I’m really not a censoring person, and I’m not really sure what I should’ve, so I just blacked out a bunch of random stuff. ^^;
And you all know I live in TN, so what does it matter in censoring that? *shrug*
Anyway, I got a Make Love Not Horcruxes bracelet, and a Deathly Hallows necklace!
I feel awesome! :3 I got the Ravenclaw bracelet, and I wish I spent 5 dollars more for a Slytherin one, but I felt bad enough already for spending some of my mom’s money (even though she owes me nearly 30 dollars! Well, 15 now, since she got me this stuff.)
This is what I ordered (not my pictures! I took them off the product page):
I also wanted to by this really cool magical looking necklace, but again, I didn’t want to spend any more of my mom’s money. P:
I’m a bit excited! I’ve never really ordered online because my parents are paranoid. Now I need to make a tee shirt (and then convince my mom to buy me one…) and then I’m all set! Except, I’m worried. I kinda don’t want to watch the Deathly Hallows Part 2 because I don;’t think I have the emotional ability. I cried during the final trailer. ._.
The other thing is, I’m going to South Carolina on July 23rd, so I’m worried about not being able to watch it with my friend as we had originally planned.
I’m trying to do postaday again, undoubtedly to fail, but…*o*
Anyway, what random things shall RCG speak of today?
First off,
Within Temptation! Yay!
I normally choose a song each day to listen over and over to. Today it’s Angels by Within Temptation. I really like it. ^^ Especially towards the end, there’s this one part I just love. (around the 2:55 minute mark) She has such a high voice! I admire anyone who can sing high tones, my voice just can’t do it. O___O
And now, the Tinsel dragons!
I started collecting Summers and Splits to be able to get one, until I realized it was IOU. -.- And I’m the 10th person. THE TENTH PERSON! Still, I suppose it;s better then no Tinsel at all. But, you have to wait 7 days in between breeding, and just think of all the times the Tinsel is bound to fail. So, let’s say it’ll take 30 times before it reaches the tenth person and I can get one. 7 times 30 equals 210, and 210 divided by 31 (substituting a month) equals…6 point 09349q03709875q90e879q075r9qe7r0q9er7qw9.
So, about 7 months ’til I possibly get one.
In 7 months, a lot can happen! What if the dude quits DragCave? What if he forgets? What if, on the 6th month and 29th day Voldemort rises and kills everyone on earth? What if Tinsels are no longer rare?!
Maybe I’m fretting too much over a Tinsel.
But still, it’s a Tinsel! A TINSEL! I’ve spent the whole year trying to get one.
Okay, I suppose there are better things in life to do then think about a Tinsel all day.
Like food!
Yeah, food. I should fret over food more. There’s literally nothing in the pantry but Ramen noodles (which I have had all week) and nothing in the fridge but unedible food that only my parents like.
I suppose there are KitKats, but they all taste stale and I can’t survive on chocolate all day. ._.
Oh yeah, and I should also worry about the Summon Action on DC. IT’S MISSING! GONE! I can’t find it at all!
Is it discontinued or something? Because I can’t find it in the “BSA” section either.
I will be very sad if it has been discontinued. I spent a long time trying to get all Trio dragons.
Oh, and who can’t be nervous about those bugs flying around my room?!
They’re very very scary.
There are these creepy bugs flying around my room…so far I’ve only seen about 3, but neeeeeeeeeeeer. I can’t sleep knowing they’re there. I don’t have the heart to kill them, but what am I to do of them?
And now, my results you probably will not be interested in. P:
about you
You are a Dreamer
Your combination of abstract thinking, appreciation of beauty, and cautiousness makes you a DREAMER.
You often imagine how things could be better, and you have very specific visions of this different future.
Beauty and style are important to you, and you have a discerning eye when it comes to how things look.
Although you often think more broadly, you prefer comfort to adventure, choosing to stay within the boundaries of your current situation.
Your preferences for artistic works are very refined, although you vastly prefer some types and styles to others.
Though your dreams are quite vivid, you are cautious in following up on them.
You are aware of both your positive and negative qualities, so that your ego doesn’t get in your way.
A sense of vulnerability sometimes holds you back, stifling your creative tendencies.
If you want to be different:
Your imagination is a wonderful asset, but don’t just dream—be bold enough to take action and explore new things!
Consider a wider range of details and possibilities when thinking about the present and the future—don’t be too set in your ways.
how you relate to others
You are Generous
Your awareness of those around you, along with your nuanced perceptions of the world at large, makes you the GENEROUS person that you are.
You value time to yourself and understand how rich your private world can be—you know that you don’t have to go wild to have a good time.
You are excited and energized by ideas and often enjoy things more through observation than through experience.
This tendency gives you an appreciation for different perspectives and opinions about the world.
Being as aware of others as you are doesn’t mean you find it easy to trust them immediately—this is something that happens more slowly for you.
Despite this, you are aware of the complexities of many situations and are reluctant to pass judgments on others.
Although you have fewer friendships than some people, those that you have are meaningful and are important to you.
You value spending time alone—it is while reflecting on the world around you that you often learn something new about yourself or begin to understand something that’s been bothering you.
If you want to be different:
Given how attuned you are to others’ thoughts and feelings, you might find that trusting people more is a way to broaden your perspective even further.
While you know how much can be learned from observing the world around you, remember that much of life can be lived by experiencing it, not just by understanding it.
Anyway, I got around to rereading the 5th book (Keys to the Demon Prison) last weekend, and I finally wrapped my head around some of the relationships.
It’s true: Poptropica: The Official Guide is coming! This full-color guidebook contains walkthroughs for most Poptropica Islands, behind-the-scenes looks at how an Island is made, and quotes from the Poptropica Creators.
Poptropica: The Official Guide will be released on October 13. For a special sneak preview, visit the Poptropica guidebook page on Amazon.com for a special preview: an interview with Jeff Kinney, Poptropica creator andDiary of a Wimpy Kid author!
CAPTAIN CRAWFISH
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It’s hard to believe, but Shrink Ray Island will be the 20th Poptropica Island. That’s a lot of adventures — lots of characters to meet, foes to battle, and items to collect.
In the time since we introduced Early Poptropica, some items have been harder to find than others. To celebrate our 20th Island, we’ll be counting down the 20 rarest items in Poptropica. How many of these rare items do you have in your inventory?
20. Brain Hat
The cell phone on Nabooti Island holds many secrets. If you dial 411 and then make a call, you’ll find yourself with all the information you could ever need!
19. Viking Suit
The Viking Suit is tucked away in the upper righthand corner of the Viking time period on Time Tangled Island. It’s not necessary to complete the quest, so some Poptropicans missed it. To get the Viking Suit, equip the glider from Leonardo’s workshop, and then glide from the Viking mountain until you land on the ledge with the suit.
18. Multiverse
It’s the priciest item in the Poptropica Store, but the most versatile. With the Multiverse, you can create your own room and invite your real-life friends to chat and battle.
17. Nabooti Mask
To celebrate the launch of Nabooti Island, we hid this mask somewhere on Spy Island for a short period of time. This isn’t the only treasure hunt item that will show up on this countdown!
16. Astro-Knights Medallion
Astro-Knights is one of the toughest Islands we’ve made, so it’s no surprise that not many Poptropicans have this medallion in their inventory. But it’s not out of reach! All you need is a little perseverance.
15. Goofy Glasses
Another treasure hunt item, the goofy glasses were briefly available in the sewers of Super Power Island. But if you missed out then, you can still get them in the eyeglasses shop on Spy Island!
14. Wild West Hero
All Poptropica Members who played the cattle-rustlin’ preview game for Wild West Island were granted this exclusive Wild West Hero outfit. But this wasn’t even the most rare item from that game!
13. Sunglasses
The sunglasses were briefly available on top of Pendulum’s lab on Time Tangled Island. The dark glasses will return, however! Players who get the Spy Island 3″ action figures will receive a code that will allow them to wear a Spy Agent costume that includes these killer shades.
12. Mech Pilot
For a limited time, Poptropica Members were given this Mech Pilot costume. Anyone can freely costume similar costume parts on Poptropica, but this specific costume is a rare one indeed.
11. Skullduggery Pirate
The Skullduggery Pirate was part of a special two-pack given to Members shortly before the debut of Skullduggery Island. Be on the lookout for two more Skullduggery-themed costumes, Captain Crimson and Captain Cobalt, when you get the Skullduggery Island 3″ figures. Speaking of Skullduggery Island…
10. Skullduggery Medallion
Another challenging Island, Skullduggery has seen fewer completions than most of the other Poptropica adventures. It’s not too hard, though — just keep working your way clockwise from one trading post to the next, and in no time you’ll have enough doubloons to buy the Phoenix Warbird!
9. Paper Kid
To celebrate the release of our Diary of a Wimpy Kid-themed Island, Wimpy Wonderland, all Poptropica Members got the “Paper Kid” costume. Unlike most costume cards, this one doubled as a special power. You can paperize anyone else you see, too!
8. Woodstock Follower
This special item was available to Poptropica Members during the launch of Great Pumpkin Island. Snoopy’s pal, Woodstock, will follow you around anywhere you go!
7. Robin Hood Limited Edition
You can still find the standard-issue Robin Hood costume in the Poptropica store, but this limited edition was available for only a short time back in 2009.
6. Renegade Robot Limited Edition
Like the limited edition Robin Hood costume, the Renegade Robot was available in the Poptropica Store for one short week back in August of 2009.
5. Light Ninja
The most sought-after costume from those heady days of summer 2009, the Light Ninja lives on in the hearts and minds of Poptropicans everywhere.
4. Hypnotic
This dazzling costume was available for a short time by clicking on an otherwise unremarkable window in Early Poptropica.
3. Cryptids Nessie Hat
One of the hardest items to acquire in Poptropica’s history was the Nessie Hat during the sneak preview of Cryptids Island. Players could look through a viewfinder on the shores of Loch Ness, and those who spotted Nessie won this item!
2. Wunder Bubble Tonic
Unlike the Loch Ness viewfinder, roping cattle in the Wild West sneak preview wasn’t about luck. But it was incredibly difficult, and not many Poptropicans were able to wrangle all of the prizes from that game, including the final prize, Wunder Bubble Tonic.
1. 3rd Birthday Hat
To win the 3rd birthday hat, a Poptropican had to be incredibly lucky. First of all, you had to be in a common room during our 3rd birthday celebration last September. Next, you needed to see a special balloon appear, which most Poptropicans never did. And finally, you had to click on the balloon before you left the room! Those who made it were rewarded with the 3rd birthday hat, the rarest item in the history of Poptropica.
If you missed any of these rare items over the past 20 Poptropica Islands, never fear: there will be a lot more costumes and powers to come from the next 20 Islands — and beyond!
CAPTAIN CRAWFISH
Well um whoops …. FIXED!!! Well any way are you excited about the book?? I am! Well that is all if you not not include the next page!!!
WAIT THE NEXT PAGE ISN’T WORKING YET! IT WILL BE…SOON IT IS NOW! CLICK THE TWO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR SOME GIFS.
Sometimes, stuff I write when I’m exhausted comes out funny. But it’s 4:00 in the morning (well, it was when I wrote this ^^”) and I can’t sleep (thanks a lot, chocolate), so I figured I’d at least record it for future amusement.
If the plot is kind of meandering–well, you know why ^^”
“Jean,” Olaf scrutinized my face. “You spoke with Jean?”
“You know what, forget it,” I said, crossing my arms. “I shouldn’t have brought this up.”
“No, no!” Olaf exclaimed, insisting that he was unaffected by the news. I had known him long enough to know otherwise.
I waved my long, bamboo fishing pole from side to side, “It’s not that she doesn’t like you,” I said slowly. “You know that, right?”
Olaf didn’t reply. I glanced over to see that his face was stormy, his brow knit. “If she liked me, she would’ve talked to me first.” He turned his attention away from his fishing and kicked a loose pebble across the cobblestone bridge. “She shouldn’t have just disappeared. She should’ve told me where she was going.”
“Maybe she just didn’t want you to worry?” I suggested.
“Didn’t want me to worry!” Olaf exclaimed. ”If she didn’t want me to worry, she shouldn’ve just told me flat-out where she was going instead of vanishing on me!”
“I don’t think she meant to hurt anything,” I said cautiosly. “And, besides, she’s back now!”
“She still left,” Olaf sulked. “I’ll bet she hates my guts–I’ll bet she never actually left. She probably just hid from me every time I was coming.
“I don’t think she’d be able to pull that off,” I said skeptically, trying to keep in mind that Olaf was emotionally comprimised. Still, it was really hard not to say something rude about his las comment; the idea just seemed so ridiculous! “But, hey, who knows with girls. She seemed to like you when I talked to her, though.”
“Oh, yeah?” Olaf tried not to act interested. “What’d she say?”
“Well, she asked how you were and she asked if you talked about her or thought about her any. I’m pretty sure that’s girl talk for ‘I still like him, but I’m too chicken to talk to him myself’.”
Olaf smiled, staring absently into the water beneath the bridge.
The sudden movement of something out of our sight caused ripples to spread across the otherwise calm pond. Olaf quickly stood up straight and turned to look at me.
‘Did you see that?’ he mouthed.
I nodded, “Do you–”
Olaf held a finger to his lips urgently. I stopped speaking and mouthed, ‘Do you think it’s them?’
He nodded, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
We stared down at the water beneath the bridge expectantly, waiting for something to happen. Olaf pulled up his line and found that the bag of shiny pennies he had tied to the end was gone. I quivered with excitement. Olaf had met The Trolls once before, and he said they were all right as long as you respected them, but I had been too scared by the horror stories my mother told me before I went to bed every night to even try to visit.
The trolls around where we lived were benign creatures–that is, if you didn’t bother them. They had been chased out of their previous habitats by city expansion and the overpopulation of humans, so they had apparently struck a deal with the founder of our town that said that, as long as the town did not bother them and gave them peace beneath their bridges, they would stay away from the locals.
Luckily, the area they had decided to settle in had lots of ponds. It seemed like there was always a simple construction project going on; a new bridge on a new pond for the trolls to inhabit. The remarkable thing was that this had been going on for years, and not a single pond had more than one bridge on it–in fact, some remained without bridges still! I liked it, though; although the marshy landscape depressed some people and worried them about their shoes, I thought it was very interesting.
Not to mention that our neighbors were trolls.
A wet hand plopped itself down on my shoulder, jolting me out of my thoughts. I turned quickly to see a creature–a foot or two taller than me–with bumpy brown skin (although I couldn’t tell if it was brown naturally, or colored brown by a thick covering of mud) and dirty, lanky hair looming over me. He grinned–he had the worst teeth I had ever seen!
“You called?” he asked, holding up the bag of pennies. “You pay toll without being asked. I like that.”
I swallowed hard, finding myself at a loss for words. I had expected trolls to be more–well, bloodthirsty, I guess!
“This is my friend, Digory Shields,” Olaf said, putting words into my mouth, an action for which I was very grateful!
The troll looked at Olaf and gave a start, “I see you before!”
“Yes,” Olaf said, “I’ve visited. But just once.”
“No, I see you somewhere else!” He scratched his balding scalp. “But where?” Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. I nearly jumped out of my skin–it sounded uncannily like a finger snapping in half. Well, it sounded like what I thought a finger breaking would sound like. I’d never actually heard a finger break before. “In sketchbook!”
Olaf cocked his head. “Sketchbook? Like–someone was drawing me?”
The troll nodded. Olaf got a weird, disgusted look on his face–I didn’t blame him. If someone had been drawing me without my knowing it, I would’ve been pretty creeped out.
“Come, I show you,” the troll motioned for us to follow him.
I glanced at Olaf, but he was giving me the same, uncertain look. I’d heard tales about children who wandered off to find trolls, and were never heard from again. Was this how the trolls lured them in? By tricking them into entering their lairs?
The troll laughed, “I won’t hurt you–you friends!”
Olaf and I exchanged another look, but Olaf (who was dangerously curious) walked after the troll after a moment’s hesitation. Figuring it was best to stick with Olaf (safety in numbers was another key point my mother had always pushed upon me), I followed, still a bit jittery because of my nerves.
The troll lead us under the bridge. At the base, mud walls had been built up from the ground to the bottom of the bridge, creating a sort of house. There was a table, three cots (two of which had privacy curtains pulled around them), and the farthest wall (which was made of stone, as it was a part of the bridge) was plastered with drawings. They were very good!
“Hey,” Olaf said, pointing to one of the drawings. “That one looks kinda familiar. I feel like I’ve seen someone drawing it!”
I squinted at it. “No,” I said slowly, “I don’t recognize it. And, besides, why would you have seen a troll drawing before?”
Olaf shrugged, but I had a feeling he was figuring something out that he wasn’t telling me.
The troll was rummaging among some papers on the table. Most of them were sketches, but others were–
“Are those math worksheets?” I whispered to Olaf.
Olaf watched the trolls rifle through the papers for a moment, then laughed quietly. “I think they are! I guess trolls aren’t exempt from the horrors of Trigonometry.”
“Hey, Trig’s not half bad,” I argued.
Olaf rolled his eyes, “You only think that because you’re good at it. And teach favors you.”
I shrugged, trying to dismiss his comment, even though I knew it was true.
“Here!” the troll said, pulling a sketchbook from the piles of papers. “This one.” He opened it, and when Olaf saw the cover his eyes grew wide. The troll searched through the pages and finally found what he wanted, “Here,” he turned the sketchbook so that its pages faced us, and pointed to a drawing on the back side of a page. It was a crude characature, but obviously Olaf.
I was so surprised, my eyes almost got as wide as Olaf’s.
“Dude,” I whispered. “That’s–”
“I know,” Olaf said, a confused tone entering his voice.
A heavy sigh came from one of the curtained cots, and the curtain was pulled aside. A very familiar person–well, I guess troll–sat staring at us.
“I should’ve known I couldn’t hide it forever,” Jean sighed. “Olaf, I’m sorry–I just didn’t think you’d like me if you knew I was a troll.
Olaf stood there, his jaw touching his chest for a moment, then he shook it away. “Are you kidding?” he laughed. “This is, like, so awesome!”
Jean blushed, “Really? So… you wouldn’t mind if I actually started acting the way I wanted to now?”
Olaf grew pensive, “And how’s that?”
“Like, rolling around in mud and stuff, and getting dirty–not ladylike activities,” she sounded kind of embarrassed.
“Of course not!” Olaf grinned. “That would be awesome! I love doing stuff like that.”
Jean’s face practically beamed, but Olaf grew grim again.
“I still have one quesion,” he said. “Where did you go when you disappeared?”
Jean sighed, “I’m sorry, Olaf, it was stupid of me not to tell you. Our family goes to meet with our relatives on the other side of your town every year–I could’ve just said I was visiting relatives, but I couldn’t remember what I’d said about relatives to you while I was pretending to have a human family, so I didn’t want to get all caught up in my own tangle of lies–It’s all so complicated.”
“It’s O.K.,” Olaf said, his jovial attitude returning. “I just wanted to know, that’s all.”
Jean brightened instantly. “Well, that’s awesome! I know this great place to catch toads–there are these ones that are this deep olive green color–Really pretty!” I followed them as they walked back up onto the bridge. “And when you scratch them under their chin,” Jean continued, “they turn brown!”
Olaf laughed, “No way! That’s too cool.”
“Don’t believe me?” Jean asked. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
I stopped where I was–at the highest point in the bridge. They kept walking.
I felt a little lost–Olaf had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. But, at the same time, it was nice to see him so happy, and I was glad the whole Jean issue had been resolved.
“It sad when friends leave,” the boy troll’s deep voice startled me, but I was not anywhere near as afraid of him this time. “But there always new friends.”
“Yeah,” I said, “he and Jean sure like each other a lot. They’ll probably get married.”
The troll laughed, but for some reason I knew there was truth to my statement.
“Don’t worry, human,” he clapped me on the back. “You find love some day, too.”
“I don’t really care about it right now,” I said, “I just wanna be a kid. That’s all.”
“Awww,” the troll said, “you humans speak so frivolously, but you so wise.”
I was shocked by the troll’s use of the word “frivolous” (although I wasn’t sure it could be made into an adjective). Apparently, they were smarter than their speach patterns would lead one to believe.
We stood there in silence for a bit.
“I guess this means he’s grown up, huh?” I asked finally.
“No one grow up,” the troll said, “until they ready. He ready. You don’t have to be sad–he happy, and you grow up some day, too.”
“I know,” I sighed, “and I’m happy that he’s happy, but I’m still sad to see him go.”
I turned to look at the troll, who was nodding his head in agreement. I took a moment for myself and just stared at the water beneath the bridge. I realized that I could always have other friends–and that Olaf would still be my friend, he just wouldn’t be the same Olaf I had always known. He’d be changed–but he’d still be Olaf. I couldn’t even figure out why I was sad any more.
“Well, there’s one good thing that comes out of this,” I said, finally. “He has someone else to drag around on his weird little adventures, instead of making me risk my life and limb just because he has an impulse!”
The troll did not respond. I turned to look at him, and found he was gone. I looked back down at the water again, and saw that it was rippling. He must have gone back into his house.
I went home–there was no point in waiting for Olaf.
I will always remember that day, even as an old man. It was the last time I saw Olaf as a kid, and the one and only time I ever went fishing for trolls.
O.K., I have quite a few songs simutaneously stuck in my head (I shall also rate them on how good I think they are (out of five stars)):
Viking’s Word by Leaves’ Eyes (*****)
God is a Girl* by Groove Coverage (*****)
*important note! The cover art for this song is pretty–well, sketchy. So PLEASE don’t go looking it up on google images or anything! I don’t want to be responsible for tainting your minds. I personally replaced it with a picture of an anime character (Don’t ask me which one, I don’t know! I just did that because I first heard this song in an AMV ^^”).
A Dangerous Mind by Within Temptation (*****)
Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush (*****)
Dark Wings by Within Temptation (*****)
Higher than Hope by Nightwish (****)
Creek Mary’s Blood by Nightwish (*****)
Rapunzel by Emilie Autumn (*****)
Lullaby by Amberian Dawn (*****)
Lost by Within Temptation (*****)
At least I like them all!
Anyway, I’m up so late because I lost track of the time (Shame on me!) catching up with all the Poptropica Islands I missed/was too lazy to complete. I took a few snapshots:
Crusher’s head got a little smooshed. Ouch!
I finally found a name for my Poptropica character (She’s “undefined undefined”, thanks to a careless stunt I pulled when making her ^^”) last night, during some random and rather disorganized brainstorming. Meet Emma Belfry!
I can’t decide whether I should go with my sword/sash/thingy or my Thor Amulet. AAAH! The cruelty of having to chose! TT_TT
And, I guess, by “some snapshots” I meant “just a few”. Sorry to be disappointing! ^^”
Ah, well then. The internet got turned off so we could all pack without distractions.. And… I think that’s it.
I do have a question for people who actually read the literature in my gallery. I was thinking of re-doing 8 of Spades (For those who remember it). But do I want to do that, work on SS, or work on VB?
SOMEONE HELP ME GET MY PRIORITIES STRAIGHT.
And on a side note, anyone watch America’s Got Talent? 8D
Anyway, before I get into the Random story, some stuff:
On Saturday, I’m gonna be at my cousins’ house staying there til’ about Tuesday.I will bring my iPod and try to post if I can. (And I might be able to go swimming!! Yay!)
So,If I can’t post Happy 4th of July to those who live in America! (Enjoy the fireworks. I know that Katy Perry song is stuck in your head.) And to the people who don’t live in America, Have an awesome day, anyway.(That rhymed. O_o)
Volleyball Camp: First Day:Stuff I already know, Got to know the other 7th graders in my group I didn’t already know from school. Second Day: Spiking and Serving, Learned that I was an okay Spiker, and that I was a terrible overhand server.-If you wanna watch me overhand serve, I’d wear a hard hat.-
And a reminder to RN: You said you’d draw Camile a little while ago. (Don’t worry, I’m not mad, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget.)
Random Story time: (Click More to see. This post was getting pretty long.)
Nireth bit hungrily into the roasted meat. She cared not what animal it was; all she knew was that she was hungry, and she had been given food.
“So,” she asked through a wad of chewed-up food, “let me get this straight. You’re a missionary? And there’s some kind of church on this island?”
The young man she had encountered outside the cave made a face. “Not so much of a missionary; disciple, more like it. And I’m not a follower of Christ, or the God of the Book.”
“Oh,” Nireth nodded. “Then—”
“I worship the spirits of the earth,” the man explained. “They give life to plants, which give life to us. Then, when we are burned after we die, we release our life to the earth again.”
“Oh!” Nireth exclaimed. “We burn people, too—but that’s to send them to the afterlife.”
The man nodded and watched Nireth devouring her meal. After a moment, he spoke. “I didn’t bring you here to talk about religion,” he said slowly. “I felt something—an aura—radiating from the cave, a dark one. I’ve not seen the likes for hundreds of years.”
“Hundreds of years!” Nireth exclaimed, her jaw dropping.
The man shook his head slightly, as if the matter was not relevant. “I wanted to know what happened in that cave. Can you tell me?”
Nireth stared at him blankly.
“Please tell me you haven’t forgotten,” the man looked pained. “That means they—he—it—whatever the aura was caused by—have gotten into your mind. Once they get in, they can get in whenever—”
“What did you mean, ‘hundreds of years’?” Nireth asked. The man realized that he wasn’t going to have much luck pursuing the answers he wanted if he didn’t answer her questions first.
“My gods bestow long life upon those who do their bidding,” he explained quickly. “So, about the cave—”
“Do you have to wear those robes?” Nireth asked.
The man stopped, his mouth open. It took a second for him to recover and say, “What?”
“Those robes,” Nireth gestured to the hooded grey cloak the man was wearing. It was like a small ship sail, only much heavier and much uglier—not to mention the sloppy craftsmanship that had gone into making it. It covered almost every part of the man’s body, save his heads, hands, and bare feet, and seemed very hot and uncomfortable.
The man glanced at his garb, obviously a bit annoyed with his companion’s tangents. “We believe that cloth made without technological interference brings us closer to our Gods.”
“Wait, looms count as technology?” Nireth asked. Before the man could answer, she continued, “We have looms where I’m from—I actually know how to use one, I’m just not very good with the yarn blending and such. My sister Hildegarde was much more inclined to do the housework tasks. But they’re very old looms—I’ve seen some of the newer ones from the east, brought over by some of our raiding parties, that they use to make fine cloth—they’re so intricate, we usually just toss them out because we can’t figure out how to use them! But, anyway, we could make cloth much better than that, and—”
“Enough, please!” the man sighed and held up his hand. Nireth stopped and blushed.
“Sorry,” she said meekly. “I get excited.”
“It’s alright,” the man said with a smile. “I was asking you about what happened in the cave.”
Nireth bit her lip. “I’m actually not quite sure what happened. I got locked in—this stone rolled over the entryway—so I decided to explore—”
“Hold on,” the man said, “why were you dabbling about in the cave, anyway?”
“This is going to sound very foolish,” Nireth admitted, “but there was this wind coming down the beach, it carried a kind of otherworldly-scream on it. And I had just seen the cave open up, so I was pretty curious—” Nireth saw the wide-eyed look on the man’s face and realized she had a captive audience. “It was the strangest thing! I was just humming this verse of a song I heard—”
“A song you heard?” the man asked. “You said that I was the first person you saw on this island!”
“When did I say that—oh, that’s right, after you scared me halfway to death outside of that cave,” Nireth said, more to herself than to him. “And, yes, that is true.”
“Then how could you hear singing?” the man had leaned forward, “you must have the ears of a wolf!” Had Nireth been more familiar with communication, she would have picked up on the skeptical tone in his voice.
“It’s less hearing it,” Nireth searched for the proper way to explain how she heard voices, “more like knowing it. The words just came into my head, along with a tune. It’s kind of like imagining something, except you know it’s not coming from your mind.” Wincing, she glanced at the man, afraid she had confused him. Instead, to her relief (and partially to her bewilderment) he appeared to understand perfectly.
“So you were humming the song,” the man said, then stopped suddenly. “Can you still hear it?”
Nireth toned out the sounds of the birds and the wind rustling through the treetops and listened. The chanting of the oceans, trees, and earth were still there, but she couldn’t hear any kind of song or whisper, like she could before.
“No, actually,” she said slowly. “I can’t! How odd!”
The man bit his lip, his brow creased with concentration. “So what happened after you hummed the song?”
“It was very strange!” Nireth began theatrically. “This gaping hole just opened up in the cliff face—and that’s when the creepy wind started. So I ran into the cave, thinking I would find shelter—I know it was rather thick of me, but I did it anyway—and instead I got stuck inside of it. I figured there was nothing else for me to do than to work my way along and see if I could find another way out.
“Then I started hearing another song—but it was a different voice singing it, a stronger voice. The first chant I heard was kind of soft and whispery, like someone very old was singing it. Anyway, I followed this voice through a tunnel and ended up getting attacked by a flesh-eating worm,” Nireth finished. “Then I climbed out, and you found me.”
“Is that all?” the man asked. “How did you defeat the worm?”
Nireth thought of the smooth, glowing stone that she had found. It was now nestled safe in a secret, hemmed-in pocket in her dress (her mother had not approved of pockets; she said they were a way to clutter their quarters more easily, thus the secrecy). For some reason, she felt like the stone was something meant only for her.
“You must have scared it away,” she remarked, “perhaps he heard you outside? All I know is that he was about to bite my head off, and—” Nireth stopped short. “Do you think it was the worm?”
“Excuse me?” asked the man, who had obviously been deep in thought.
“Do you think it was the worm that was singing the second song I heard?” Nireth inquired. “I think the song was meant to lure me into his cave, so he could eat me. And maybe it was the worm’s dark aura you saw!—or felt, or sensed, I’m not sure how auras work.”
The man laughed. “No, the caveworms have been here for as long as I can remember. They’ve never given an aura off that strong.” He paused. “It would be really helpful if you could remember the song you sang,” he said, finally. “It would help me to determine if it was those words that awoke the power I felt, the power that scared you into that cave.”
“You think the screaming wind and the power that opened the cliff side were the same thing?” Nireth asked. “And the cause of the dark aura you felt, too?”
“It would make sense—a power awakening after hundreds of years because of an incantation, long forgotten. Until there comes along an incredibly observant girl like you,” the man smiled, then became lost in thought again. “Why is it that you can hear these things, anyway?”
Nireth shrugged. “I believe that everything is alive, in some way; I think that most people don’t take the time to listen to what things have to say. Their voices are loud and clear, if you’re listening.”
“Ah!” the man exclaimed. “I never thought of it that way! We always believed that the earth had to be summoned before we could speak to her.”
Nireth blushed, uncomfortable with the foreign nature of her companion’s religion. She didn’t want to say anything sacrilegious or offensive. “Well, I’m not hearing gods or anything, just the stories of life forces.”
“Still, it is a very interesting concept,” the man observed, “and especially interesting because you thought of it at such a young age. Usually, it takes many years—perhaps even many centuries—to achieve that level of wisdom.”
“Oh, thanks,” Nireth said abashedly. “It’s really not that big of a deal. I just had a lot of time to think as I worked at my chores back home.” Nireth sighed.
“Speaking of chores,” the man dusted off his hands, getting to his feet, “my house could stand some cleaning. I’ll let you stay there for free if you help me keep it nice.”
“Really?” Nireth asked eagerly. She hadn’t even thought about where she would sleep, or what she would eat. “Oh, thank you so much, sir! I must warn you, I’m not the most meticulous type.”
“Many hands make light work,” the man replied, “and, besides, I don’t need meticulous; I just need someone to get the layer of leaves off of my floor. I fear they’ll start decomposing, which is meant to happen over open earth, not on a foundation.”
Nireth nodded, she was becoming more familiar with the man’s strange faith.
“So, these cave worms,” Nireth brought up the subject as they began the trek back to the man’s home. “Do they stick to the caves? Or do they sometimes go out into the sea?”
“They mostly stay in the caves,” the man said, “but sometimes they’ll burst out of the ground and eat people.”
Nireth scanned his face for any sign of a joking sparkle, but there was none. “You’re dead serious?”
“Absolutely,” the man confirmed, “cave worms are bad news. I’m glad you were able to escape from that one; they’re smart and deadly, and ruthless as well.”
“Oops,” Nireth sighed. “I’ll be sure to steer clear of them from now on.”
“Don’t worry,” the man smiled, “if you stick with me, you’ll be fine. I’m not planning on trying to make acquaintances with any cave worms in the near future.”
Nireth released a heavy breath. “Well, that’s a relief!” Suddenly, she hit her forehead with her palm, “Please excuse me, sir,” she said nervously, “but I completely forgot to ever get your name.”
The man stared at Nireth for a second, as if he hadn’t heard her, then replied, “My name is Iref, and please don’t call me sir.”
“Oh, sorry… Iref?” Nireth replied.
“Yes,” Iref nodded once to acknowledge Nireth’s success.
Nireth inhaled sharply, stopping in her tracks. “Is that–?”
“Yes,” Iref said, almost blushing, “that’s my house.”
It was a small, stone building. Crudely made, the structure was a simple rectangular prism. What made it so spectacular was the fact that it buried itself in a hill, and apparently penetrated the very heart, for a tall look-out tower rose from the center of the hill, with no visible door in or out in sight. Vines covered the grey walls, giving it a homey feel. They almost looked as if they were trying to reclaim the building blocks, like the cycle of life that Iref spoke of so much, by pulling the building into the green, green grass. Around the house was a clearing, but the forest began two to three yards away from the base of the hill. It was just the right time of year, too; the delicate pink, purple, and pastel-gold blossoms dusted the ground at her feet, and filled the air Nireth breathed with the sweet scent of sap. The light colors shone out like beacons in the night against the dark green foliage all around them.
“This is beautiful!” Nireth exclaimed. “I wish I lived here. And you have all this room to yourself?”
“Yes,” Iref said, “but don’t go thinking I have the good life. It can be so lonely out here, and it gets very forlorn in the wintertime. The sky is always overcast then, and the trees no longer keep their trees. And in the summer it can get dreadfully hot!”
“Better than where I used to live,” Nireth grinned. “It was cold year-round, and overcast more often than not, no matter the year.”
“Well, enough about the weather,” Iref abruptly changed the subject, casting his eyes skyward. “Dusk is falling, and it’s best to be out of the forests by dark.”
“What for?” Nireth asked.
“I’ll tell you in the morning,” he compromised. “Your curiosity never ceases to amaze me.”
When they entered Iref’s house, Nireth found it was much larger than she had expected it to be. There were at least three bedrooms, each extravagantly furnished. She finally picked one at the very bottom of the lookout tower. There was a trapdoor that swung open above her bed, and she figured that if there was ever a night where she found herself unable to sleep she could climb into the lookout tower and try to catch a glimpse of some goings-on in the trees.
But for now, Nireth was exhausted. As she lay on the hay mattress, much softer and thicker than her usual mat back home, she could feel the pitching and rocking of the sea. Before she knew it, her mind had been escorted into the sleeping world of dreams.
(Sorry it took me so long to get around to writing this! ^^”)
Heads up anyways I wont be here next week
Miss mee! xD
And also I won’t be posting a lot this summer because
I go outside a lot and stuff so yea! I will post as much as I
can!
Anyways back to my day! Well, in the morning it was boring cause
none of my friends were there. I was reading this fabulous book called
The Gift of Magic. It was hard for me to realize that I read that for liek a
few hours! Kenden came and bothered me to play with his Ipod! Augh -_-
All my friends came(Alix, Christina and Shay!) And Ian kept slapping my
leg HARD! AUGH! That’s the part I hate about camp, IAN he’s soo annoying!
Uck! We talked and stuff liek that. Then, we cleaned up and it was the morning
announcements. I got my locker then got ready for karate class!
I am in the white belt class hopefully I will advance to a higher belt due to classes.
Well, I learned my white belt form but still didn’t memorize it. There’s a lot of blocking in the
first yell. Yup. We also broke boards it took me a bit to understand the form but I got it!
When we were finished class we got in our bathing suits and went to the buses to go swimming.
Did I also mention Ian kept kicking me -_-? Alix couldn’t go swimming due to personal stuff I would
never tell you people about! But still luv ya! Hugs and kisses! XOXXXXXO! Anyways, we
got to the pool and ate our food. Shay, Christina and me were frozen in the water but we got
accustomed to it! YAY! We chased Shay a lot of the time. And again I forgot to mention the
counselers were all wearing sesame street shirts and we have to wear them on friday! I have
a domo shirt which I’m going to wear! Anyways, yea we also took the swim test and all
passed. We also went on the water slide. Later on we went to the snack bar and Alix gave me
her funnel cake! <3
Blah blah blah and Ian pushed me!
Question: After this day do any of yew think Ian likes me? Please comment!
And..What’s your favorite breed of dog?
I love golden retrievers cause they are playful and fluffy!
So comment below!
Random statement: Butterflies can also be called cow elephants.
Really.
I haven’t been this weird in all my life.
Well awesome weird anyway.
Okay, I have been watching My Little Pony Friendship is Magic NON-STOP or maybe a few stops since I was in Indiana for 2 days but….
I HAVE TURNED INTO A FREAK OF MY LITTLE PONY!
Is this normal?
Is this normal turning into a My Little Pony FREAK?
I think it is.
Please do not give me any medicine or anything.
Um, Okay bye I guess.
I couldn’t quite decide whether or not to disobey mother’s orders or not.
My mother, Tofa, is a very nice woman. She’s petite, and not very muscular like the other women of Valkea, yet she can still fight with a sword or shoot a bow accurately. She’s nice, kind, and only stern when she has to be.
It’s not that I hate her or anything, but it was my only chance. Mother had warned me that tonight was the Winter solstice and the spirits would awaken for winter, but I’m scientific, for the love of Odin! I don’t need all that superstitious mumbo jumbo.
Despite Mother’s orders to stay inside, it was a chance too good to pass up. Quickly, I made up my mind, and tried to ignore the sirens blaring in my mind. This is not a good idea!
I strung on my boots, wincing as my toes touched the cold, rough leather. Grabbing a sheepskin, I hurried out before I realized I had forgotten my lucky wolf bone necklace– Finna had told me that the spirits avoided wolves. I had promised to wear it, as to ease her worries. As I tiptoed silently (at least as silently as the heavy boots would allow) past the window, I couldn’t help but notice the flakes falling from the pitch black sky, and tried not to think how that could delay our plan.
“Herdis?” hissed a voice I knew too well.
My cousin. I tried not to sound unhappy to see her as I answered. “Yes?” Did she really have to be visiting tonight?
“What’re you–?” she paused as her face lit up angrily, as she noticed my boots that were only for the outdoors. “You’re going, you’re going, aren’t you? Don’t you dare–”
I brushed past her impatiently, but she grabbed me by the cape.
“Tofa warned you!”
“She let me go, but just until the wolves howl,” I fibbed quickly. I nearly smacked myself for such a lame response.
But there’s lots of things I like about Katla, and one: she’s pretty gullible.
“Okay…” she said, hesitantly. “But be back by the hour or I’ll tell your mother!”
I felt the grip on my cape relax, and stuck my tongue out at her as she walked away.
“Pain in the rumpe,” I muttered, grabbing my necklace and fleeing.
I met Finna at the knotted old willow tree, as we had promised each other. Snow gathered at the tops, but the ice had not formed and it was still climbable. In all honesty, I wasn’t that sure whether or not that was good or bad.
“Well?” Finna asked. “What’s the word?”
“Ummm,” I said. “Are you sure this is exactly a good idea?” I paused, waiting for her to quickly agree so I could march right on home.
Finna laughed, her fearless one, and right away I knew she had made up her mind to stick through it.
I can sort of tell what she is thinking through her multiple laughs– and this one…this one wasn’t good.
“Oh, come ON, Herdis!” she rolled her eyes. “I promise I won’t get you killed. Do I really seem that tapelig?”
I sighed. “No, you don’t. It’s just, well, you see-my mother–”
Finna gave me a doubtful look, “Oh, O.K., that’s a new one. I can’t remember one time when you’ve put science aside to be your mother’s little girl,” she said in a sing-song voice. She dropped the sass and spoke to me in earnest, “I really think you’ll like this, Herdis. I’ve never seen anything like it before–it would be great to add to your scientific journal!”
I nodded hastily, my curiosity getting the better of me. I didn’t care much for blindly following instructions in the middle of the night (especially with mother’s potential punishment hanging over my head), but what Finna was promising sounded too good to miss out on.
“I guess that mean’s you’ve decided to work with me on this one. Come on, I’ll show you what it is.” She motioned for me to follow her, and climbed up the tree.
I could feel my feet dragging, slowly, and very hesitantly. It didn’t feel right. Why was I so terrified? I had jumped into the sea 50 feet below off a dragon before! Surely, this wouldn’t be so hard.
This wouldn’t be so hard, mimicked that annoying voice in my head.
“Psst! Keep up!” Finna hissed. “You’re slowing down the mission. Listen, we’re very close, so you’ve got to be quiet. I can’t explain anything more to you after this, because they might hear us. It’s important that I tell you now: no matter how much you want to squeal or cuddle these guys–don’t. They’re the exact opposite of what they look like, so watch yourself.”
I stared after Finna. What, exactly was she going to show me? I had never heard of a dragon that fit Finna’s description.
I stuck my nose in the air, pretending like I knew perfectly what I was doing. Not that I didn’t– it was simply that I didn’t know why I was doing it.
Gripping the tree as hard as I could, I quickly scaled it, making sure I didn’t look too frightened. Finna was a tough viking, exactly the opposite of me. She was nice, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t ridicule me for being a weakling.
“Okay…” I said boldly. “And now?”
“Now,” she whispered excitedly, “we just have to find them.”
“Find them?” I asked, feeling incredibly foolish.
Finna rolled her eyes at me. “Oh, come on, you didn’t think that they’d just be sitting out in the open, did you? All dragons have to have some sort of camoflauge to survive–that or huge claws–” Finna moved her hands like a dragon raking its claws down a tree–”and these little guys look as innocent as can be.”
“Right,” I said slowly. I was beginning to think that Finna was making all this up–that she was about to shove me jokingly (although that jokingly would probably be made a bit more serious by the fact that I was balanced precariously in a tree) and say, ‘Made you look!’ Or something along those lines. “So how do we find them?”
Finna shrugged, “That’s easy. You just have to look at the tree very closely,” Finna demonstrated, her nose nearly touching the bark. After a moment, she looked back at me. “Well?” she asked. “You DO want to see them, right? After all, you’re the one who knows everything about dragons–you should be interested in finding a new species!”
“I guess,” I replied, still suspicious of her motives. She was kind to me, but I wouldn’t put it past her to rig some sort of trap to make me look like a fool.
Ignoring the lingering doubt at the back of my mind, I squinted and scanned the tree’s bark. “I don’t see anythi–”
“Shh!” Finna looked at me sharply, putting a long finger to her lips. “Now we need to be absolutely silent.”
I heaved a sigh, but protested no more. We sat in the tree (in the cold) for what felt like hours. Although, after all was said and done, I could tell by the position of the moon and stars in the sky that it couldn’t have been anything but mere minutes.
“What are we looking for?” I dared to ask.
“A sparkle,” she said, her voice barely audible.
“A sparkle?”
“SHH!”
As I contemplated why a sparkle would be relevant to spotting this strange creature, something caught my eye. It was just barely in my perepheral vision, which made my eyes water. It was like getting a raindrop on the bit of cheek that lies right below your eye–the sunlight catches it and awakens your senses to its presence by messing with your perspective.
I shifted my face a tiny bit, trying not to make any sudden moves, and adjusted my focus. In a few seconds, a tiny prick of light grabbed my attention again. I stared at the place it had come from. Finna had told me to watch for a sparkle, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do after that. I figured that benign observation would probably be the best route to take, saying as I was dealing with a being unfamiliar to me.
Without fail, it came again. I recognized something about it this time–but what was it?
Suddenly, I knew. It was the light of the moon catching the eye of a teeny, tiny dragon! I squinted, but still I could barely make out the features of the little creature’s body and head.
Finna was right to warn me. It was–well, I’m not quite sure how else to describe it except for ‘adorable’.
Its head was disproportionately large to its body, and its eyes disproportionately large to its head. Its body was small and compact, with gossamer wings that blended in perfectly with the tree bark. The specimen I was staring at yawned its mouth, revealing a mouth the color of the dark storm clouds that often veiled the sky over Valkea, and fluttered its wings, revealing that the undersides were iridescent, like the mother-of-pearl shells the raiders often brought with them after going Viking.
I saw a pale streak out of the corner of my eye and started. I quickly looked up and saw Finna waving her hand. She mouthed something, but the moon cast shadows across her face that obscured her lips.
I knitted my brow and mouthed back, ‘What?’
Finna adjusted her perch, directing the moon’s light cleanly across her face–save the shadows her nose cast, which smudged across her face like dirt. Her mouth formed the words, ‘Did you find one?’
I nodded softly, making sure my head was the only thing moving so I wouldn’t startle my discovery.
Finna grinned and tilted her head at me, as if expecting an answer to a question. I knew this move well–she used it when she wished to know someone’s opinion about something–usually their opinion about something she had discovered, done, or given to them. I nodded, and returned her grin with a smile.
I could have sat in that tree for a lifetime, just marveling at how small the creature was. And I had thought Terrible Terrors were little! It always amazed me, how creatures so small functioned. It was hard to think of them as anything more than scale models of other creatures; envisioning all the tiny bones, tiny muscles, and tiny organs working together was so overwhelming!
The howl of a wolf echoed through the empty, silent night–a cruel reminder that I was supposed to be at home by now. I slid gracelessly down from the tree branch, accidentally startling the small dragon. I watched regretfully as it flew away, but I made sure to preserve the image of its tiny body in flight so I could accurately depict it in my journal.
“What are you doing?” Finna asked, dropping fluidly from her seat in the tree.
“I have to go,” I replied steadfastly. I needed to get home! If Katla, my aunt, or my mother took note of my absence, I was surely done for. “I promised I’d go home when the wolves howled.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Finna’s reaction. She looked almost hurt. I quickly added, “This was truely an amazing find, Finna! Thank you so much for sharing it with me. You will have to tell me more about how and when to find them later. I just don’t have time now.”
The mischeivous spark returned to Finna’s smile. “All right,” she said, accepting my honest explanation. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Of course–if I don’t get locked away for staying out late,” I promised.
With that, I darted back to the family house, my winter cape billowing out behind me.
I crept through the door, slipping my boots out right outside. I had been caught enough to know that leaving snow-covered boots inside would create large puddles, an obvious clue indicating that I had been out of the house recently.
To my great fortune, I realized that the rest of the family had retired to their beds. I removed my winter cape and hung it on the peg by the door, where it had been hanging before my adventure. I rushed up to my room and, encouraged by the harsh cold of the winter air (for the fire had been long since put out), quickly sketched the tiny dragon I had seen clinging to the tree, listing as many attributes as I could remember in a hasty scrawl next to the picture before I flung myself into the pile of soft furs that composed my bed (it was only temporary–I always had to give up my room when relatives visited), and falling into a deep sleep.
It wasn’t long, however, before the dreams found me.
It was as if the “spirits” who were supposed to haunt the chilly night had begun to take residence in my own head.
I examined my suroundings this time– aware I was in a dream. There was a clearing, and then dozens of dark trees bending over me. I was standing in a lone forest. I could tell by the absence of the critters and animals, that it was winter. Bare-leaf. But the sunlight streaming in every spot I stepped felt as if it was Green-leaf, yet the leaves– they were all gone.
Despite the irregularity of the season, I felt a bit peaceful. This, this place was finally a place where I could think. Away from the clanging of the practicing warriors’ swords and shields, or from the rusty banging of stoves and pans.
But the serenity didn’t last long. I watched as Katla began running towards me, a scowl on her face. She looked angry, furious at whatever I had done this time. Yet her face soon morphed in to Tofa’s, then Aunt, her mouth forming words I knew too well. “HERDIS LEAFSLAYER!”
It wasn’t long before Aunt quickly grew a bit shorter and laughed heartily, her face now Finna.
I can’t admit I was happy to see her after how she had dragged me out last night, though she was a bit of an improvement from an angry Aunt.
She patted my back, and we went back to doing things we would normally do. Climb trees, throw stones. It all happened within what felt like 3 seconds before Finna was soon Aster, my dragon. Aster shied away from me, which was a bit surprising. I offered a hand, and Aster soon became the same odd dragon I had seen tonight. It flew away, its wings matching the same movement of Katla’s dragon when it flew.
Wolves began howling, their sharp cries cutting into my ears. I had heard enough of wolves, so with that, I pinched myself, prodded at my eyes, and punched my own stomach. I felt the familiarity of drifting from my dream, as if I was traveling through thousands of different worlds.
It wasn’t the best dream I had ever had, and I had thought that it certainly made no sense, but little did I know that it made the same amount of sense as one and one makes two.
That blasted Tanni.
2540 words! O: Haha, oops! Sorry. I got caught up in the dream.
I’d like to thank Nireth for helping me write nearly most of it! It was really fun writing with you and I hope to do it again soon sometime! THANKS A TON!
I’m sitting on the floor trying to make eye makeup designs but since I can’t draw it’s a fail. I have a ton of creativity and imagination and I can’t use them, cause I can’t draw. My mom is and AMAZING artist! She said it took practice. My sister is good with makeup, she took liquid eyeliner and made the eye markings Like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha. [Of course she experimented on me.] Well, I have no makeup anyway. And my sister is also good at nail designs.
I’m listening to Your Love is My Drug by Ke$ha. This song never gets old. I just love it, It’s a fun love song that you can dance to, and it’s not slow. And at the end she says”I like your beard!”. It’s fun to tell random people in the hallway at school this.
I had a random story idea for a ninja school disguised A’s your average, very exclusive, performing arts or private school of somesort, but it’s actually where the new ninjas secretly train and practice their epic ninja skillz. I know, how original. *Sarcasim is in the air*
Anyway, tomorrow is the long awaited Volleyball Camp! Yay! The downside is the gym has no air-conditioning and the JR. High(and the Freshmen in High School) go at the hottest time in the day.
Also, I can wear my sister’s shoes, and I’m about her height.O_o Weird.
Random Question: If one of my parents were a god/goddess who would they be?
Also, Lady Ravenclaw Gurl, you may want to check your e-mail sometime soon. ^^
I love Amazon!
I was also going to include a picture, but I kind of forgot where I put my camera, so this post may be updated later! ^^”
UPDATE:
Found it!
This is the Welsh Dragon Pendant I promised to show you guys, then forgot about, then remembered again but couldn’t access the internet, then forgot about, then remembered again:
I couldn’t really decide between an actual viking story, or Berk-style, but I just stuck with ‘Valkea’ anyway. By the way, there will most likely be some Scandinavian terms in my story. Mostly Norwegian, but some Danish and Finnish and such.
–
My name’s Herdis.
Herdis Leafslayer.
Odd name, right? I have my reasons.
Now, once I tell you this, try not to go berserk, okay? Got it? Okay.
You see, I’m a viking.
Hold on! Put that down. I told you not to go berserk!
See, I’m not like other vikings. The others, well, they act like they have an axe jammed up their rumpe. But don’t tell them I said that!
I know being a viking is a subjective term. I’m sure the others wouldn’t agree with me if I told them I was a viking, because, you see, I can pick up a sword. That’s about it, though. I’m not particularly a fighter.
But who needs fighting? The world is meant for exploration. Someday, I’ll go far. Far away from Valkea, from these freaks who spend their entire day scowling up the shaft of an axe or bow.
But don’t tell them I said that!
But let me tell you, exploring isn’t all that great. Sometimes you uncover secrets. Secrets are good, right? But some secrets are meant to be hidden. They’re not told for a reason.
I probably wouldn’t have agreed with that several years ago, though.
–
Hmm, I’m not really sure if I want to continue this story. I’ve never been one to keep my promises of updating. >.<
Although, if you would like to be a character, (I haven’t accepted characters in forever >.>;) that would be awesome! I can’t guarantee it’ll be major, but if you still want to, just go here and then tell me the name and personality c: Also, aside from the description you get, any other notes and further personality points you’d like me to know.
Especially:
Name
Age
Personality
Weapon of Choice, Good at Battle or Bad?
Relationship to Herdis
Relationship with other vikings
Scientific or Spiritual?
(only if your character has dragons, but try not to have more then two)
I can hardly remember her, but an image of her eyes lingers in my head. They were deep and blue, holding so much wisdom inside their narrow confines. I don’t know who she is—a nanny, my mother, my aunt—she could be anyone. But I remember her telling me a story. She only told it once, but she told it well, and I was listening very closely. As I grew older, I made sure to write it down in many places, so I would never forget. My father thought I had gone crazy. I asked him many times if we’d ever had a nanny with bright blue eyes, and he just shook his head. “No one that I can remember,” he’d say.
This story had a very large influence on my life. The main character, named Kenneth, was and still is my role model. He made a sacrifice—the sacrifice of his safety and of his honor (which he paid dearly for, in the end)—for someone he loved. Even though everything he had been taught had been against it, he chose to do what was right as opposed to what was safe. I decided that, if there ever came a time when my life was on the line and the wrong thing meant life and the right thing meant death, I’d take death, knowing I’d die a noble death taking a stand for what I believe in.
I’m sure I’ve lost some details along the way, and probably added some in, but the story went a little something like this:
‘Once, when magical creatures still openly roamed this Earth, there was a king who had nothing on his mind but greed. He was afraid of what the magical beings might do to him, for their magic held infinitely more power than his army. He had grown up with prejudice all his life, as the royal family had always had worries about their kingdoms’ safety from the magical creatures, for some of them could be unpredictable. He, however, was not concerned about the welfare of his people; he was afraid that the magical creatures would defeat his army when he tried to invade their land.
‘Of course, he was right to believe that they would! It was their land in the beginning—All of it!—but they had graciously given the royal family a generous plot. The king wanted more, though; all of the other kingdoms were expanding except for his, and—being ringed in by fey country—he could not send his troops marching through with any promise of their safe deliverance to the other side. He saw taking the fey land for his own as the only solution.
‘He, being a rotten king, could never take it the fair way, though; he decided he would not like to deal with the complications of war, but instead he would rather fight the fey beings with genocide. He began to issue decrees that certain breeds of fairy were dangerous and unpredictable, and where to be brought to him if they were found within a five mile radius of his kingdom. Of course, the people who sided with the fey protested violently, but their cries were not heard, for the king had put prices on the fairies heads.
‘The king would torture the fairies once they were in his control, ripping their wings off, plucking the hair from their heads, and other things to awful to speak of. The king had been wise in his choice of species to pick off first, however; he had picked the fairies with the weakest magic, and the ones that were the most wishy-washy. The men torturing them were strong enough to fight the little sparks of magic the fairies tried to save themselves with, and the fairies quickly gave them the answers they wanted: how to ambush and defeat several other magical creatures that were infinitely more powerful. Although the fairies had been told that their lives would be spared if they relinquished their secrets, they were slaughtered.
‘The king realized that he could not fight the other beings without some magic on his side. He began researching the most loyal of the fey beings, finding not only that the unicorn could be bound to serve someone by swearing to an oath, but that the True Unicorns (unicorns that had not been bred with normal horses or other magical beings; in a sense, pure-bred) also had a human form that could be permanently forced upon them by cutting off their horn. He was in a pickle, though; he wanted human soldiers, but separating a unicorn from his horn would take away his magic. The sly king had an idea, though.
‘He entered the village, looking for a poor, young girl who was desperate for work. He quickly found one who offered her service. Liv was her name, and she fit his bill perfectly. He set out with a party of men and Liv into the woods, not telling her their mission. She began to ask questions, and the king was frustrated to discover that he had hired to bright of a damsel to be an unknowing pawn in their cruel game. Finally, she stopped walking and demanded to know what their mission was. The king ordered his men to pick her up and carry her the rest of the way, and—although she tried to run—they caught her and did just that. They tied her to a tree and hid. Their trap worked faster than they could have imagined; a shining unicorn stepped from the depths of the wood, more beautiful than anything any of them had ever seen. For a moment, the king hesitated; he couldn’t harm this creature! But then he remembered his plan, and his heart turned back to stone.
‘“Go!” Liv was whispering tears streaming down her cheeks. “Go, please go! I didn’t know what I was doing, forgive me—forgive me! Leave, run!” The unicorn touched its horn to her bonds, which loosened themselves and fell to the ground. In a flash, the men darted out at the unicorn, swords raised to sever its horn. Liv jumped in front of the majestic creature at the last minute, her arms held wide. It was too late for the men to alter their swing, and, as a consequence for her bravery, Liv’s arm was severed just below the elbow. She fell to the ground with a scream. The men were shocked enough to stop in their tracks, giving the unicorn time to escape. It did not run, however; although the king was sure it would. As he let out a roar of anger, the unicorn bent gently over Liv, touching its horn to her bleeding wound. The bleeding stopped, and the men watched in wonder as the flesh stretched itself from the intact parts of her arm over the wound, leaving it a clean, smooth stump with no scar. Before the wound had entirely closed, the king cried out for the men to slice off the horn. Saddened by the treachery of man; that man would use an innocent girl as bait, that man would hurt a unicorn that was helping them heal one of their kind, the unicorn blinked a gleaming, silver tear, which dropped into Liv’s wound the last moment before it closed.
‘Because of the unicorn’s sacrifice, Liv would go on living for eons to come. But her story is another to be saved for another day.
‘The unicorn’s horn was severed, and the king now had a man for his army. He made him swear an oath, and so the man did. Then the king presented him with a sword that had been forged especially for the unicorn; the hilt was made of the horn which had been cut from his head. The king found that, upon reuniting the unicorn with his horn, he gained his magical prowess, but not his ability to shape-shift into his original form. Delighted by his discovery, the king sent out for other girls (more stupid ones, of course) to use as bait for other traps. Soon he had an army fifty unicorn strong, and three women on the side. It doesn’t sound like much, but when their powers were considered he had the most powerful army this world had ever seen. He bred the women with the men, and—although it was slow going, he soon had a troop of fifteen boys. He knew his army was not big enough to take on all of the fey creatures in the country around him, but he decided to take them down, one at a time. His first enemy: the dragons.
‘True Dragons (meaning about the same thing as the True Unicorns, except with dragons instead), being intensely magical creatures, also had a human form. Because of their love for knowledge, they often wandered into the village by themselves. The king, using troops of unicorn scouts, would locate them and kill them when they did.
‘A local witch who did not much care for dragons (they often prowled around her house and stole her books, as she had lots of them that were hard to find) realized what the king was doing, and offered her services. She did not realize, however, that the king’s campaign was against all creatures of the fey. She cast a spell on the king’s torture chambers that neutralized all magic that might be done in them. The king killed her shortly afterwards—in fact, he tortured her to death inside the very rooms she had protected.
‘Now the king had what he wanted; if he could get the dragons to tell him their secrets, he would have more knowledge of magic than any other beings (save, of course, dragons) in the world. However, the dragons were stronger than the fairies had been. He tortured five of them to death, and still no secrets of magic reached his ears. He sent out a troop of unicorns to salvage the books from the witch’s house, but when they arrived they found that the house had already been plundered by dragons. Frustrated, the king realized he would have to wait for another dragon to torture. But, dragons being intelligent creatures, they had realized what had happened to their brothers and sisters who had entered the village. The dragons stayed out of the kingdom at all costs.
‘The king realized that he would need more wit than he could muster. One of his unicorn soldiers inadvertently came up with the answer; why not wait for a dragon to come and attempt to loot the witch’s house? It was clearly a point of interest for them, and—witches being crafty creatures—the dragons must have realized that the witch would have some enchanted books, hidden from their eyes by a mere spell.
‘Sure enough, the night after posting the guards, they caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure creeping around the house. The unicorns snuck into the house and cornered the figure, although it was too absorbed in its magic to notice. With the clink of flint stones, one of the unicorns lit a lamp. The girl standing before them was clothed in a dark blue robe, and she had pale blue eyes. They immediately recognized her as a dragon by her pupil, which was a vertical slit; the identifying factor that had allowed the soldiers to separate dragons from commoners before.
‘The dragon wasn’t going to be captured without a fight, however; she darted past them and raced out of the house. One of the unicorn soldiers, a young boy, was very fast and light on his feet. He was sent after the dragon. He was surprised and pleased; it was his first mission, he hadn’t expected to get to do something so important! His name was Kenneth.
‘He followed the dragon through the winding street towns, and he found himself very good at judging as to when she was trying to play tricks on him. She turned a corner and stayed there, expecting him to run stupidly by, but instead he rounded the corner and caught her. She realized her mistake; she had chosen to duck into a narrow dead end. Expecting her life to end, she stared him straight in the eyes—she was not going to go down flinching. Instead of raising his sword and bringing it down in the arc he had been taught so well—to knock the dragon unconscious, but not to kill her—he let it hang limply at his side. Curious, the dragon’s eyes searched his, losing their hard edge.
‘“I can’t,” he whispered, “you’re—I’m—we’re of the same kind!” Something dawned on his face, and his amber eyes flashed. “Run,” he whispered. “They’ll—”
‘Another unicorn soldier shouldered past Kenneth before he could finish. “Good work, Kenneth!” another said, clapping him on the shoulder. Kenneth looked desperately back at the dragon, but she believed he had been a part of the trap. She snarled at him angrily as they led her away. Kenneth knew he would probably see her again, and he knew that if he was to be loyal to his master, he should not think of the instance again. He shuddered when he realized how close he had come to breaking his oath, and resolved never to be disloyal again.
‘However, that night he found he could not sleep. He heard the dragon’s screams echoing in his head, and he could see her stretched out on the rack, her limbs pulled taught, her eyes watering with pain. He knew he couldn’t let that happen. The events of the night had let him on to something; if the king was hunting down magical creatures, one by one, wouldn’t the unicorns eventually be killed? The king had killed those in his service without a second look before. He finally understood the connection he had made; the more magical creatures that he helped the king kill, the lower his own chances of surviving and preserving his species grew. With growing horror, he realized the oath he had given to his master not only bound him into slavery, but into his own demise.
‘He resolved to help the dragon break free that night; if he couldn’t save his kind, he could save her. It was the least he could do. Maybe then she could warn the others of the terrible fate they would face if they did not flee. Kenneth crept from his room and strolled leisurely down the halls. He reached the torture room and walked in, without much of a plan in mind. To his great pleasure, he found that the torture master had not yet killed the dragon, and that the man was getting weary. “Are you my replacement?” he asked with a groan. “It’s been nearly four hours, and I was told that I would get a break at mid-night.” Kenneth nodded, seeing an opportunity. The man smiled and gave Kenneth his thanks, then left the room. The dragon, recognizing Kenneth bared her teeth. Her eyes, however, were full of pain, and it was with less enthusiasm that she snarled this time.
‘“It’s alright,” Kenneth whispered. “I’m going to let you go.” The dragon faltered for a moment. She wasn’t sure of whether or not she should believe Kenneth, and she was certain that his kindness was just another trap. However, she had to reconsider when Kenneth released her from her shackles and took her hand. She yanked it away, but she did not attack him. “I’m going to show you the way out,” he said, “but it has to look like you’re my prisoner. I’m going to say some things, but don’t you for a second believe any of it. Just play along.”
‘The dragon nodded, still skeptical, but as she was still young (for a dragon, at least), her mind was still gullible and she found herself rather calmed by her rescuer. Kenneth applied shackles to her wrists, but did not lock them, leading her out by the hand. She kept up her fighting act, snarling at him and kicking when she got a chance, but she still dared not try to lose him; she was still in the middle of an unfamiliar complex. If she was going to leave him, she wanted to at least do it out in the open, where she knew she could get away. They passed without trouble through the halls, but when they reached the front gate the guards tensed. “Where do you think you’re going?” one asked.
‘“She promised to take me to her lair,” Kenneth lied, “she says that there’s an infinite supply of magic books there.”
‘“Really?” the guard asked incredulously. “No one’s ever gotten a dragon to break before. What did you do differently?”
‘“I used my charm,” Kenneth said. The guard raised an eyebrow, and the dragon kicked him in the shin.
‘“She doesn’t look too tame,” the guard speculated.
‘“She wants me to hurry,” Kenneth lied again, slightly disturbed and slightly pleased by how good he had become at it, “for the books are only visible by the light of the stars.”
The guard glanced outside, ensuring that it was, in fact, a starry night, “Alright, but I’m going to tell the king where you’re going. If you’re not back within the hour, I’ll send someone after you.”
‘“Right,” Kenneth nodded, surprised by how easy it had been to sneak out.
‘He set out through the streets, and once they were out of eyesight of the castle the dragon shook off her shackles. Kenneth’s heart sank—he had hoped that she would help him escape. She did not run, however, she walked beside him. For the first time, she spoke: “That was very brave of you.” She had a strange accent, and spoke as if her mouth was full of marbles.
‘Kenneth shrugged, although he was flattered, “I just realized that—even though we serve the king, we unicorns are still fey creatures. We’re still his enemies, and he’ll probably kill us in the end. He’s already proven he’s heartless, and that he will kill those who help him, so I figured that I am securing nothing except my own fate by assisting him.”
‘The dragon eyed him carefully, “I am not sure I understand. You claim to hate this king, yet you entered his service.”
‘“I was forced to swear an oath,” Kenneth explained. “It binds me because, as a unicorn, my words are my life. If I break a promise or lie, my honor is destroyed, no matter how terrible the promise I made was.”
‘The dragon looked at him. “Is that what keeps you from running? Your honor?” Kenneth nodded. The dragon smiled sadly, “You no longer have honor, if your words are true.” Kenneth gasped, but before he could say anything the dragon continued, “Did you not lie at the door? You fed them a tale you spun in your mind, a fabricated lore untrue in every way. So now that you have no honor, can you run without fear of losing it?”
‘Kenneth’s mouth gaped open. “You’re right,” he said, his voice breaking. “My honor is gone. I have no value. I’m no longer a creature of good. You will get farther without me,” he said, turning to the dragon. He drew his sword from its pouch and prepared to dash it through his chest when a cold hand placed itself on his arm. He looked up and saw the dragon smiling at him, her eyes noticeably softer.
‘“The honor you speak of sounds nothing like honor,” she said sagely, “It sounds like a rule a body made up to control you; a pig-headed fool with no more regard for honor than your king. Honor is doing what is right, no matter what promises you break and no matter how horribly you endanger yourself.”
‘Kenneth stood with the sword perpendicular to his chest for a moment, then let it fall. “You’re right,” he said with a sigh. “You’re right.” He drew his head up and looked at the dragon, his face filled with a new resolve. “Now let us leave this accursed place, once and for all.”
‘They walked through the whole night, stopping to rest during the day in the fey country, hiding themselves away so they could not be found. This was easy; the combined forces of their magic were no match for the other unicorns’ magic alone. And so they continued on, and every day the number of people searching for them lessened, until one day went by without a soul walking by at all. Their journey was long and hard, but the dragon knew what was needed to get by in the fey world, and Kenneth, as a fey that had never seen his own homeland, was pleasantly surprised by everything he saw. He was accepted immediately as an ally to the fey, despite his brief service for the king. Although he could not change back to his unicorn form, he was treated like an ordinary creature of the fey. All good things, however, must come to an end. His happy days with the fey ended abruptly when the king, who had been killing the magical beings one by one, found him.
‘It was an unfittingly happy occasion on the night of the king’s attack; the fey creatures had gathered for a ball and a night of celebration, as was their custom. They found it easier to deal with a conflict if their minds were happy and spirited, as opposed to sad and gloomy. Kenneth was dancing with the dragon, who had changed into human form to aid their mobility, for they had found that, through their hardships, they had fallen in love. The king’s men burst, without warning, through the doors, killing every being they saw. Only when the unicorn soldiers met Kenneth and his dance partner did their swords falter.
‘They laughed and said, “Look! We have found him! We thought you had died, for we had been sure the dragon had killed you! But I suppose we were wrong. You are a traitor, and you will die with the most humiliation as is possible!”
‘The dragon, however, still feeling indebted to Kenneth, jumped in front of him. “You shall not have his pride! Your evil king had already taken his freedom away, and now he has it back. If he dies, he dies a free unicorn, and he dies with honor!”
‘The head unicorn soldier sneered, “You think your words will save him? You are worth no more to us than this waste of life.” The soldier drew his sword and, before anyone could stop him, he thrust it through the dragon’s chest. She opened her mouth, her blue eyes bulging, and her blood flowed purple down his sword. As the soldier tried to remove it, however, he found it stuck tight. He looked up to see that he had inadvertently stabbed Kenneth, who—although he was dying—stared him strongly in the eye.
‘“I fear you have been gravely mislead, brother,” Kenneth said, ignoring the trickle of blood running from his mouth, “you no more have honor than the king has a heart.”
‘Angrily, the unicorn soldier wrenched the sword from the chest of Kenneth and the dragon, and they fell to the floor. But the dragon had gotten her wish; Kenneth had died with honor.’
It is a sad story, but a good one. I still am really rather fond of it today, even though I’m approaching my seventeenth birthday.
(Sorry for not including a picture! I just kind of ended up coincidentally drawing the one for Evangeline’s story, but I didn’t really have any pictures drawn ahead of time for Glan’s ^^”)
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