Chapter X

Considering his reputation, Brandon Darkwood was surprised at the number of villagers who turned up to see him off the day he was due to leave Xarnip for the city of Erilliance. Many of them, he suspected, were just so happy to see him go they wanted to be there when it finally happened. Others were just waiting around in case someone else got transmogrified - entertainment can be scarce in the port of Xarnip.
Whatever the reason, there was quite the crowd. As cheering as this was to Brandon, it worried his mother. If there was one thing Clayton Darkwood relished, thought the Queen, it was a crowd. Especially one who had seen little enough magic that it they'd hang around for the chance of seeing a fellow villager turn into a toad. She hoped her husband would know enough to restrain himself.
"Over there!" cried someone in the crowd. Brandon squinted at the spot on the horizon where everyone's attention seemed to have been drawn. The top of a sail and a crows nest had appeared. The noise of the crowd swelled as everyone began discussing what they saw. After a while the roar died down again, since it was apparent the ship was still a ways off. Then the Queen's voice exploded over the crowd.
"No you can't 'come with'! What has gotten into you? You've never shown a shred of interest in magic, and you just show up and tell me you wanna ship off to Erilliance?"
She stopped. The entire crowd had shifted it's focus and turned around.
"And what, pray tell, are you all looking at?" she asked.
The crowd rapidly shuffled back around. Brandon pushed through it to see his half-sister Jiuni staring up at their mother.
"But mother!" she implored, "I want to fly again! I was just getting the hang of it and I.. Changed back. But I know someone in Erilliance can teach me how to change myself, I just know it! Please?"
"No!" Insisted the Queen. "I know you, you'll have forgotten about it by tomorrow! And then you'll be stuck in a strange city with no way to get home and I'm gonna hafta bail you out! Now go home and unpack that bag!"
Jiuni ran off crying. The Queen turned to Brandon.
"See what you done?" she said, "You done put idea's in the girl's head! It'll be weeks 'fore she forgives me for that!"
"Your husband is about to see you for the first time in twelve years," said Brandon levelly, "Do you really want to be a hippo when that happens?" sardonically.
The Queen looked at him, but for the first time Brandon could remember, she didn't have anything to say. He smiled as he turned away and walked back towards the port.
Suddenly a murmur broke out across the crowd. Brandon looked to see what everyone was pointing at. A small bolt of purple light was making it's way across the sky having started from the crows nest of the ship. When it reached a certain point in the sky it began to move erratically, leaving a trail, like a giant purple crayon in the sky. First it drew the standard symbol of pirate on all worlds - the skull and crossed bones. Then it added a Wizard's hat and an eye patch. The crowd went wild.
As the ship got nearer the skull emblem didn't fade. And just as the noise of the crowd was starting to die down, the skull opened it's mouth.
"Hellllllllooooooooo Xarnip!" it boomed enthusiastically. The crowd, which now constituted nearly the entire village, let out a roar. Brandon glanced over at his mother. She looked disgusted and was staring disapprovingly at the crowd, but none of them seemed to notice.
"How's everybody doin' today?" continued the skull. Some of the villagers, to wrapped up in the excitement to remember their "official" stance on magic, yelled back various responses.
"Wonderful," said the skull, "Just wonderful. And now, without further ado, the you all came here to see, The infamous sorcerer pirate and your own former king, the one, the only, the incredible CLAAAAAAYTON DARKWOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!"
There was a blinding flash of light and a splash and suddenly the Wild Abandon was at port. To follow this up, Clayton, clad in a flashy purple tunic and cape and flanked by massive orangutans, floated off the deck of the ship and onto the pier.
The Queen strained to make herself heard over crowd as she strolled out to meet her former husband.
"Just what in the name of the Gods do you think you're doing?," she asked, "Did I tell you to come here and do a magic show? You're here to pick up your son and then you are getting out of here, you understand me?"
"Wow," said the Sorcerer sarcastically, "Nice to see you too, honey. What's the matter, afraid you'll fall for me again if I stick around?"
"That was a nice fireworks display," retorted the Queen, "That skull emblem was almost as big as your ego,"
"That's the best you could do?" asked Clayton. "I haven't seen you in twelve years; you'd think you would have had time to come up with a more creative insult,"
"Haven't given it much thought," answered the monarch, "You see unlike some people, I actually have a job,"
"So what's pirating," asked Clayton, feigning offense, "A hobby? Very few people could do what I do,"
She smiled at him. He smiled back. Then they ran up to each other and embraced.
"I've missed you," said Clayton. They pulled apart.
"You're still not staying any longer than you have to," said the Queen, as they turned and walked down the pier.
"Of course not," said Clayton, "We have to be at Erilliance in a few days. My men - "
"Ook!" interrupted his bodyguard.
"Sorry," said Clayton, "My crew needs to load up on supplies. I was hoping we could stay here for tonight and leave early tomorrow morning,"
"I'll have my people prepare you some rooms," said the Queen. She hesitated, looking at the orangutans, "Well, one room and several trees,"
"Much obliged," said Clayton.
The Queen climbed into her Sedan chair. It set off, Clayton and the crowd following behind.

The City of Mages Guide to Characters

So the computer crashing thing kinda killed the website thing. This is plan B. Perhaps it will serve to make all this a little less confusing. In italics, where my inspiration comes from for some of them. This may be updated and reposted every ten chapters or so.

In order of Appearance:

Lady Cecilia: Race: Human. Leader of the Witches (mostly by virtue of no one else wanting the job.) Small elderly woman, usually very friendly and motherly, but can have some bite. Incredibly clairvoyant. All the witches are somewhat Discworld inspired. I'm trying to make Lady Cecilia not a Granny Weatherwax clone, but they do have rather a lot in common.

The Archmage: Race: Dwarf. Portly Leader of Erilliance's Wizards. Middle aged, friendly and cheerful.Who was Ged's best friend in Wizard of Earthsea? I can't remember, but this guy reminds me of him.

Thurigen: Race: Uncertain. Thurigen, Leader of the Druids, has transcended his corporeal form and now exists as an almost Demigod. Ancient, powerful, enigmatic and a bit tempermental. His assistant is Simile.


Xindor the Incredible: Race: High Elf of the Citadel. Leader of the Sorceror's Guild. One of the most powerful and popular sorcerors of all time (Also one of the most Arrogant and self-centered.) Pushing 450, due to die in less than 4 years (According to Lady Cecilia's prophecy.) His Niece is Amora of Tiesan. He harbors a grudge against Clayton Darkwood. Honestly, I worte the song first. Then I went from there.

Halyn: Race: Hill Gnome. Halyn is a Bard. He cares for his younger brother Erdyn and his younger sister Tiryn. He once wrote a very catchy song about Xindor the Incredible. This character is a shout out to Paul Simmons.

Erdyn: Race: Hill Gnome. Erdyn wants to be a sorceror, but has thus far displayed only minimal powers. His sister is Tiryn. His brother is Halyn.

Tiryn: Race: Hill Gnome. Tiryn is an insatiably curious and energetic young gnome. Sister to Halyn and Erdyn.

Clayton Darkwood: Race: Human. The Notorious Sorceror Pirate has been banished from both Xarnip and Erilliance. He currently commands the Simian scallywags of the Pirate Ship Abandon. He is old friends with Lady Cecilia. He hates Xindor the Incredible. He was once married to The Queen of Xarnip. His son is Brandon Darkwood. Though Clayton is just a guest in this series, I fully intend to write a series starring him someday. Ideally, I would like it to be a Manga (Provided I could get someone to draw it.)

Simile: Race: Doom Pixie. Sorceress, currently adjunct to Thurigen.

Dukalb Argoldson of Viiri: Race: Dwelf (Half Dwarf, half Elf.) Rejected by both his peoples, Dukalb sought out life as a Druid. Due to his mixed heritage, he has an affinity for trees and rocks. He's not a very good Druid, mostly due to a total lack of training.

Brandon Darkwood: Race: Half-Xarnipi Human. The Prince of Xarnip, often ostracized for his light skin, has recently begun accidentily turning people into animals. His father is Clayton Darkwood. His mother is The Queen of Xarnip. His half-sister is Jiuni. The main inspiration for Brandon was the account in the Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook of how sorcerors develop their powers.

Jiuni: Race: Xarnipi Human. Half sister to Brandon Darkwood. Last we saw her, she was a parokeet.

The Queen of Xarnip: Race: Xarnipi Human. Large, wealthy, and Powerful. Formerly married to Clayton Darkwood. Mother of Numerous children, including Brandon Darkwood and Jiuni. Inspired by a certain Drama Teacher.

Vivacia Brown: Race: Human. Thin, mousy witch with a mess of brown hair. Resident of the prestigous Tiesan Hall. Shy, but friendly. Very close friends with Amora of Tiesan. Has a huge crush on Bogue. Trained by Lady Cecilia.

Bogue: Race: Human. Erilliance's leading Rune Master, Bogue is slightly disconnected to reality, due to spending so much time in the theoretical world of Runes. Something of a prodigy. Bogue is part Evan, part Marten, and part Rupert Giles, and part something I can't quite figure out.

Amora of Tiesan: Race: High Elf of the Citadel. Amora is a powerful budding sorceress. She has been spoiled both by her family's wealth and prestige and by her own great power, that of creating projectiles that alter people's emotions. She is controlling and manipulative, but essentially a decent person. Her best friend is Vivacia Brown. Her uncle is Xindor the Incredible. Amora is essentially every girl who has ever intentionally messed with my emotions (only she takes it to a whole new level)

More story coming soon. Hope this helps you keep them straight.

Jahopi square (or whatever it is)

So, Ashley did one of these, and it looked like a pretty cool idea - finding out what others think of you. So please click here. It won't take five minutes.

http://kevan.org/johari?name=Ander42

To be inserted after the second stanza of act one:

So Laertes went off to France
While his sister struck up a romance
With that same Danish lord
Though her brother implored
"He'll just try to get into your pants"

Chapter IX

"Amora!" said Xindor harshly as soon as the door to his office had shut. "I am ashamed of you! Ashamed, and embarrassed! Attacking a prospective student?!!? Halyn and his brothers are guests here, my personal guests, and what's the first thing that happens to them when they arrived? My niece attacks them! I'm... I'm at a loss for words. Explain yourself!"
Amora stared pointedly at her uncle for a moment, as if to say "Are you quite finished?" then spoke up, levelly and confidently.
"To be fair," she said, "I was aiming at Bogue,"
"I fail to see how attacking a wizard is any better," dismissed her uncle, "Unless you'd challenged him to a proper duel, which is moot because you didn't. A sorceress doesn't attack others indiscrimanetly! She does it cooly, and calculatedly, and only when neccesary. And yes, your bolts are a form of attack, even if they're loaded with an emotion like happiness or infatuation,"
"Why are you over reacting like this?" asked Amora. She was still more curious than angry; cool, controlled and almost apathetic. Had the game of poker ever been played in Erilliance, Amora would be the undisputed master of it.
"Messing with people's emotions is no trifling matter Amora! I've taught you better than that! Someday, someone you jinx is come come back to get revenge on you, and I'm not always going to be there to protect you!"
A look of realization crossed Amora's face. Quick as she was to catch the emotion out burst, her uncle caught a glimpse of it.
"Yes, Amora," he said, "I'm dying. Well, not right at this moment, but I will be very soon... or so I hear, anyway. I don't know when or how yet, but it's going to be fairly soon, probably within three years. You can't tell anyone, especially not another sorceror and especially not Lady Cecilia. But I wanted to tell you because... well, the Sorceror's guild is going to need strong leadership and at the moment I can't think of anyone more qualified than you,"
Amora stared coldly at her uncle, digesting all this.
"Why do you care?" she finally asked.
"What do you mean why do I care?" asked Xindor. "What kind of question is that? Your uncle tells you he's dying and you ask him why he cares?"
"No, not about that," said Amora, "Why do you care what happens to me, or to the sorceror's guild, or to anything. You'll be dead. You'll be .. beyond caring, so to speak,"
"Believe it or not," said Xindor, "My own ego is not the most important thing in my life. If it were all about Xindor, I wouldn't have spent the last 70 years as leader of the sorceror's guild - the benefits have never been worth the stress. And if it were all about Xindor, I certainly wouln't have agreed to look after you. I care about the guild, Amora, and even more than that, I care about you, and I want, no, I need to know that both will be able to handle themselves when I'm gone! Can you promise me that, Amora? Can you promise me that you'll try to be less stupid and more focused from now on?"
Amora processed this for a long time. Then she looked up serenely and said, "I'll do my best uncle. I'll take care of the things you care about,"
"That's all I ask," said Xindor, with a sigh.
Me, and the guild. thought Amora amusedly as she walked out of her uncle's office, The two things he cares about more than his ego. I become leader of the sorceror's guild, he can rest in piece. It's a good thing I've been planning that all along.

Argghjhh

I'm sorry for the lack of updates - I currently do not have a home computer. I'll do what I can on school computers and borrowed laptops, but it might be a while before I post anything.