon.”

Now the Minister morphed into Hunter, and the knife became a syringe. He - she? he could no longer tell - bent down and stuck him with the needle, and the burning began, the same sensation he’d felt on Quesh when he’d injected himself. “You should have kept your programming, it would have made things a lot easier.” Arvallon wanted to scream, but his body no longer obeyed him. The pain spread with the serum, burning through his brain and spine, then his entire body, every muscle seizing up in agony.

“Arvallon! Wake up, please!”

He sat bolt upright, covered in a cold sweat. Temple’s hand on his shoulder burned; he flinched away from it before he could stop himself, and she snatched her hand back as if afraid she’d hurt him. “You.. you were..” she began hesitantly, then stopped to swallow. “Another dream?”

It must have been bad to frighten her that much. Arvallon took a moment to concentrate on slowing his ragged breathing. The room was dark, but he could feel the bedsheets beneath him and Temple’s warmth beside him. He was in his room, on his ship - he was home, he was safe. Temple touched his shoulder again, lightly, and he reached up to cover her fingers with his own.

“It was just a dream,” he said as gently as he could. “I’m fine. Go back to sleep, Raina.” She lay back down, though he could feel her eyes on him until he stretched out beside her and allowed her to spoon up against his side.

He waited until he was certain she was asleep, then extracted himself from the bed. He left the room and headed to the bridge, pausing only to grab a shirt on his way out. The bridge was still dimly lit, and he had no problem finding his personal holoterminal and flipping it on.

He started going through the latest reports Keeper had sent, trying to drown his nightmares in work... without much success.

I’m fine, he’d said, but he knew that he wasn’t. How much of the changes in himself were from the stress of the last few months, and how much were from the effects of the serum? He’d thought his freedom was worth any price, but now he was no longer sure.

How much damage had the IX serum done to him?

SW:TOR - Stuff 'n' Things

(Oh look, a picture post...)

Still playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. Still loving it. It's been a while since I've done any kind of posting on any of my blogs (except for Tumblr >.>), so here ya go.

Valkogo has completed his Chapter 1. I've barely started Ch. 2, but I'm looking forward to it, as soon as I can pull myself away from Arvallon. And I have to say, the whole chasing/finding/recruiting Jaesa bit? Sheer awesome.

He totally beat down Nomen Karr. Didn't even break a sweat.

Dear Val, that is not how you flirt with NPCs. Come on, now.

Speaking of Arvallon, I finally did something (sort of) that I've never managed before in any game outside of WoW - I level-capped him.

Cue the happy-dance.

Sort of. That's the old level cap, but I have a feeling getting him to 55 will be a breeze.

Posting for nostalgic reasons. Boy, how far we've come.

Finishing the whole storyline helped me realize how awesome the Minister really is.

I've also acquired a whole herd of alts, unsurprisingly. I think the biggest one right now is my Sith Pureblood Inquisitor, Ard'riin. He's on the Begeren Colony server and my highest-level there.

He's also kind of pretty.

He's an assassin, and is merrily zapping and mauling his way across the galaxy while he waits for his Master to finally try to kill him. Because he knows she's going to. Someday.

And now a list of my not-so-played alts...

Imperial agent Somar'i, operative. Waiting til Arvallon's capped to start seriously working on her. And she gets to romance Vector!

Consular/Shadow Arusik. Sadly, I think the only reason I still play him is to get my Miraluka legacy unlock.

Republic trooper/commando Raiffa. I don't play her much, but when I do she's a blast.

Smuggler Ismai. I love her so much you have no idea.

And I still have Arv'ak the Jedi sentinel, who I've been bad at taking pictures of. He's currently on Tattooine and nearing the end of his Chapter 1.

Those aren't all of them, but they're the ones that distract me from Arvallon the most I play most often. All my other alts aren't even level 10 yet.

And to finish off, have some scenery. The graphics and detail are still among my favorite parts of this game.

A park on Corellia.

The sky on Ilum, which is basically Hoth V.2. Prreeeettyyyyyyy.

Imperial Outpost Skyline on Voss.

A shot of the inside of the Jedi Temple on Tython.

"Under the Stars"

On an unspecified planet (Alderaan maybe?), sometime after the agent's story ends.
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 “What are we doing out here again?”

 “Shh. We’re watching the stars, remember?”

 “Sir, we live in a spaceship. We see stars all the time.”

 “Well, yes, but these ones are special.”

 “And what makes them special, sir?”

 “Raina. You’re ‘sirring’ me again.”

 “Sorry. Habit.”

 “These stars are special because I’m looking at them with my wife.”

 “… you do know when to say just the right thing, don’t you.”

 “Talent, my love. Comes with the whole agent thing.”

 * * * *

 “Arvallon, shouldn’t we be getting back inside? It’s very late.”

 “In a while. I’m terribly comfy here.”

 “It’s starting to get cold, sir.”

 “Well then, cuddle up here and I’ll keep you warm. Besides, I think my leg’s fallen asleep.”

 “That’s a rather lame excuse, sir.”

 “Sirring again. Raina, did you just make a joke?”

 “I… I might have, sir.”

 * * * *

 Light spilled out onto the grass as the Phantom’s hatch opened, the ramp lowering with a hiss. Vector looked around everywhere as he left the ship, but saw no sign of his errant crewmates. “Agent? Ensign?” His forehead creased in concern, then he spotted something and went to investigate. He found Arvallon sprawled on his back in the grass, with Temple nestled against his side, her head pillowed on his arm. Both were sound asleep.

 Vector stood looking at them in indecision for a minute, then went back to the ship, returning shortly with a blanket. He draped it over them, covering them both without waking them up. Satisfied, he left them to their rest.

Back Into Star Wars

I've finally gotten to the point where I need a break from WoW, so my current addiction is SW:TOR again. I sprung for a two-month sub (because the FTP restrictions are dumb) and I'm enjoying the heck out of it. The story-lines are a nice change from WoW's constant fighting (go figure), and several classes keep on sucking me in.

Agent Arvallon with Mia Hawkins. Best warm-fuzzy moment in the game so far.

I may be sort of crushing on Vector since he joined. Hush, he's awesome.

Infiltrating SIS!

My agent has a friend/working-partnership thing going on with Watcher 2. It's awesome.

I am loving my Imperial agent's story. He's my "main" at 32, simply because his story keeps drawing me in and I can't let him alone for very long. I've finished his Chapter 1, and the next chapter looks to be even more interesting!

Since Vector joined at the end of Ch.1, he's been Arvallon's main companion- firstly because Kaliyo's annoying and Vector meshes with him better, and secondly because 2 dps-types kill stuff waaay faster than a tank and dps. My agent's a sniper, and while Kaliyo can and does hold aggro well, most of the time she dies during the fight and I wind up tanking something anyway. Vector has way better dps, and he can hold his own in a fight too.

Valkogo- Sith Juggernaut

Aww, Vette. <3 p="">

Had one quest where Val had to face a dark-side reflection of himself. It was partly awesome and partly O.o

My Sith warrior is my #2 toon. I'm going almost totally light-side with him, and it's way more interesting than dark-side, imo. Plus he's kinda cute and I don't want to mess up his looks with darkside corruption. >_>

Arv'ak, Jedi knight, doing Jedi stuff

My Jedi knight Arv'ak is #3, though I have alts of almost every class/advanced class there is. It helps that the story-line for each class is different, though there are a couple I wouldn't mind playing through twice (like the agent's).

Planets! Alderaan is one of my favorites, despite everyone else in the game apparently hating it. Partly it's because instead of speeders, you get to fly around on one of these...

Thranta! I kinda wish they were real so I could have one, they are pretty.

Tatooine is on the bottom of the list - there's only so much desert and sand people I can take before I feel like I need to scrub sand out of my eyeballs. Nar Shaddaa is not far above it, sadly, though it did seem better the second time through. I hated Balmorra too, but it's starting to grow on me. The rest aren't bad, though there's still several planets I haven't even been to yet.

Oh look, more sand!

So yea, that's what I'm doing at the moment. I do miss my Feathermoon people, and I do keep logging in for our RP nights, so I don't know how long this break will last. Until it does end, at least I have plenty to keep me occupied.

Holy Flip, Rift

Rift has been updated recently for their new expansion, and since I just re-installed it on my computer, I figured I'd take a look at what all they'd done. Liking the new soul trees, but what really flipped my mind was the new skins for the animal companions.

It's probably worth noting that most of my old screenies were likely taken on my old laptop, so quality isn't the best. Plus low-res, cause you know, laptop. But still, take at look at these guys now!

First up, the beastmaster's pet.

Old model

New model!

And scratching, because it's cute.

I didn't have a screenshot of the old model for the ranger's dire wolf because I fail, but here's the new one!

Handsome, isn't he?

And here's the ranger's Razorbeast, old and new.

Old model.

And new model!

I am liking these guys a lot, might even start tinkering on Rift some more if I can pull myself away from WoW. Only problem is, my sub's cancelled, so I can only play with my lvl 20-or-lower toons (which is why there's no screenies of the druid pets, can't log on Shaurria to see them :P), so any playing I do do will be severely limited. Free acounts ftl.

Adventures in Space

See that? That is my Imperial Agent. Yep, I let myself get sucked into Star Wars.

He's not my only character there, but the Agent is definitely my favorite storyline so far... and he's only level 11! I have a Jedi Consular that I'm also enjoying, and a smuggler that's more of an alt-alt. And I'll be making more, I'm sure...

I'm giving the game a try because it's supposedly going free-to-play in the fall, plus they had a free trial account thing, so I figured why not? And it's something to do when I don't feel up to playing WoW.

I haven't been feeling the Tera itch since coming back from Feathermeet, so I may wind up cancelling my sub until I actually want to play again. I have been regaining some interest in Lord of the Rings Online, so maybe that and SWTOR will keep me happy in my non-WoW playtime.

Now I just need to figure what I'm going to do with my agent, since the trial account only goes to level 15. I suppose I could just reroll him and do the storyline all over again if I have to. XD

*Blows off the dust*

So... it's been almost a year since my last post here. I suppose I ought to do something about that, right?

I have to admit it's a bit confusing trying to run 2 blogs, what with trying to think of stuff to write, deciding which blog it goes on, and all that. Since my other blog is supposed to be about WoW, and I've been playing a lot of other games lately, I guess I should start putting those posts over here. Plus, I may actually start on that rambling I've always meant to do.

Blogging anything has been hard lately... or maybe rather, harder. I am definitely someone that does best on a set, predictable schedule, and things have been crazy around here, mostly with work and stuff. I generally have enough brain power to get through my shift, but by the time I get home I'm usually ready to drop.

I am also a "night owl." I like early work shifts because it means I get home sooner, but getting up early in the morning makes for a cranky-person. And then my brain refuses to settle down and let me sleep until midnight or so..... so yea, hopefully you get the picture.

So anyway, when I'm not working or sleeping, I'm still usually gaming. I've just found this game (sort of) recently, and it's kind of amazing. Those are all my characters in the picture (lolaltoholic), ranging in levels from Dharius at 35, to little Tamsin at 12. It's a big change from WoW, or every other game I've tried so far for that matter. The playstyle is... kinda hard to explain, but it does tend to keep you on your toes (unless you like being dead alot). And my characters are all developing their own personalities and quirks, so I will be writing about them as their stories develop. I've actually made a start on writing already, just little bits and pieces, and if I can get those sorted and cleaned up I will post them here.

I've still been writing/drawing for my horses, too. I'm not sure how much I want to put up here, especially if I do wind up writing out a whole book's worth (do not want anyone to try and steal my idea and stuff), but I may toss up some snippets. And pictures, once I have them finished.

I was having other thoughts but now I can't remember them, so this is as good a place as any to stop. And hey, if I do remember them, it's a good excuse for another post, right? So, gonna take my overtired little brain off and try to sleep. See ya!

Vacations Mean Forgetting Your Age

Soooo yea, gone to the beach with the family. It's been fun so far despite the inevitable sunburn (ouch). And beaches of course mean..... sand castles!






The middle one was built by my cousin. I take full credit for the other two. >.>

Been getting some computer time in the afternoons/evenings, but haven't been doing much. I'm trying to catch up with my writing, but 3 young nieces are pretty distracting.


But hey, at least they're cute!

Future updates will probably wait til we're home again. For now, ta!

"Close"- Pitch and Lark

Posting this thing here because my brain keeps telling me it's too "adult" for my WoW blog. So, yea... adult content warning. :P

I recently finished a picture of my 2 main characters, and today I came up with a brief fic to go with it.
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Clicky for bigger

Lark couldn't remember most of the men she had been with over the years. There had been too many- their faces and names blurred together, along with half-remembered snippets of conversations, and made a royal muddle in her mind. A bare handful stood out clearly, that was all.

Pitch was one of those, by virtue of being her current partner. Lark couldn't complain; he didn't have Brenn's gentle shyness or Jacob's mad passion, Lath's experience or Rillian's attention to detail, but that actually made things easier. She was free to love him for himself, without any unnecessary (and unfair) comparisons. He was simply Pitch.

Not that he was a bad lover by any means. And not that she had any room in her mind for such thoughts when they lay together in a sweaty tangle like this, all her attention focusing on him and on what he was doing to her, as she raked her fingers down his back and he was growling low in her ear, in that way that meant that he was so close. And she's urging him on, and then he finds that one thing that sends her over the edge right before he follows, and they collapse together, he wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her back close against him as they catch their breath.

And then thought returns, and she feels like she ought to apologize to him. I'm sorry, she wants to say. Sorry that I can't give you everything you deserve, that I have all these ghosts in my mind and my past that I can't let go, and they're holding me back from being the mate you should have. And before she can speak, he finds the energy to open his eyes and turn to look into her face, and then he says, "I love you."

And somehow, it's always enough.

"Horse of Mist"

So my last story idea kind of fizzled out. I want to try to get back to it, but no idea when that will happen. But in the meanwhile... I've had a new idea, one that promises to be maybe a little easier to stick with, because it involves one of my favorite things- horses!

I've been mostly doing character pictures in Painter, but I've finally gotten around to writing some of it. This is a history intro to the world it's set in, just to give folks an idea of the background. And those pictures I did- I couldn't mention them and not show them off, right?

So, have a story about god-horses, people, and a world that exists only in my head- now that's a scary thought! Enjoy!

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At the beginning of all things the Higher Power called Artoes into being, having grown bored with the universe that was. He grew the mountains and the forests, then placed the animals and people on it, to do what they willed. He was happy with what he had made, until he looked closer and saw the people all milling around in confusion, not knowing how to care for themselves or the world they were given. The Higher Power was at a loss, so at last he turned to his brothers and sisters- the Lesser Powers, strong and wise, lesser in name only.

He put his request to them, and after conferring among themselves for a bit they accepted. The Higher Power sent them to Artoes, then gave them a choice of shape to take. After further debate, they chose the shapes of great horses, and after receiving their mortal forms, they went among the people to teach them how to live. The people accepted them happily and learned all they had to teach, and for centuries there was peace and prosperity.

Amadar

But not everything went according to the Higher Power's plan. From someplace outside the world, a Darkness came- one that had never been seen by the Powers Higher or Lesser. It came to live among the people, feeding off them and subverting them to its own twisted ends. The Lesser Powers in their horse-shapes gathered themselves and the people into a great army, and after a battle that lasted for years, they managed to drive the Darkness away. It was not destroyed- they didn't know how they might do that- but it would be a long, long time before it would be able to return, if at all.

But the Darkness left something of itself behind, in the hearts and minds of the surviving people. They remembered and feared the Darkness, and they remembered that it was the Horses that brought them together to fight it. After several generations- for human lives were short- the people's stories got mixed together so much, they began to believe that the Horses had brought the Darkness on them. And so they began to hate and fear the Horses as well.

The Horses, for all their wisdom, didn't see what was happening until it was too late. The people they had nurtured and taught began to drive them away, and it wasn't long before the first Horse was killed. Now, the Powers were immortal and couldn't be destroyed, but their mortal bodies could, and it took time to prepare a new body to replace each one that was killed. And so the Horses found their numbers dwindling alarmingly, and finally decided they had to do something about it.

On a cold spring morning they gathered together, discussing what they might do. The talks lasted all through the day and into the night. Finally, after much debate, they made their decision to withdraw from the humans' world.

Rhisovan

The very next night a mist came up from the ground. It seemed like an ordinary mist, except that it covered every inch of ground over the whole of Artoes. It grew thicker and colder, driving the people into their homes, where they huddled by fires and muttered among themselves of witchcraft and Darkness returning. When morning's light finally broke over the world, the mist- and every trace of the Horses- was gone.

But not completely. In the northeastern region, the mist had condensed itself, shutting off an area encompassing several hundred square miles. Those that discovered the mist refused to enter it, saying that unearthly voices echoed in the mist, and it swirled and roiled in a most unnatural, unfriendly way. The nearest people packed up and moved their villages to a more comfortable distance, and their lives resumed as normal.

Vardigen

But the mist had done more than remove the Horses. It also removed all memory of the Horses' previous history with the humans, so that all they remembered was the fear and hatred. And so the Horses stayed in the sanctuary they had created for themselves and watched the humans from afar, and the humans went about their lives unhindered. All in all, it was not a bad arrangement, although many of the Horses missed the close companionship they had once had.

Things stayed that way for two thousand years. Then a whisper came to the Horses in their secluded home; a whisper of returning evil, of Darkness. Fearing the return of Darkness more than anything the people might bring, the Horses began sending out probes to the villages and towns, searching for humans that might take up their cause, and return things to the balance that had been. It was slow, careful work, but they were rewarded by the discovery of humans that would accept them, work with them, and live among them as before. These people were few in number at first, but they increased steadily. And they all had one thing in common- something that their fellow humans called "Magegift."

The Horses trained these budding Mages, then sent them back into the world to watch over the people, to teach them of the Darkness of old and try to warn of its return. And they continued to search for more humans that would accept the old ways, for among them would be one that could be the key to success, to survival, and- perhaps- the way to destroy the Darkness for good.

Vardigen and Karee

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I made this a bit... "formal-sounding" I guess? on purpose (I was actually thinking of how older Bible versions were written. >.>). The rest of the story won't be written like this, I promise.

I do plan on posting more of this once it's written, though probably not the whole thing, since I may be trying to make it into an actual book. Stay tuned in for more!

Ohai! and a little extra!

Oh hey, I found my blog!!!

Besides RP writing for WoW and occasionally for LOTRO, I've semi-recently started dinking around with a story idea of my own. This will eventually be turned into a book of some sort. Someday. When I, you know, finish it. Eventually.

... It's just going slow, okay?

I have no interest at this point of actually getting it published, but while I whack away at it, I thought I might put up some tidbits here now and then. Constructive criticism and comments are much appreciated, since I have no clue what I'm doing.

So anyways, here's an introduction of 2 of the main characters, who are elves. Yes, I have elves in my book. And humans, orcs, goblins, and dwarves. And a mad necromancer to top it all off, because mad necromancers are fun. Right?

..... Okay, enough of this. Here it is.

* * * * * * *

The first time Bracchus laid eyes on his mate Dymera, she was less than a day old.

An old comrade from the Orc Wars was expecting his first babe, and Bracchus happened to be staying only an hour's ride when the happy event occurred. When he heard the news he had no objections to going and seeing his old friend's offspring. He arrived at the house and entered, to find that the infant was not happy at all about being out in the world; in fact she was squalling at the top of her already-considerable lungs, showing a hint of the temper she would have later in her life.

Bracchus felt a pull when he heard her cry, and followed it to the nursery, where the new father and her appointed nurse were frantically trying to hush her. The elven warrior drew close to the baby Dymera, brushing off his friend's apologies for the noise. He stared at the infant for several minutes, then gently took her from the nurse. The female elf started to object, but subsided at a word from her master, who was watching Bracchus intently.

Bracchus had lifted the baby to his face and was studying her curiously when abruptly she stopped her wailing completely, opening eyes of crystalline gold and meeting his gaze boldly. And Bracchus, the most dour elf in the whole elven army, who had never cracked a smile- or so it was said- during the entire War, suddenly found himself grinning like a fool.

A Personal Note from Buster the Cat

Halloween is still a week and a half away, but Buster wanted me to remind everyone that while most of us are thinking of costumes and candy, there are some not-so-nice people out there too. So keep your kitty-cats safe this year- keep them indoors whenever possible and away from the ones that use the holiday as an excuse for some unsavory activities.



If you have no idea what I'm talking about, there's a decent article here, with links to more info. Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone!

Ilfariel & Elgo

Still been thinking about Lord of the Rings even when my internet is screwing up and I can't play. *ahem* So, I thought I'd figure out the story behind two of my characters.

I realized a long time ago that I'm a romantic. I like having my characters paired up with someone, because hey, no one really wants to be alone, right? So back when Ilfariel started getting into my head, one of the first things I thought of was "Is she in any kind of relationship?" It took a while, but I finally figured out that yes, she's with Elgo, my champ. They're very happy together, and planning on getting married as soon as the war is over. This is some of Fari's backstory, along with how she met Elgo and what proceeded from there. And yea, they're a pretty mushy couple, but it's cute.

The one thing I kind of regret is having only one account, which means I can't play them both together. So all their RP together happens in my head. But it works for now.

(Mild PG warning >.>)
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Ilfariel grew up in Gondor, the middle of five offspring. where she helped run her mother's shop while her father oversaw their "main" business. They dealt mostly with cloth and leather goods, importing and exporting both raw material and finished products, with success enough to make them fairly wealthy. The inevitable odds and ends from each shipment, and any new products that they wanted to test the market for, wound up in her mother's shop in Minas Tirith, which was also where the family home was.

Ilfariel's brothers were more than capable of helping their parents, and stood to inherit it all anyway, so by the time she was twenty she had decided to "find her fortune" however she may, and left with her family's blessings. There had been rumors and more concerning the war even then, and Ilfariel decided to head to Bree the moment she heard of them. Her weapon skills were sufficient that she thought she could help the guard there against goblins and brigands.

She was accepted, the moment she got there and spoke to the captain in charge in fact, and once signed in she was assigned a guide until she knew her way around well enough. The guide was a young man, about her age, named Elgo, a native of Bree. They got along famously right from the start, and after just a few months they seemed inseparable. The guard captain noticed this, of course, and began worrying about when he would have to split them up. No one patrolled with another- they just didn't have the bodies to spare, and the threat wasn't great enough- yet- to warrant more than single patrols. Still, he found himself putting off the moment that he would have to separate the two young guards.

After Ilfariel had been there four months, however, there was no more reason to delay it, and he finally pulled Elgo back to his former duties patrolling the southern Bree-fields. Fari he set to patrolling up around Archet, where she would have little chance of running into her friend. The separation was unexpectedly hard on her, and she found herself missing Elgo fiercely. Still, it took her a few weeks to figure out that she had been falling in love with the young guard.

She had no sooner realized that when something happened that was both good and bad. Good, because it distracted her from her thoughts- bad, because the thing turned out to be bandits and brigands near Archet. When she and her fellow guards had fought enough skirmishes to know this was not just a minor threat, Ilfariel was sent back to give the captain a report.

The captain was understandably grim when he heard her report, but then he surprised her. "I'll need to think on this before I send you back with new orders," he told her. "Also, I need to speak with the town's leaders. Why don't you take tonight and tomorrow off? I'll send someone for you when we've decided what to do."

Ilfariel was only too happy to follow his command. As she reached the Prancing Pony and was about to head inside, she was suddenly stopped by a hand on her arm. She turned and came face-to-face with Elgo. Without thinking, she gave a happy cry and flung both arms around him in a hug. Immediately she knew that that was not the proper thing to do, but by then Elgo had his arms around her too, and was chuckling in her ear. "I take it you missed me, too?" he asked as he, mercifully, let her go. Fari tried to hide her growing blush by straightening her jacket, which really didn't need straightened. "Well, I umm..." she began, then his words registered and she stopped, looking at him in surprise. "Too?" she asked, then blushed again. Elgo chuckled again as he took her arm. "Come on, love," he said gently. "Let's find a place less crowded for supper, eh?" Fari could only let him lead her on.

They found a quiet inn and had supper there, then spent the rest of the evening walking about town, filling each other in on their adventures, or lack thereof. Elgo mentioned that he'd had a few scuffles with bandits, but mostly the Fields had been quiet. He seemed as disturbed as the captain when he heard her tale, but they both agreed there was nothing to be done about it for now.

It was getting quite late by the time they reached the rented room Ilfariel kept in the city. Elgo paused at her door, suddenly looking very self-conscious but obviously reluctant to leave. Fari could guess what he wanted to say to her, however, and beat him to it when she asked him, very softly, "Stay with me tonight?" He looked at her, startled, then nodded and followed her in.

* * * * * *

Morning dawned with clear skies. Ilfariel woke shortly after dawn, taking a moment to simply enjoy Elgo's warm, strong arms around her before quietly slipping out from under the covers. She found her pants and a clean shirt and dressed quickly, then went to the window and stood looking out, thinking.

She heard a soft yawn behind her and turned to see her lover stretching and blinking awake. He spotted her and smiled. "Come here, love." Fari smiled back and crossed over to the bed, sitting on the edge near him. He brought one hand up to rub her back, looking at her face searchingly. "Any regrets, Fari?" he asked her softly, using her nickname for the first time. She shook her head firmly. "No, love. None from me." She quirked an eyebrow at him, and he smiled again. "No, love. And I love you. In case I didn't say it often enough before." They both chuckled, then he nudged at her. "How about letting me up, love?" he asked her, half-joking, and she grinned back at him as she stood.



They had all that day together, which they spent in the city and nearby countryside again, and it took little convincing for Ilfariel to get him to stay that night as well. In the morning, however, they left her room to find a runner waiting for her. The boy was clearly startled when they came out together, but was tactful enough to say nothing and merely handed her a note from the captain before trotting off. Ilfariel read it quickly, then looked at Elgo with some regret. He simply nodded. "Duty calls, m'love. Nothing to be done about that," he said, then gave her a quick hug and a kiss before letting her go on her way.

Ilfariel took her orders from the captain- they weren't much changed from their previous ones, just stating for them all to stay alert- and headed back to Archet. This time, however, she had memories of Elgo to warm her when she grew too lonely, and she knew he would be waiting for her whenever they could manage the time.

* * * * * *

They'd been together for almost eight months now. Ilfariel had sent a letter to her parents as soon as she could, and knew that Elgo had done the same, and now he was courting her truly, with her parents' blessing. Despite all the trouble from the war that everyone felt was coming, Fari couldn't be happier.

Silence...

I feel like I ought to apologize. I honestly don't mean to let so much time go between posts, especially since I don't like when other bloggers do it (apologies to all said bloggers, I meant no offense). The fact is that lately I've been so tired that I haven't had the energy to even think of a blog post.



Anyways, so what have I been doing lately? Mostly I'm still playing Lord of the Rings Online. It's fun, it's interesting, so... I've been getting a good bit done too- Elgo the champion and Solanthe the hunter have joined the others in my level-20+ group, and Ilfariel is up to 31! Wardens are still mega-fun, though champs and hunters are started to get up there too. My budding runekeeper has finally gotten some playtime as well, I got him up to 11 in one day (although he went back to gathering dust afterwards >.>).



Allods has lost it's shine for the time being, though I don't doubt that I'll be getting back on it sometime. The biggest reason for that is my brother's PC is having... issues. Yea, those kind of issues. So until he gets it fixed, he can't play, and that was the biggest pull for me as far as the game went. I do have my fingers crossed that he gets it fixed up soon.

WoW has been... well, just kinda there. I've logged on a few times for some RP, and gotten Lark exalted with the Silver Covenant finally to boot, but other than that? Eh. I am still writing stuff for it, just haven't been itching to play it lately. I guess I'm in the pre-Cata limbo that's claimed so many others.


So, besides all that? Haven't been doing much. I'm finally back to a normal schedule at work, though I can't say I'm really recovered from my crazy stretch. I do have another week of vacation coming up soon, which will just be a sit-around-home-and-recup type of vacation, so that ought to be fun.

It's starting to get... well, not cold yet, but chilly. Winter is definitely on the way, which I'm not really looking forward to, but oh well. We've just had a few days of rain, which compounds the tiredness, but it seems to be over now.

That's all I can think of for now. Hopefully I will think of interesting things to post in the near future, instead of getting ideas which I forget about as soon as I get home. >.> Til next time, ciao!