#12Masque: Court of the Northern Lord

This is my entry to Meg McNulty's Twelfth Night Masquerade flash fiction contest. At the last minute, as usual.

Rhalis pushed the servants’ door slightly and peeked through. A sea of dresses, dyed in rich colors, swayed to the joyous melodies. On the far wall stood the table where the false lord and his family feasted. The skull of a dragon adorned the wall above them. A broken horn revealed it as Skreelil; the dragon whose broods he’d helped guard.

The dragon’s bones should’ve been buried, not set on display. The false lord had no right to claim what belonged to the dragons and their guardians.

He slunk to a corner where the light from the hearth could not reach. He lifted a silver tray before his visage and watched as it shifted into another servant’s face. If he succeeded, the others would forgive shapestealing. If he failed…

Give me strength to slay the false lord of the North. Show me mercy should I fail.

A twinge ran along his skin; the god he now prayed to knew no mercy. The Goddess of Earth had failed them; perhaps another deity would heed his prayers.

“Forgive me, Dona,” his throat clenched as the goddess’ name passed his lips, “for I have forsaken your ways. The North needs to be freed of the human lord.”

He carried the tray to one of the cooks who loaded the first course atop it, then joined the procession of servants.

The sea of gowns parted before them. Eyes devoured the dishes they held, blind to the bearers. His fingers twitched.

Magic flowed to his fingertips, beginning to sharpen them into claws. He bowed as he set the tray before the lord.

A hand pinned his down.

“No.”

Cold eyes met his, beneath a thin mouth frowned. Tendrils of the false lord’s spell fastened to his magic, stopping the change.

“Take off your mask, shifter.”

He turned his face away as the bone and skin shifted into his true visage. Dark feathers slid over his hands, fingers hardened into black claws. He heard the guests gasp at the sight of his raven heritage.

“Speak.”

“I am Rhalis, a warrior of the White Maws, protector of the white dragons’ nesting grounds.” His mouth moved despite his will, urged by the false lord’s magic.

Rough hands pulled him away from the table, to the center of the hall. Murmuring filled the hall. Rhalis caught the words ‘assassin’ and ‘war’ as they were flung across the room.

“The shifters need to be warned against such actions.” A glint of joy sparked in the human’s eyes. “Thrall, tell me, what fate do you fear?”

The taste of bile rose to Rhalis’ throat as his lips formed the words:

“To be changed into one of the demon kind. To be turned against my tribe.”

He nodded to the guards. “You have chosen your punishment.”

Asthmatic Nerd with a Sword

It’s been three months… Bear with me.

Last summer in Ropecon (an annual Finnish RPG convention) I saw a sword fighting show held by the Greywolves, a history re-enactment and live action role playing (LARP) group. At the end of the show they answered questions from the audience and I found out that they organize weekly combat training close to where I live.

I joined the Greywolves a few weeks later. I wanted a hobby which would get me off my bottom and to get an idea what fighting with medieval weapons feels like. Right now my battle scenes are magical badassery plus claws and teeth. I was a bit nervous at first because I’m not exactly the fittest person and I have exercise-induced asthma. But so far I’ve only needed to take my medicine once, after a warm-up running.

We use an array of weapons from several periods, but the main focus is on Viking-era weapons. Of course, safety comes first: no stabs, no quick strikes unless the fighters know each other well, only strike the armoured parts, don’t hit the knees. And we only use blunted weapons.

So far I’ve wielded swords, spears, sabres and also a spear and dagger combo. Swords are still a bit too heavy for me and my arm tires before the three hours is up. For now I prefer sabres and spears. One ‘opponent’ said that I used a “where’d she go” style. I was supposed to push my opponents shield up, step out of the sword’s way and bring the sabre to his neck. Instead I pushed at his shield with mine, stepped quickly to his side and brought the sabre to his neck. My arm was already aching from holding up the large wooden shield, and I suspect I would’ve had trouble even at the beginning of the session, but my feet weren’t tired.

We’ve used spears only twice during my time, but I’ve had fun on both times. I especially like the move where the opponent grabs my spear, I step to the side and press a wooden dagger to his neck.

Yes, you get smacked with a sword every once in a while, but it’s still fun.

LINKS

• The Greywolves

• Viktor Berbekucz - A Hungarian swordsmith. I’m thinking of ordering a sabre from here.

• Steel Mastery - Medieval armour.

• Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre, an 1889 book about sabre techniques by Alfred Hutton. We’ve practiced some of the techniques from this book.

The Walking Dead by Telltale Games

You’re in a police car on your way to jail for murder. You’d think things couldn’t get any worse, but if you happen to be the main character in a zombie game, chances are you’re wrong.

The Walking Dead is a point-and-click adventure game by Telltale Games. It takes place in the world of the comic book series of the same name, but has a different plot and characters. As a zombie game, The Walking Dead is quite unusual. It really isn’t about zombies; instead, it focuses on the characters and how they cope with the zombie apocalypse. This isn’t a game where you slaughter hordes of undead (for that, I recommend Left 4 Dead 2, it’s fun!) If you see a horde of zombies approaching, you run.

Another unusual feature of the game is that it’s episodic. The first season consists of five episodes, of which three have been released so far.

The game progresses mostly through discussions and lighting-speed decisions you have to make. In discussions, you only have a limited amount of time to choose your reply, and what you say has a significant effect on the route the story takes. Occasionally, you find yourself facing hard decisions. Whose side do you take in a fight? Do you put an infected out of their misery? And worst of all, who do you save from the hungry zombies?

In the game, you take the role of Lee, a convicted killer who, in the face of the zombie apocalypse, ends up taking care of a young girl called Clementine. She’s the cutest little girl you’ve ever seen in a game; she’ll melt your heart. While playing the game, I ceased thinking about the game and found myself worrying about Clementine and how she’s coping.

Clementine's going to be a badass when she grows up.

The other characters are great as well. They’re agonizingly human and don’t always act rationally. At times you find yourself torn between two friends, and no matter what you do you will hurt someone’s feelings. Staying neutral will often backfire.

All of the three episodes released so far have been great, and will have you on
the edge of your seat. In my opinion, Episode 3 is the best so far, but also emotionally the heaviest. I found myself reaching for the tissue box several times, and I can’t say that for many games.

I'm Not Dead...

...just a very inactive blogger. I really needed a summer holiday from blogging, but I'll start blogging more actively soon. Lately most of my time has been occupied by resistors, conductors, hydraulics, pneumatics, and other things not related to fantasy or writing whatsoever. I've made progress on my WIP, however, and am currently rewriting a large portion which just sucked.

This weekend we're going to Tracon, a role-playing and anime event held in Tampere, Finland. It's good to meet fellow nerds every once in a while.

Menorca

Few weeks ago I visited Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands. Menorca is a beautiful small island and less touristy than its neighbours, Mallorca and Ibiza. Here's some pictures from our trip (click on the images to enlarge).

We stayed in Cala Galdana, one of Menorca's many small bays with white beaches and turquoise waters.

Within walking distance there were other calas like Cala Mitjana and Cala en Turqueta. They are accesible via Camí de Cavalls, an ancient path that encircles the whole island.

One day we returned home and heard meowing. A black cat appeared from beneath a car, crossed the street and followed us to our door. When he kept staring at us demandingly and meowing loudly, we gave him a can of tuna, cheese and some water.

 

The largest towns of Menorca are Maó and Ciutadella. They are both quite small, but definitely worth visiting.

There are many prehistoric monuments (called navetas, taulas and talayots) in the island. Naveta des Tudons (below) is one of the best-preserved of them.

One evening we went to a restaurant on the other side of Cala Galdana, which had a beatiful view of the turquoise water and the limestone cliffs seemingly made of masks peering over the water. I ordered a dish called pescados fritas. While the food was being prepared we checked out the cave next to the restaurant. When we came back I saw a huge plate full of seafood: small fish, bits of cod, clams and both big and small squid all covered in flour and deep fried. Yeah… 

You see, I thought I had ordered pescas fritas which is small fish, battered lighly in flour and deep fried. I should bring a dictionary next time. Still I managed to eat most of it, and the waiter was pretty impressed XD. When he brought the dessert menu, he laughed: ”Small one for you!”

The last day of our trip we spent in a natural park (Parc Natural de s’Albufera des Grau), and in the evening we visited an unusual bar called Cova d'en Xoroi, which is located in a cave high above sea level.

#DiceGames: Day Two

My second DiceGames prompt is: “Write a love story. Blood and gore is mandatory.” I first started writing a Mr. & Mrs. Smith type of story, in which lovers try to kill each other. But then I came up with an idea that was more along the lines of what I write.

Unfortunately I can't complete the challenge because I'm going to Menorca for a week's holiday, and I didn't have time to write the third story. I'll post the story and visit the other participating blogs once I get back.

They had followed the trail of blood and prints through the woods, and found the deer in a clearing, an arrow jutting from its haunch. He watched her as she stepped lightly ahead of him, leaving shallow prints in the snow. As always, she wore a coat of grey fur with darker shades running along her sides.

A drizzle of frost fell onto her back, revealing yet another carrion bird had arrived. The crows clutched spindly branches with crooked claws. Their thick beaks opened and closed as they squawked, awaiting a true predator to open the carcass.

He snorted in contempt at the presence of the foul birds. Should any of them dare attempt to steal, he would run them off.

A ripping sound caught his attention. Skin and fur came loose as she revealed their prize. Her long face disappeared amidst the carcass of the stag. She gorged on the dark red flesh, reveling in its taste and texture. He padded over to her side and joined the feast. Once they had their fill they would call to the others; there would be enough food for the whole pack.

He watched her with pride: her belly was round with their unborn pups. They would enter the world in the den their ancestors had found decades ago. They would be greeted and raised by the ruling pack of the Weeping Woods.

Gently he nudged his mate. She looked at him, yellow eyes glinting with joy. They lifted their snouts to the sky and howled in calling to the other wolves.