Grab bag August 2015

Embala wrote:

It starts with the grim reality which is like a neverending nightmare. Shadow and Foxhair are together ... yet as lonely as they can be at the same time.

Exactly what I was trying to show.

Embala wrote:

Cloudbreamer really comes to life as a loving soulmate and mother, cherished tribemate and balancing voice. Nightsea's wonderful doll design helps a lot to envision her.

There's a reason I dedicated this segment to Nightsea. Really, her doll is the main basis of this story (though she had a "small" part in a very long segment) - everything for this month's grab bag - spiraled from Nightsea's creation of the doll of Clouddreamer - the character, literally, told me the story. So, without a doubt, without Nightsea's dolling of Clouddreamer, this month's segment would not have come out the way it did. Her doll creation made me WANT to tell a story with Clouddreamer.

Embala wrote:

Banetricker reminds me very much of Strongbow the way you described him.

Yeah. And that's what I was afraid of. The majority of Stonehowl tend to have darker colored hair, and brown to hazel eyes (much like the Wolves that they're based off of) - and anytime you paint yourself an archer, who brown hair, who has a firm tone - it's always going to be "he reminds me of Strongbow." I don't think there's any way around it, because Strongbow was such a defined character (and really, the only true archer among the original Quest).

Embala wrote:

And Foxhair is spirited and passionate like Crescent. This "bond search" is like a variant version of that scene in Wolfrider! - similar start, very different outcome. It adds a lot to Foxhair's background and character.

Not familiar with it (I may have read the story in Wolfrider, just don't have it committed to memory, perhaps!)

Embala wrote:

Back to the dream story - which is actually a memory - ... it turns grim like Foxhair's reality and then takes a conciliating turn. I loved to remeet Bloodfang. It gives your tale a constancy ... a recognition value.

Originally, when I wrote it - I wrote it as bear tracks - but went back and changed it to make it Bloodfang, to - as you said - show some consistency, since Bloodfang was known to Stonehowl and at the time of Foxhair being a cub - was still alive.

Embala wrote:

The grab-bag elements may lead you ... but YOU make it an ongoing story line with corresponding events.

See, here is where I disagree. I may write the story - but I don't write it alone. I can't count how many times I have been inspired by you (or something you said), or Nightsea (for the example in this one; and previous ones with credit to her dolls), and other artists (whose name slips my mind, but drew Stillbreeze, Vineweaver, etc, and made me bring those characters to the front). I write the story; but I am more often than not inspired by those around me on this forum.

Embala wrote:

The human boy is described adorablly and the interaction with the wolf cub and Foxhair is heartwarming. I love the naming of Elkheart!
Strangely enough Elk reminds me of young Shaman when he was a spirited fearless boy. I wonder if he could be what the EQ Shaman becomes under different circumstances.

The idea here was that, in our youth, we're often devoid of racism. It's something that is, sadly, "taught" to us, by our parents as we get old (and often, sometimes, just by events that happen around us). So I wanted to capture the youth of a child, who doesn't yet know racism (or the "fear of the demons").

Embala wrote:

It was obvious for me that the "dream", the memory of the past was a parable for what has happened in the world of today. And that's the first reason I've loved this episode so much.

Thank you so much!

Embala wrote:

And there's a thought: This was not a simple dream evoked by the prescence of the Humans and the horrid slaughtering. This was induced by Clouddreamer's spirit to tell her daughter what really happened to her grandchild! Or ... it was Foxhair's subconcious mind and the never fully cut soul connection with her cubling. Maybe ... both?

The idea is a mixture of both. I thought, we've seen that the spirits of the deceased linger around the Palace; could one of the undead show or speak to someone through their dreams? But even THAT idea was inspired by you. In one of the previous Grab Bags (I think the first one on this forum, where I wiped out a lot of the members to have a "clean start" for myself after so many years), you said something about the bond between the parents and the children and sensing their death. That stuck with me; and I thought, "Somehow I need to make Shadow's child live..." And the opportunity presented itself. Again, drawing inspiration from those around me, who can say something to me about my story - and inspire the tinder of an idea, that floats in the dark of my mind, until it ignites and catches flame.

Embala wrote:

Interlude ... It looks like Balgar will not learn. Sad. :/ Nice to get a sneak peek in Balgar's mind, tho. It nicely rounds the previous episode. I was not far from YOUR truth with my speculations about Balgar's thoughts and motivations about his son and the punishment. Second reason.

He is old. Set in his ways. And has the whispering of a venomous snake (the Shaman) in his ear. There is no changing Balgar.

Yet.

Embala wrote:

And back to the grim present. Shadow's rage and sorrow and vengefulness. His name seems to have another meaning now. He's a shadow of his old self. Shadows linger on his soul and mind. The dark part within him has taken control. The way you've described it I can see him walk to the cave - without fear, without guard, without merci. Driven by grief and revenge. Blind. Without thought like a sleepwalker or zombie. Shadow kills like Bloodfang ...
... the "dream" story replays in a dark mirror. And Shadow awakes ... he sees again. He unterstands. I'm sure Shadow will learn - once more. The counterdraft to Balgar's demeanor. I love those "reversed pictures" - the dream as a parable, connecting the events from the far past to near future, working as a foreshadowing and explanation.
I love the tragic in this - my third reason.

I had painted Shadow into - for lack of a better word - into a dark corner. I needed something to bring him out of that. And the opportunity to "snap" him back presented itself in this story. I enjoyed writing a dark, hopeless, broken, brooding Shadow - but it was past time to get him back.

Embala wrote:

The scene with Shadow stabbing the boy and his forgiveness - I recognize this ine too. Don't get me wrong - love to spot familiar scenes retold in new context!

I am missing this reference?

Embala wrote:

One detail bugs me - it's not very likely that the Frost Men and the Stonehowl Humans speak the same language, even the same idiom. Not impossible but unlikely.

Entirely true. It is quite the stretch to consider that, in such primitive times, that humans from the woods, would speak the same tongue as sailors from distant lands. But it seems like in ElfQuest, language is something it's all or nothing. Despite regions, and thousands of years apart, the Wolfriders spoke the same language as the Sun Folk, and the Go-Backs, and even the Gliders, who had locked themselves away. Same as the trolls. The Elves spoke the same tongue as the trolls beneath the caves, the Frozen; and it seems humans seem to speak the same tongue. But I agree, it's a bit of a stretch, but "necessary" to get the impact of the story; that Shadow, who has prided himself on learning the human tongue, SHOULD have understood what the human said before Shadow gutted him.

Embala wrote:

I had no problem to tell Elk and Buren apart, Tymber. Given the life span of Humans and Elves and the fact "little" Foxhair hit maturity and motherhood those boys could hardly be the same. Though ... I have a rough timeline of Stonehowl in mind from previous stories.

True, you're the one person who knows Stonehowl, perhaps better than I do!

Embala wrote:

I absolutely love this "dual" tale! That's ingenious, Tymber. A glimpse into the past that is directly commected to an becomes an immediate practical meaning for the present story developement.

That was a very fun (but long!) segment for me - but I absolutely enjoyed it.

Embala wrote:

Foxhair got an idea of what really happend to her cubling and the warning of things to come.
Shadow got the shock he needed to come out of this vengeful stupor. He will neither make peace the Frost Men anywhen soon nor forget the slaugtering of his tribemates but he will be able to think again.
And Stream arrived just in time - she'll better succed in healing!
For Buren's, Shadow's and MY sake! ^^

I don't even know if Stream's arrival will be enough! I never know until the words begin flowing... where the story is going to go.

Thank you for the incredible comments, and the time and love you have ALWAYS given both me - and my writing.

Wanted to share the snipped I wrote today... untitled for now as I'm out of ideas.
I'm not entirely happy yet... but it's the best I could do today.

Prey
Silent... Careful, lest they notice...
Using all of its 8 eyes, the spirit-maker watches the large prey. Briefly he remembered his great-grandfather, killed by these prey. Sometimes the prey is killer, which is just not right. We are hunter, not prey! Sometimes, as if in a dream, he could see his great-grandfather, surrounded by bright lights. The spirit-maker had never seen such lights, but had heard about them, it was like when lightning struck the dry forest and made it all surrounded by bright light. Many animals go into the light then, but he had survived. His family not, he was all alone.
The prey are surrounding the slowest of them; it has a great full belly which will make the best food! He will eat the big-bellied one, or even better the soft, tiny one that will soon come out.

Silent now... slowly…
“There’s no pain at all, cubling… only the pleasure of guiding him into a new world. You’ll see… Now!”
Yes, a tiny prey slides out of the big-bellied prey.
The spirit-maker jumps at the chance to sting and eat the tiny prey. Now, when they are just born, they have the best taste.
*KWOLP*
Sudden darkness surrounds him, and shakes him around and around. Dizzy, the spirit-maker hears exclaims from the prey. They are hunter now, and he the caught prey.


*edited to add the title, thanks Embala for the perfect suggestion!

faeriegirl wrote:

Using all of its 8 eyes, the spirit-maker watches the large prey.

I don't know what a spirit-maker is ... but with 8 eights, sounds like a spider - but at the end, it speaks of eating the large prey!

That poor spider. 

I've gotta say I always thought Spirit-Makers where the most illogical thing Abode thought up.
I know there's small critters that go after larger prey, but Spirit-Makers are ridiculously over confident. Nice work showing that! 

Someone want to catch me up on what a Spirit Walker is?

I think a spirit walker is somebody who goes out?
I can't rightly remember.

Tymber wrote:

faeriegirl wrote:

Using all of its 8 eyes, the spirit-maker watches the large prey.

I don't know what a spirit-maker is ... but with 8 eights, sounds like a spider - but at the end, it speaks of eating the large prey!

A Spirit-maker is indeed a spider. It is described in 'Wolfrider!' as "a jumping spider with venom, so quick and deadly, the elves call it a spirit-maker": here.
It's also shown in color in SatS here.

So yes, it will attack elves and humans. For this particular spider, the 'large prey' is elves

Shadowpath wrote:

That poor spider. 

I've gotta say I always thought Spirit-Makers where the most illogical thing Abode thought up.
I know there's small critters that go after larger prey, but Spirit-Makers are ridiculously over confident. Nice work showing that! 

Thank you! Yes, those spiders are crazy!

faeriegirl wrote:

A Spirit-maker is indeed a spider. It is described in 'Wolfrider!' as "a jumping spider with venom, so quick and deadly, the elves call it a spirit-maker": here.
It's also shown in color in SatS here.
So yes, it will attack elves and humans. For this particular spider, the 'large prey' is elves

So they're essentially an overly aggressive black widow kind of spider?

Interesting.

I think it's cool that you wrote a story - based in the ElfQuest world - but the focus was a spider - not an elf, troll, or your typical "ElfQuest" story - very cool. The short story makes much more sense with that information.

Thanks Tymber! I often write from a non-typical POV

One problem I have with spirit-makers is why they go after elves and humans as hunters. A spirit-maker is way too small to eat an elf, not to mention a fucking human. Especially when opperating alone, which spiders tend to do. Besides, while spiders hunt insects and birds. That I can understand. But spiders tend to attack humans mostly as self-defense. Why does Abode have such overly aggressive spiders, that hunt people? Why?

Problems with spirit-makers aside, I loved the story fae! It's fun, and I like how it's aware of life and death as a concept, deeper than "I kill to live" way.

Thanks Startear!
Yes, spirit-makers are totally crazy indeed. I don't understand either!

Startear wrote:

One problem I have with spirit-makers is why they go after elves and humans as hunters. A spirit-maker is way too small to eat an elf, not to mention a human. Especially when opperating alone, which spiders tend to do. Besides, while spiders hunt insects and birds. That I can understand. But spiders tend to attack humans mostly as self-defense. Why does Abode have such overly aggressive spiders, that hunt people? Why?

Why? Let Far Side explain it.

Such a surprising snippet! You've really taken an unexpected point of view this time, fae.

The start was puzzling ... obviously a spider. A spider who has awareness of itself and seems to be able to think to a certain degree. And an omnious big prey ...
First I had no idea where this will lead. This spirit-maker should have been impossible - yet it was so easy to follow your tale. Within moments this eight-eyed hunter gained personality, attitude and even a family background. A bit like a dream ... you know that this cannot be but it has a strange fascination.

Then you've revealed the scene, the nature of the prey - the well-informed reader recognizes the situation. All of this happens within the chosen point of view ... withing the "hunting modus" of the predator ...
I love it when you confirm suspision with a quote - one or two characteristic, well-known sentences. There's no doubt where and when you've led us, no doubt what will happen.
And with a KWOLP! the situation changes ... and from the spider's point of view we learn how it feels to be caught by Skywise! Poor spider indeed. ^^

There's a detail I would change - because it is more familiar to me. The spiders we know usually have big aggressive females and comparably tiny males. I see our luckless hero and its ancestor as females. Good chance that I want it this way to draw parallels with Winnowill! XD

That's so well done, fae! Throughout the whole story you've never left the spirit-maker's world of experience. All the elements are worked in from the spider's point of view - even a most unlikely one like "resentful".

Keep it simple for a title - call it PREY.


It was interesting to follow the short discussion as well. Up to now I've seen nothing else but a very venomous and slightly more aggressive spider in those spirit-makers. Your story and Shadowpath's and Startear's comments made me aware of the unnatural, almost ridiculous and illogical over-confidence of this dangerous but small predator. Tymber's contribution added a hilarious note!

This strange behavior and your choice to give this animal self-awareness and the ability to think and remember made my own thoughts spin ... What-if?
What ... if this would make sense? ... if this would really be possible? How could it work?
This is Abode. The WoTMs where the "Elves" crash-landed and died. The world with pools of helpful or foul magic.
What if the spirit-makers are creatures of such a dark pool - endued with a rudimentary consciousness and overdevelopped self-conficence? I'd like to think of them this way now.

Since I have not read any stories with Spirit Walkers - I would assume, that the venom of these spiders is _extremely_ toxic and causes paralyzation and/or complete failure of organs (such as lungs) from their venom (like many snakes do). So perhaps, historically, in the World of Two Moons, these vicious spiders tend to feed on larger prey? (There's that one spider, in Australia, of course, that's seen, having captured a larger bird in it's web - I won't link it, because it can be considered "graphic").

http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/survival/2011/10/10-most-dangerous-spiders-world

Lunakat wrote:

http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/survival/2011/10/10-most-dangerous-spiders-world

It's funny, because that is the SAME link I was looking at when I made my above post - mostly in reference to this:

The Six-Eyed Sand Spider Bite
There are no confirmed bites and only two suspected ones on record. However, in one of these cases, the victim lost an arm to massive necrosis and in the other, the victim died of massive hemorrhaging, similar to the effects of a Rattlesnake bite. Toxicology studies have demonstrated that the venom is particularly potent, with a powerful hemolytic/necrotoxic effect, causing blood vessel leakage, thinning of the blood and tissue destruction.

Embala wrote:

Such a surprising snippet! You've really taken an unexpected point of view this time, fae.
...
I love it when you confirm suspision with a quote - one or two characteristic, well-known sentences. There's no doubt where and when you've led us, no doubt what will happen.
And with a KWOLP! the situation changes ... and from the spider's point of view we learn how it feels to be caught by Skywise! Poor spider indeed. ^^

Thank you so much! Indeed I like to keep it mysterious... and yet clear if you know the right quote!

Embala wrote:

There's a detail I would change - because it is more familiar to me. The spiders we know usually have big aggressive females and comparably tiny males. I see our luckless hero and its ancestor as females. Good chance that I want it this way to draw parallels with Winnowill! XD

I don't know... somehow it feels right to have this one as male. Maybe because Abode is different from Earth, to keep this different too... but I'll think about it.

Embala wrote:

Keep it simple for a title - call it PREY.

That's PERFECT! I'm keeping it! Thank you!

Dear fae I said "I would change ..." and "... more familiar to me."

That's my point of view - and I've indeed struggled with it because I was fully aware that THIS is Abode. NOT Earth. I've expressed an opinion, a feeling ... not pointed out a fact that needs correction.

This spirit-maker feels MALE for YOU in YOUR story? He's male!

*hugs Em* I know, dearest.

I've decided, I'm keeping him male. I think because the discussion made me realize something... like check this link of people doing stupid dangerous things, it's mostly males.
Somehow it makes sense to me that only the really crazy spiders (ie if anyone, the males, sorry human men) would actually go after elves and humans, it's almost suicidal! So like those humans from the link, they deserve a Darwin Award

I've tried to reactivate my collage maker skills...



... and to continue you snippet, fae. Sorta.

SQUEEEEEEE!!!! Awesomeness!!!! That is SO cool, Em!!!

Judging fom the sound it is well received!


This collage is an illustration to faeriegirl's contribution  "Prey" (at least the b/w part) and works as a contribution of it's own as well: with the spider and Cutter being resentful. ^^

Thanks for providing the links to the artwork I've needed, fae.

If you are interested in reading the sections in the story leading up to this one, I have collected them here.
____________

August 2015 Grab Bag

Fire
A spider
A vision
Spinning
Resentful

Lastlight pulled his vest tighter around himself, cursing the cold night. It wasn’t common for his tribe to have a fire, but some nights, when the weather was bad or the hunting was good, those who had the knowledge would coax flames from the dry heart of the wood and the elves would gather, taking in the warmth of it and each other.

But alone as he was, in strange territory, there was no way he’d risk the attention the light and smoke might bring from whatever might be skulking in the forest nearby. Equally uncertain was the fire’s effect on the creature who dwelt in the cave near the foot of the tree where Lastlight perched. Pushing aside visions of warmer, happier nights, he stared at the dark hole, trying to discern anything in its inky depths.

High above, hidden in his leafy bower, he felt like a spider, senses searching for the fine web tremors alerting him to the movement of his prey and his chance to strike.

But so far, all was quiet.

A stiff breeze blew, requiring him to hunker down tighter against the battering of small branches whipping about him in the wind.

“Why am I here?” he asked himself once again. He could easily walk away. He and the elf in the cave were nothing to each other. Not really. Lastlight had lived all his seasons without a father. He had the whole tribe to protect him, to teach him, to love him.

So why was he here, holed up in the crook of a branch, shivering and restless? Why did this chance encounter send his world spinning? Lastlight didn’t know, and it didn’t look like he would get any answers tonight.