Re: Sephiris: The Price of Peace - OOC

[Kalon Ordona II]

I've finally read all your post, Blackrock!
A couple days ago, actually; I've just been busy and forgot to say.

It's awesome!! And HUGE!! *dies*
Seriously, why aren't you publishing a new novella every month by now? xD
Admittedly you could improve a bit on comma use and a couple little quirks here and there, but that's what editors are for. ^^ It's still this colossal word-count full of quality story! In a week!
*aspiration...*

I'll be starting on another post as soon as I can. After Digital Muse and I finish up in Oliphey, and after Silvone's next post, we'll be ready for chapter 2.

I love your ideas for your next post, Silvone!
There's a good chance Áirhath and Katerina's combined party will be in Telmural before or during Barthon's arrival.

[Guest]

I can't believe we are actually going to make it to Chapter 2! I'm so excited!

[Blackrock]

Hey Silvone, I'm almost done with Rurik's stuff. I'm going out now, but I have a free night and I'm so tackling the reminder of this thing!

....I hope

[Guest]

Good luck, but no hurry I've got plenty on my plate at the moment, so it will be a bit before I could get to the response.

Kalon, how will it work for mine and Blackrock's new characters when we transition to Chapter 2? They will be a few weeks behind, I imagine. At least a few days. Will they just transition to Chapter 2 once they reach a certain point, or will we just consider them to be in Chapter 2 no matter how far behind they are?

[Blackrock]

Aaaand posted.

Sorry for the delay, but when I started "finishing" it the other night, I thought of of adding a few things. See, Rurik is still a new character to me and I'm not sure what I want to do with him. I tossed in a few extra situations (captain Nalin, the events around the campfire) which, I think, add some further depth. Not only does it show you guys what to expect of him, it allows *me* to see how he'd react to various events.

On a similar note, the post came out a bit...ehhh, how should I say, longer than expected. But it's not as bad as the last one, don't worry. I should also seriously stop writing anything for Sephiris for the time being, as this is my *quadruple* post in the IC thread...

Oh Kalon, again, I think you should be weary of any lore-rapes I could have done. Of particular interest should be the second part (Mandor > Road to Caslemon) where I may have messed up something.


On a different note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SILVONE!!! (yeah a bit late, time-zones and all that jazz)

[Guest]

Thanks, Blackrock! I look forward to reading your post

[Kalon Ordona II]

Yes, once again in here, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SILVONE!!


Now then, let's see...
I like your post, Blackrock, but I think you're right about possibly messing up the shadows. I don't think there would be that many, and I don't think the sword would just pass through the wolf's skull.

What if they got attacked by real wolves? That'd be a nice switch. xD Maybe animals are also having problems with the shadows.

And on that note, everyone continue to feel free to contrive animals like the special fish and lizard you guys made up. We seem to have gone pretty realistic through this RP, which is great; I'm just letting you all know that the option is there, if we want to create some ruins or creatures or things.


Also, I've been talking with Digital Muse about Darta being the one to sing the song I had planned for Titania. I've decided I'd rather keep it how I originally intended it. So, Digi, unfortunately there must be a touch of editing. I'd be happy to discuss alternate connections between Áirhath and Darta, though.

All you need delete or change is the part saying that Darta was the one singing. If I may make a suggestion, I think it'd be really cool if the rest of it stayed as-is, with Darta talking to Katerina about him. Darta was going to get water, right? And she's a singer, so she probably would have been doubly drawn to the sound of someone singing. It seems natural that she'd see what happened, recognize Áirhath's looks and his dhiláthra, and go inform Katerina of his presence. (here's a link to the post)

It's too bad things were overlooked that caused you to come up with the idea in the first place. I thought I could make it work, but I find that my plans for Titanya are too important to me to hand them over to a different character.

Perhaps, then, something like this?

Sephalia > Oliphey > Church of Zephiris on Dove street ~ afternoon of DAY 8

Darta, the singer, had been assigned to accompany the crew to replenish the water barrels at the lake while the rest of the caravan’s crew set about their own tasks. The job of refilling the barrels went swiftly with the help of 5 others and she had lingered at the edges of the beautiful lake in the half-light of the overcast sky after they had returned to Oliphey.
The strong breeze from the lake lifted her pale hair and brought a refreshing scent to her sensitive nose. The smells from the close quarters of the caravan was washed away for the first time in months. The slender Elven girl plucked a reed as she wandered the shore, her heart heavy with the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Her song started softly; a haunting song of memory and regret. Darta’s voice lifted as she poured her heart into the words. Had anyone been listening it might have broken theirs. [something about all of a sudden hearing a song start and walking along the beach toward the sound]

[description of the song and the singer, so that the following pronoun refers to Titanya and not to Darta] And then someone called her name. “Titanya.” She knew the voice, knew it as well as her own heartbeat. [description of Áirhath and a hint of whatever connection we can settle on] And she bolted out of pure instinct. She raced back to the city gates. How had he found her? What was he doing here? Once inside the gates of Oliphey, she went in search of her friend, Katerina, only to be told she had gone to seek a priest. Darta knew the church Kate visited regularly whenever they came to Oliphey, and her light footsteps found her Captain just yards from the small church she always frequented when the caravan passed through the city.

“Katerina. Please wait. I must speak with you.” She was slightly breathless from her run, but calmed her heartbeat with an act of will.
The heels of Kate’s riding boots clicked loudly on the oddly deserted cobbled streets as she wound her way toward a particular church she’d visited each time she came to Oliphey. The silence of the normally bustling street of the market town was unnerving, causing the hairs on the back of Kate’s neck to stand on end. She found herself glancing over her shoulder reflexively as she walked through the valleys created by the tightly packed buildings. Rounding one last corner, Katerina Forbes approached the familiar small church she’d been visiting for years. It was a humble stone building in comparison to some of the more richly appointed churches that could be found in every corner of the land.
Before she could enter and hopefully find the answer that might end the nightmares she had suffered through each night, however, she was hailed by an unusually breathless Darta. Kate paused to wait for the singer with a quizzical expression. “What is it, Darta?”

“Captain…Katerina. I…” Darta started in Human. She then paused and switched to Elvish as she knew Kate could understand her. “There is someone here. Someone from my past. I…”

Kate’s eyes sharpened, “Is this person a danger to you?” She interrupted suddenly.

Taken aback slightly, Darta shook her head, “No! No, it is only that…”

Once again, Kate interrupted Darta with a tone sharper than she normally intended. “Then it can wait.” She pressed her hand against the door of the church. “We can talk about this later.” She then added softly, “I promise.”

Leaving a shocked Darta on the street, Kate knocked on the door before entering the darkened interior. She swept her flamboyantly feathered hat from her head and raked her fingers through her thick locks as she let her eyes adjust to the dimly lit sanctuary. Fishing the small goddess figurine that hung about her neck from the inside of her shirt, Kate pressed it to her lips before venturing deeper into the calming atmosphere of the humble house of worship. Kate slipped between the aisles of wooden benches that lined the sanctuary toward the rear of the church. She knew the priest, Semric, had rooms in the back where he studied and prayed.

When she arrived at the rough-hewn oak door, Kate paused, suddenly unsure. The dreams she’d suffered through had terrified her. She feared learning their meaning almost as much as not knowing. She finally drew in a strong, calming breath and lifted her hand to rap gently on the door. “Semric? Are you there? It’s Kate…I need to speak with you.”

[Digital Muse]

I want to add my Happy Birthdays too, Silvone.

@Kalon; Yes, I can easily edit the post. I'' do that tonight. I promise.

*Edit; Post corrected.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Awesome. Thanks, Digi! I like your edits. ^^

I noticed a lack of a [/b] in the timestamp, just to let you know.
There's also something unclear in the second paragraph, right next to the .;
And there's a missing period in the description of Áirhath.


I'll get to work on the post tonight. I'm almost done putting the most recent posts into chronological order.

[Kalon Ordona II]

*pant, pant*
There was more of it than I'd thought. I hadn't kept up on it as much as I thought I had. Thankfully, the only timestamp incongruency I found was in DigiMuse's last post, since it was written for the morning and Katerina's caravan arrived after midday. It's okay, though; I just edited my post with Titanya singing so that instead of in the morning it's in the afternoon.

So yeah, I'll put it on my priority list for tomorrow, right below Lord's-day activities.


Oh, and, I did a wordcount.
Not counting Blackrock's latest post, we've got over 135,000.

That's two novels.

[Guest]

I have a feeling that between Blackrock's post and my upcoming post we will be over 200,000...

[Digital Muse]

Oh gods that was messy! I obviously did those edits really late last night. All fixed...I think

[Kalon Ordona II]

I have posted!
I feel so very dwarfed by those huge posts...
It's a great feeling.

You're up, Digi!

[Blackrock]

Kalon, I'll work send you a PM soon-ish, regarding those shadows, no need to clutter the thread with my ideas.

As for the word-count...wow, if memory servers right Fellowship of the Ring had about 140,000 words. We're gonna beat that pretty soon

[Guest]

I've convinced myself that it is stupid not to just post up parts of my overall post as I go along, like everyone else is doing. That way people are more likely to read it, it will be easier to keep track of and catch errors, and I may feel more motivated and less lost. And it will be a good way for everyone else to measure my progress. Anyway, enough babbling. I'll post the first piece soon.

[Blackrock]

So, er, after weeks of not doing anything productive...I finally edited my post, to better reflect some of the stuff Kalon mentioned. What's changed is the fight scene, from the "Road to Caslemon" part. Only the first few paragraphs to be precise. It's nothing major, just tweaked a few details (it was much easier than I thought...ashamed to say that I stalled it this long), so read through it again if you want. Or not. It doesn't really have any impact on the overall plot.

I'll also mentioned something we discussed with Kalon over PM's, namely different weapons and how they relate to shadows:

"...I'll make up a handy rule of thumb. If a normal creature would die from a certain attack, the shadow beast would receive and physically react to the blow before turning into wisps of black." - Our Lovely GM

Hope that helps anyone else avoid the problems I faced!

[Kalon Ordona II]

Thanks, Blackrock; I'll read it asap. ^^

Also, I suppose I should try to contact Digital Muse so she can post...

[Digital Muse]

I'm still here. I got a fun job and between that, school and losing Kent, I've been distracted. I apologize. I'm back on track, more or less and I'm working on a post for the Twins now.

@Blackrock, when can I catch you online so we can collaborate on a conversation between the Twins and Barin? I'll do a post getting led to town and their interactions so there's something to work with and you and I can take it from there. Let me know.

[Digital Muse]

Posted. Thanks to Blackrock for collaborating and imputting for Barin.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Huzzah! Reading time!

[Kalon Ordona II]

Great posts, Silvone and Digi. ^^

But Digiiiii.... what about Kateriiiiiina?
That's what we need to focus on now so we can move everyone up to the same spot.
We need Barthon & Co. up the mountain, and we need AirKat (Áirhath & Co. + Katerina & Co.) off to Telmural. I'll weave in some posts of the dragons, and probably have Gado find his answer. And then we can go to the next chapter! xD

So we need Katerina to respond to Semric.

[Digital Muse]

Kate is my next project. I'll need to get with you as I did with Blackrock to work out a conversation that isn't stilted. Let me know when you can be online?

[Guest]

Yeah...I keep telling myself to work on my Barthon post... Unfortunately there is so much stuff for me to do right now. Maybe I'll get some of it done today. Sorry it is taking me so long.

[Guest]

Alright, I've posted up to the duel with Z'anginthel, Stion's dragon character in the Blue Mountains. I wish he could read it!!!

Ragner is next, Blackrock. And that reminds me: in your posts you refer to him as Ranger as often as Ragner (Ragner is the proper spelling). I'm not a stickler for spelling, as long as I know what it is you are trying to say. I just wanted you to realize the mistake is all

[Blackrock]

Did I seriously mistype Ragner's name? I'll be damned. I often caught myself writing "Ranger" instead (it's just a more common word, muscle memory and all that), so I made extra-sure to double check everything! What's more, a personal pet-peeve of mine is when someone mistypes my character's name, so this makes it even more embarrassing. I'll get it fixed ASAP. Sorry for the stupid mistake!

*hangs head in shame*

EDIT: Fixed them. At least I think so, if you see any others, please, let me know. I'll be extra careful from now on, promise!

Also, read your post, Silvone, amazing stuff! I really liked the whole deal, read through it in one go, eager to see what will happen next.

[Blackrock]

Woah, this thing has been inactive for a bit! (although I love the posts you guys put up)

So, I just wanted to ask - Kalon, is it OK with you if I started working on The Hawks' next post? The reason for asking is that as it stands, mine and Digi's guys are faaar ahead in the timeline (Day 25/26!) and maybe you want to give the other characters a chance to catch up?

I don't mind waiting, but I wouldn't object to writing either!

[Digital Muse]

That was my concern too, BlackRock. I'm dying to see what's next for the Twins and the Hawks too. But....maybe we should wait,

[Blackrock]

Yeah, I think it's for the best. I was really feeling inspired today, sat down and decided to review some of the stuff in the IC thread and that's when it dawned on me. The only two-digit day number had to do with the Twins and the Hawks (the Hawkwins? ), if we don't take into account the Mandor storyline. Talk about jumping ahead.....

[Kalon Ordona II]

Yeah, we really should start playing catch-up. Digi looks to be online at the moment, so I'm off to the chat room! xD

I would love for you to be able to continue writing, though, Blackrock. Perhaps a new character? If you don't want to do a whole new arc, you're more than welcome to play one or more of the dragons with me in S'harahe's party. There's always the option to speak in italics if the language is a barrier.

[Blackrock]

A new character, you say? Maybe a whole new arc? Kalon, you've tempted me! But I dunno, this thing is already complex enough as it is, I don't want to add a whole new layer on top of it...well, not yet anyway

The dragons idea is also nice, but I'm not certain at this point. All in all, I want to see how the new year will be shaping up in terms of free time and all that. I'd hate to toss in a new character in the mix only to stop writing for him/her due to time constraints.

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