Wyvern

As Thomas the Lost impatiently places his hands on his waist and taps his foot on the ground waiting for the Elder of Initiates to arrive, Falcon2001 franticaly rushes towards his precious safe, dashing through numerous halls and doorways to reach his tower abode. Constantly checking his 'Wyvern-O-Matic' to make sure he's on the right track, Falcon stops at the door to his room, which has been left slightly ajar... Cracking his knuckles and preparing to kick some lizard behind, Falcon pushes open the door to his room and is surprised to find noone inside, despite his 'Wyvern-O-Matic' detector beeping like crazy. Briefly ignoring the rapid beeping sounds of his equipment, the angry Quill Bearer heads straight to his safe only to find it safely locked and unopened. Still suspicious due to his 'Wyvern-O-Matic' beeping, Falcon decides to unlock his safe just to make sure that nothing has been stolen.... Falcon2001's mouth drops open as he opens the safe only to find Wyvern, bound and gagged, struggeling inside of it! "Wyvern...?" But before Falcon has any time to react, a mischievous orangutan pushes him from behind and the shocked Quill Bearer is shoved into the confines of the safe. Uncomfortably scrunched next to Wyvern, a furious Falcon just has time to turn his head and notice Silly the 8th Pen Elder Dwarf letting out an orangutan laugh (*Oooo Oooo Aaaa Aaaa!*) before slamming the door of the safe shut, locking Falcon and Wyvern inside... Sighing dismally to himself and checking a nearby clock, Thomas the Lost's eyes widen as he watches an orangutan run through the Recruiter's Office, chased by the obese Almost-Secretary of Initiates Melba. As Melba passes by, Thomas notices that a small post-it has been pinned to the back of her shirt that reads: "ACCEPTED" (kick me) ;p OOC: A good description and very funny story snippet, Thomas. Application ACCEPTED, welcome to the Mighty Pen! I'll mail you the password info immediatly. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/16/02 2:40:27 am

An excellent and highly original series of poems, Xradion. As I see it, the eight poems based around recipes for eggs collectively act as a metaphor for life as a whole. The poems sum up everything... Beginning with creation, summarizing life, and ultimately ending with death. There are several parts of the poems that I particularly enjoyed: 1) As Reverie pointed out before: the contrasts between the Soft-Boiled and Hard-Boiled poems were brilliant. I particularly liked how the phrase "They seek solace in bottles and needles" was one of the few things that reacurred in both poems, showing how both the rich and the poor indulge in drugs and alcohol. The contrasts of the poems reminded me somewhat of the contrasts between Aesop Rock's "Daylight" and "Night Light", which I'm certain acted as one of the inspirations for these two poems. 2) The end of the "Deviled" (not underlined as EZcodes didn't seem to work with it) poem, where you used several grammatical structures to articulate the phrase "I am a time killer/ And Macbeth murders sleep.", only to end it with the final line "I am a wolf in sheep’s clothing/ But the Shepherd/ Murders sheep." This line of the poem, which in my opinion points towards the sin and corruption found in man, struck me as a truly brilliant piece of wordplay and stuck with me through the rest of the poems. 3) I very much liked how the different poems each had their own specific structure and manner of conveying their message. The almost psychadelic imagery of Scrambled, for example, contrasts greatly with the simple yet meaningfull narrative of Coddled. In my opinion (and I'm probably way off ;p) this abstractly depicts the complexity of all creation in comparison to the natural simplicity of death. 4) The poem Overeasy, which simply reads " The End", was a simple yet elegant way to end a series of highly thought-provoking poems. Overall, this is one of the most original series of poems I've read in a while. One question: if my hypothesis is true and the series of poems act as a metaphor for life as a whole, why isn't love (an essential element of life) mentioned? Has it been purposely left out to depict the state to which our society has degraded? Heheheh... maybe I'm just being over-analytical... I should be asking these questions to myself, not the author. ;p Keep up the good work. I would suggest those that haven't taken the time to read through these to do so... They're quite a refreshing series of original poems that'll go perfectly with your toast and coffee at breakfast. ;p [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/11/02 11:03:50 pm

(Conversion Confusion, this is actually the original post for this thread) Gusts of wind slowly blowing through an open window Buzzing of a fly caught in a silent crescendo Dripping of a water faucet leaking in vain Accompanied by gentle sounds of pattering rain Quiet fizzing of a beer glass no longer in use Head of needle puncturing an opening obtuse Sudden sound of screeching tires on wet cement Sighs of ecstasy float from passions unspent Distant sounds of spray cans busy at work Coughing from a crack pipe carefully burnt Fevered sniffing of insomniacs trying to sleep Figdeting of blankets due to lack of heat Grumbeling of stomaches praying for food Creakings of a dying ceiling setting the mood An unheard orchestra playing without a care Interrupted by blaring sirens And pistols in the air [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/11/02 12:24:10 am

Lord Cullyn grins proudly as he puts the finishing touchs on his application, carefully dipping the feather quill he holds into an adjacent inkwell and relaxing in the tranquility of the Pen's Library... He holds the document he had just finished in front of him and smiles with satisfaction, only to have his jaw drop open in shock as an orangutan hanging onto a velvet rope flies by him and quickly snatches the piece he had just written in the process! "Hey!" cries Lord Cullyn and several other visitors studying in the Library as their precious documents are stolen one by one "Stop that primate!!!" Several of those who had their pieces of writing stolen rush to stop the orangutan, but are suddenly blinded as the main velvet curtains of the library are abruptly pulled open and the Sun unexpectedly glares in their eyes. Silly the 8th Pen Elder Dwarf, a clever orangutan by nature, had taken the rope used for operating the library shades as his means of transportation. The momentary blindness caused by the Sun acts as his diversion, and by the time the scholars in the Library have adjusted their eyes to the light, Silly relaxes with all the pretty new pieces of writing he had found on top of the highest and most unreachable area of the largest shelf in the Library... "Get down from there immediately!!!" call out several aggravated scholars while others franticly run off in search of a ladder of some sort. "You're surrounded, there's no way you'll be able to escape!!!" "Oooo Oooo Ah!" Silly exclaims before quickly taking out a pair of scissors and glue and cutting up several of the documents he has. At the sight of their precious writings being cut up, many of the more emotional scholars immediatly faint... A scientist in the audience is about to curse the orangutan with all his might for cutting up his scientific hypothesis, when suddenly Silly throws him a piece of paper made through his cutting and pasting which the scientist catches in his right hand. Looking at the paper in disgust for a moment, the scientist's face suddenly brightens as he notices that on it has been artistically pasted the answers to all of the scientific questions he had been searching for... A carpenter catches a piece thrown to him only to find the greatest blueprint he had ever seen... And one by one, the faces of the scholars in the Library revert from anger to gleefull fascination... Lord Cullyn catches a piece of paper on which there is written his application story with the word 'ACCEPTED' pasted in the bottom right-hand corner. OOC: A good beginning to a story, Cullyn, I definitely look forward to reading the continuation. This is an ACCEPTED application, welcome to the Pen. Be sure to post an e-mail address where I can contact you so I can send you the passwords and stuff. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/10/02 2:00:30 am

OOC: Zool, I was referring to the Humanistic perspective of psychology, not Humanism. The two are actually entirely different... the Humanistic perspective of Psychology is a perspective that holds the belief that all people are born inherently good, which is a bunch of nonsense in my opinion. ;p IC: As Xelnaga comes to the final decision of submitting a new application in the hopes of joining the ranks of the Pen, he turns towards the door of the Recruitment Office only to be greeted by what appears to be an obese Almost-Secretary chasing after a hyperactive orangutan. Silly the 8th Pen Elder Dwarf, who is holding a coffee mug in one hand while swinging from lamps with the other, sticks his tongue out at Melba as he rapidly makes his way down the hall... "Hey!" Melba calls out to Xelnaga down the hall "Quick! Stop that orangutan! That monkey of a Pen Elder Dwarf just stole my favorite coffee mug along with the ultra-caffeinated coffee inside it!!!" Thinking quickly, Xelnaga immediatly rushes towards the bouncing orangutan in the hopes of stopping it and helping Melba... Moving in front of a door to a hallway and grinning triumphantly as he blocks Silly's only escape route, the confident applicant crosses his arms and stares down at the mischief-making orangutan. "O.K monkey, the chase is up... please hand over the coffee mug, nice and sl-" Xelnaga is interrupted in mid-command as he notices Silly gulping down the contents of the coffee mug as fast as he can... "Hey!" exclaims Melba who is blocking the other side of Silly's escape route "Don't drink tha-" But before she can finish, the effects of the coffee have greatly augmented Silly's hyperactiveness. The hyper-orangutan suddenly transforms into a blinding tornado of fur and fruits, and Xelnaga and Melba cry out as they're hit by a sudden bombardment of exploding pineapples. As Silly rushes out the hall and continues on his escape route, pieces of confetti hidden in the exploding pineapples fill the air of the hall. Written on the pieces of confetti are scrawled the words: "I'm not a monkey, I'm an orangutan!"... with the exception of one piece of confetti, on which there is neatly written "ACCEPTED". OOC: An ACCEPTED application Xelnaga, glad you decided to reapply. Welcome to the Pen, and be sure to post an e-mail address where I can contact you for the mailing of passwords and such. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/9/02 5:27:08 pm

SaberCoEP sighs dismally as he lays back in his applicant easy chair, stretching out his arms and fidgeting impatiently with a quill he had found on a nearby desk. It had been quite a while since he had arrived at the Recruitment Office and submitted his application in the hopes of joining, yet there hadn't been the faintest signs of anyone willing to look over his application... The Almost-Secretary Melba had assured him that the Elder of Initiates would arrive shortly, but the entire day had gone by and still there wasn't the faintest sign of the overgrown lizard... Hanging up the receiver to her telephone and sadly shaking her head, Melba turns to SaberCoEP and apologeticly mutters: "Sorry, Mr. Saber, but it appears that you're going to have to wait here a while longer..." SaberCoEP moans "... Elder Wyvern is currently off galavanting on one of his schemes and we have no idea when he'll be returning. Furthermore, it just so happens that all of the Pen Elders Dwarves, who normally replace Wyvern as the Recruiters in his absence, happen to be sick with a high fever today. I would call them in anyway, but they seem to be in really bad shape... Greedy's acting unselfish, Grouchy's sounding kind, Wacky seems sane, Sleazy appears to be healthy, Shiny has this dull look on her face and Sexy looks disgusting. Heck, even Courtesy is acting impolite..." Melba pauses and thinks for a moment. "Although come to think of it, if I remember correctly, Wyvern recruited an 8th Elder dwarf, didn't he...?" At that very moment, an energetic orangutan crashes through a ventilation grating on the ceiling and quickly snatches up SaberCoEP's application, replacing it with a small pineapple labeled 'ACCEPTED' before disappearing back into the ventilation ducts. Silly, the 8th Elder dwarf, had struck again... OOC: An ACCEPTED application, Saber. Nice work... my favorite of your poems was probably "Within Myself", though they're all worthy of praise. Welcome to the Pen! Please be sure to post an e-mail address where I can contact you so that I can mail you the member pass and stuff. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/9/02 12:56:40 am

Xelnaga, Your application seemed promising, thus I find it a shame that you decided to withdraw it due to IRC issues. As others have said, chat programs are not an essential element of the guild... I would say that a good 50% of our membership have never even used them before... I hope that you'll frequent our boards occasionaly and post a thing or two, even in the decision of not becoming a member. On a side note, I haven't read any of the "Zen..." books and hence find myself unable to comment on the subject, but I do agree with several statements that have been made concerning the uses of electro-shock therapy in psychology. Personally, I don't believe in any single perspective of psychology, but instead think that the appropriate way of forming a treatment would be through a mixture of several perspectives... not including Carl Roger's Humanistic perspective, which, in my humble opinion, is a load of crap. As Nyyark mentioned: nice debate you got started here, Xellers. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/8/02 4:56:01 pm

Lord Cullyn, Both Tzimfemme and Yui have summed up my response very nicely. If you're thinking of starting a long story and wish to apply to the Pen, I would suggest posting the beginning of the story as your application and working on it from there. I unfortunatly can't accept your application without an original sample of your writing... Looking forward to reading your application when you post it. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/8/02 4:14:11 pm

One eyed captain, a black patch covers his good eye Blindly steering a ship of lust in an awkward direction For angles in which his compass points, a sole truth dies The same position which once won him love and affection The compass of his soul leading to only sin and lies It's coordinates overused in the journey for perfection Sailing on a sea of greed and desperatly trying to hide His parents words when they spoke of a misconception Pushing through mists of remorse, losing track of time Praying only that he'll survive the dark clouds of rejection Unprepared for rougher weather, shaken by a bumpy ride Longing once again for those blue skies of protection A bolt of lightening hits, triggered by a selfish cry Of shameless spite mixed with self hate and aggression And as the captain sinks so does the treasure of his mind A lost talent in an unfair process of selection. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 7/3/02 11:54:13 pm

Open the gates widely to an everlasting sleep Feeling the untouchable with senses obsolete White dove's wings intrepid bounded by the light Of overwhelming purity, the absence of all spite Secret moons lie hidden under a sacred sky Dragons breathing water, peasants pouring fire Fervent faith revitalized the essence of all hope Angels frollick freely, clouds spawn crystal moats A gentle lover's kiss in the dawning of the dew Nature offers comfort in it's starry shades of blue Laughter bounces merrily, hearts echo in the air Magic moments brilliant in lives without a care Cuddling with happiness enduring countless years The certainty of one's feelings smiling away fears Endless knowledge archived, wisdom summits reached Tranquility abundant, environmental peace People singing hand in hand, fufilling all desires Unravelling their fantasies, wishfullness admired Abandoned roads of sorrow, degrading thoughts obscene Just put the pen to paper and dream an endless dream.

Interestingly enough, I interpreted the poem in a very different way, which I suppose further emphasises Peredhil's first comment... Good poetry is always open to individual interpretation. The allusion that I drew from the poem was one of recent tragic events in America, particularly those of September 11. The images of once splendorous skies losing their value invoked in me thoughts of airliners no longer being safe, and the references to Gods doing "what they must" made me think of one of the primary motivations behind people at war in the Middle East... I guess I interpret things more somberly then Big P... ;p [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/30/02 2:16:29 am

A very good story Lord Kendricke, I must have overlooked it when you previously posted it in the Tavern of the Morning Rose. A well crafted tale, made better with a very good usage of the first person perspective and some very striking images (I thought the horrific battles, in particular, had quite a few). I also really liked the way you incorporated the poems in the midst of the story, they fit quite well. I could definitely see this story being expanded, as the reader is left wondering what will become of the good Lord once he reaches the castle of his King... On a side note, for future reference: people usually post stories and poems previously written on seperate boards in the 'Library' section of the guild for archiving, as to not clutter up the more recent works. No big problem, of course, but just remember it for the next time you feel like archiving an older work. Glad to see you contributing your talents to these boards. ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/28/02 8:08:11 pm

Interesting poem, Lord Kendricke. It reads very much like a blues song to me, and I can certainly envision it sung longingly to an old guitar melody of some sort... Good uses of repitition, starting each line with "old man" as well as starting and ending each stanza with the same line. Perhaps these repitions hint at one of the themes of the poem, as the narrator's life seems to have gotten somewhat flat and monotonous after his girl left him and broke his heart. The narrator, it seems, is trying to walk off his heartbreak, but references to him being an old man and "leanin' hard onto his cane" (l. 10) suggest that he does so unsuccessfully. The tone of the poem is also very sad and nostalgic, and shows that he hasn't had much luck in doing so. In my opinion, the principle theme of the poem is one common in many classical blues songs: that there is no true cure for a broken heart. Simple, entertaining, and meaningfull. Thanks for posting it. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/28/02 7:34:24 pm

Locked in the highest chamber of the Tower of Elders and tied to a large wooden chair with over 7 rolls of masking tape, Wyvern fidgets helplessly in the bruised and bloody afterglow of his latest scheme. After he had revealed the depths of what had been perhaps his most elaborate plan to date, an escapade which would have basically turned the entire Mighty Pen guild into a gigantic geld-making factory, the other members had revolted and bound him up in this way... Wyvern supposed that it was only natural that they had reacted in such a fashion, especially since he hadn't asked anyone's permission in advance before abusing the pets and imposing the cumbersome schedules he had planned... But then, the others weren't quite aware of just how badly the overgrown lizard was currently in need of cash... Directly outside of the room in which Wyvern sits, Loremaster Ozymandias goes about franticaly answering phone calls from solicitors, screaming into 5 portables at once and gritting his teeth a bit more with each angry response. The stressed Loremaster had no idea how the overgrown lizard had managed to contact so many greedy promoters in the span of one evening, but he knew that he certainly would never let something of this scale happen again... Slamming down the last of the receivers and wiping some sweat off his brow, an exhausted Ozymandias collapses into a nearby seat and rubs his throbbing temple gently with his right hand. Looking towards Wyvern in the other room, he shakes his head and sighs deeply… the overgrown lizard was covered with so much masking tape in that chair that he looked like a reject from the God and Pharoahe Nanotoknonnen fan club. After a few moments of rest, the Loremaster raises himself from his chair and decides that it’s time to lecture to the greediest of Elders about the kinds of schemes that are tolerable by the Pen and those which will require a bit of permission first… As Ozymandias enters the room in which Wyvern sits and begins lecturing to the overgrown lizard with the help of a series of small note cards, the greedy Elder pays no attention to the concerned Loremaster's words. Wyvern's mind was far to preoccupied with what he was going to do about getting the geld for his uncle when he came and visited, and the dreading of what would happen if he didn't come up with the appropriate cash by that time... ...a dragon's temper... "...and having said that, you're free to go." finishes Ozymandias smiling "I hope you've learned a valuable lesson from this lecture." Wyvern's train of thought is suddenly interrupted as Ozymandias unties his bonds and helps the overgrown lizard back on his feet. "Now go back to your post... we always need an Elder of Initiates on duty, after all. Just remember the words I've said, because if something like this ever happens again... Well... Let's just say that I might have to call in Ancient Lumpenproletariat, who I'm sure would love to slowly torture you to insanity for that 'Sleazy' comment you previously made." Wyvern stutters and lets out a *gulp* ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/28/02 12:50:59 am

Gyrfalcon25 wrote, Wyvern00 wrote, Spitting rudely to the ground, Captain Wallace reaches into the tattered left coat pocket of his navy vest and pulls out an old piece of chewing tobacco, tossing it into his mouth and knawing on it impatiently while waiting for the adventuring party's responses to his questions. Pointing to his sturdy looking vessel and winking to some of the crew members standing on the upper deck, Wallace exclaims: "That there's my ship, the 'Lunging Lobster' as me and my crew have affectionatly grown to call her. Braved a number of storms, she has... Don't let her name fool ya, she's a very fine piece of work, and trips on vessels of this quality certainly don't come cheap." With that, Captain Wallace and his first mate look to each other and grin simultaneously. At the same time, Gyrfalcon and several others in the adventuring party frown... "How much money would you consider sufficient payment...?" grumbles Timothy after a short silence, eyeing the captain and his crew warily. Wallace spends a moment in mock consideration, rubbing his bearded chin excessively and staring up at the night sky while his first mate and several crew members snicker to themselves in glee. The captain then begins pacing back and forth, and finally says: "Well... there's the charge of riding a vessel this strong, the charge of eating amongst me and my crew, the charge of our changing courses and destinations, and a few additional charges for manual labor and navigation. I think that an appropriate payment for one such a voyage would be..." Captain Wallace grins sinisterly and points a single dirty finger at Kaylera. "A night with the lady for me and two of my boys sounds fair... you'll pay for our manual labor with manual labor!" As a gale of laughter resounds from Captain Wallace and his crew, Kaylera and several of the other adventurers grimace and cringe in disgust at the statement. Gyrfalcon is about to angrily speak up when Y'Tren suddenly pushes himself to the front of the crowd, a calm yet somewhat determined look on his face. One look at Y'Tren, and all of the merriment in Captain Wallace's face vanishes in an instant. "Greetings, Adrian" says Y'Tren calmly, smiling slightly at Wallace and brushing some dust off his robes. "It's been quite a while since we last ran into each other, but I see you obviously haven't changed much." "Y-Y-Y-Y'Tren!" manages Captain Adrian Wallace, taking several steps back as a horrified look comes over his face. Noticing that the fun of the evening has come to an abrupt ending, the rest of the crew get back to preparing the "Lunging Lobster" for departure... "For payment, Adrian, I think our company would be more then enough..." continues Y'Tren, grinning a bit more as he advances closer towards Wallace "...don't you agree?" "I-I-I" "This is also going to be a special journey, Adrian... I will steer the ship and navigate with the help of my companions, much like I have in the past. Where we happen to be going is none of you or your crew's business, do I make myself clear?" "Y-y-yes..." mutters Captain Wallace, frowning and slinking back into the ship. "Do as you wish..." With that, Y'Tren walks into the entryway of the "Lunging Lobster" vessel, beckoning to his adventuring companions to follow him.

As the excited portrait of Zool continues chatting away fervently, a solitary lizard man dressed in a cloak slinks into the bar by means of the main entrance and eyes the Dreamer sinisterly from afar. Reaching into his robes for an object he's searching for, the reptilian humanoid slowly creeps towards the Dreamer's seat, carefully using his salamander-like stealth to avoid making any sounds or sudden gestures that could make him visible... Never the less, no sooner has he gotten 3 feet away from the targetted chair then the Dreamer swiftly jumps up and turns around, immediatly grabbing the lizard man's throat with his right hand and clamping down on it hard. "I could make this long and painfull, but let's just cut to the chase..." growls the Dreamer, lifting the mysterious lizard man off the ground by his neck "Who are you, and why were you sneaking up on me like that?" The portrait of Zool practicaly spills his watercolor booze as he notices the unidentifiable lizard man the Dreamer is now holding in the air by the throat... "I..." starts the lizard man, struggling for breath "I am an emissary of Elder Wyvern *ack* and bring you a list he compiled of changes that have occured which you might be affected by *gasp* Here..." With that, the lizard man pulls his hand out his robe and reveals the object he was reaching for: a short and messily written parchment. The Dreamer smirks as he recognises the horrible calligraphy on the scroll as Wyvern's, and begins reading off a few of the changes listed out loud while still holding the lizard man emissary tightly by the throat: "Hmmmm... According to this parchment, there is now a 15 geld fee every time one wants to planeswalk and a 20 geld fee for each of the runes on my astral door... Let me guess, your master Wyvern made up this parchment in order to shamelessly make geld, correct?" The lizard man emissary gulps and hesitates for a moment, remembering his master Wyvern telling him that under no circumstance should he reveal that the parchment is actually a fraud list of changes, and that it's actually all part of another of his typically "brilliant" schemes... But one look into the scarred and seemingly omnipotent visage of the Dreamer and all the poor lizard man can do is nod feebily while wetting himself... Smiling to himself, the Dreamer decides to let go of the emissary, not wanting to spoil the pleasant taste of his booze with reptilian gangrene. The lizard man nervously bows several times, then quickly scurries away... Smiling slightly once again, the Dreamer takes a light sip of his booze... Wyvern was still at his hairbrained schemes, so it seemed that some things in the Pen never changed... ;p OOC: Great to have you back with us again, Zadown. ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze.

Heeheehee... I think a better excuse would be that I used the mispelling as an appropriate counter to the title of this thread, which should be spelled "A pplication". An eye for an eye, they say... ;p With that, Wyvern winks to Fire Walker, lets out a lazy hiss, and gets back to slacking off at his desk... Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/20/02 11:17:46 pm

Mira sighs as he swivels back and forth in his applicant easy chair, eagerly awaiting the Elder of Initiate's verdict on his poem and growing increasingly impatient. It had been several hours since the overgrown lizard had snatched his application and ran off with it, and the applicant had yet to hear what the reptilian Elder thought of it... As Mira grumbles and leans back in his chair, the obese Almost Secretary of Initiates, Melba, passes by his table and pours him another cup of steaming hot coffee. Leaning down to Mira's right ear as she pours the boiling contents of the coffee kettle into a quaint brown mug, Melba whispers: "You'd best have your wits about you when that wretched lizard Wyvern walks back into these doors... He was giggling evilly while reading over your application poem, and that usually means trouble..." With that, Melba frowns angrily at the thought of Wyvern's mischief and clenches one of her fists, picking the coffee kettle back up and returning to her desk. At that very moment, as if on cue, Wyvern comes barging through the double entrance doors of the office waving Mira's application in one hand and what appears to be several poorly tailored costumes in the other. Wyvern grins just as Melba growls and Mira let's out a nervous *gulp*. Clearing his throat, the overgrown lizard holds Mira's application poem high in the air and exclaims: "Mira, your poem is very well written... and in a manner that has inspired a brilliant scheme! Why hadn't I seen it before?! It's all so simple! Trading identities! It's easy: you switch places with Nyyark who switches places with Stick who trades identities with Zool who disguises himself as Jechum who makes an appearance as Arawn who takes the spot of Tralla who poses as Melba who switches roles with me while I take Loremaster Ozymandias' position... And we'll all make geld in the confusion! I'll be rich!!! Muahahahaha!" Melba is about to jump out of her desk seat to end Wyvern's delusions of grandeur by means of her mallet when suddenly, Ancient Jechum charges into the room with a baseball bat and cracks the overgrown lizard over the head with it. Melba and Jechum grin and shake hands as they hand Mira's application back, the word "ACCEPTED" stamped on the front... ;p OOC: I enjoy reading your poetry, Mira, and this is an ACCEPTED application. Welcome to the Mighty Pen! Technicaly, you're supposed to post your contact e-mail address along with your application, but I found it in your profile so I'll be sure to send you the password stuff immediatly. Once again, welcome! [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/20/02 1:48:38 am

Wyvern, who had an enormous Summer fiesta prepared in the back of the Cabaret Room, grumbles and throws down his party hat, mirachas, and 16 buckets of confetti. Sighing to himself and turning to a concerned looking Seth Exodus, the overgrown lizard pats the Lord on the back and mumbles: "Have a good journey, Seth ol' buddy. Since I'm not going to be using these for the fiesta anymore, you can go ahead and take some booze along with ya..." With that, Wyvern signals to a person in the back of the bar and Seth Exodus' eyes widen as two muscular men begin hauling over several enormous kegs of Bruteweiser booze and loading them into an extremely large backpack. Wyvern grins and winks to Seth Exodus, hissing: "This should be enough Bruteweiser booze to last you the whole trip... Take care, and remember to bring back lots of expensive gifts!" With that, Wyvern lets out a horrendously evil laugh and gets back to his typical geld schemings... [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/19/02 11:48:42 pm

As Reverie continues to preach about how patient he had to be for applying, and begins mentioning how he barely survived the entire "Recruitment Office Spring Cleaning" ordeal he had to go through, Mira and Fire Walker notice a gigantic purple hook swoop from backstage and grab Reverie by the waste. As Reverie is rapidly pulled off his speaking podium by the hook, Wyvern enters the room stretching and yawning... ;p "Mira, I've read the poems you've posted in the Banquet Hall and thought that they were very good. However, the application for membership must be one specificaly written with the intention of joining, posted in this thread. If you could write another poem or story specificaly written for applying, that would be great. Thanks. " [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/18/02 11:02:27 pm

Fire Walker sits in an applicant easy chair that rests adjacent to the Recruitment desk as Wyvern thoughtfully strokes his scaly chin while reading over the walker's poem. The eager applicant snickers silently to himself as he notices an enormous grin slowly spreading over Wyvern's face. Melba, the Almost Secretary of Initiates, had spoken true when she had mentioned that "the key to an overgrown lizard's heart lies in his ego"... The application poem certainly seemed to be working it's charm... After having finished reading Fire Walker's poem, Wyvern turns to the applicant and gleefully hisses: "Good poem Fire Walker, particularly the pieces about how great a wyvern I am!" With that, Wyvern lets out a highly egotistical laugh and Fire Walker manages to force himself to laugh along with him. After the incredibly self-centered lizard has finished his gale of laughter, he turns to the hopefull applicant and says: "You're also obviously a creature of the flames, which I can certainly relate to... thus I'd be willing to accept your application if you pass a short series of rigorous tests." Fire Walker's smile quickly fades. "Rigorous tests...?" Wyvern grins sinisterly and takes a long swig from his Decanter of Endless Booze, afterwards muttering: "Yes, just a few tests to prove that you truly are a Fire Walker. It's simple really... all you have to do is walk over several miles of burning charcoal, take a swim in a volano's molten lava, cram yourself into an oven for a couple of hours, and breakdance to the Doors song "Light my Fire"." Fire Walker's mouth drops open as Wyvern props his feet up onto his desktop and wips out a huge bag of popcorn, waiting for the applicant to perform the tasks he had mentioned. Wyvern's anticipation of the events is shortlived, however, as an angered Melba quickly appears behind the overgrown lizard weilding an enormous mallet. The overgrown lizard gulps, then sighs as he stamps Fire Walker's application "ACCEPTED". OOC: A funny poem, Fire Walker, and an ACCEPTED application. Welcome to the Mighty Pen, I'll send you the password info immediatly. [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/18/02 6:17:40 pm

Wyvern feels a huge migrain coming on as he steps up to the soap box where members have given their pronounciation explanations and fidgets with an overflowing binder of papers he holds in both hands... Clearing his throat and taking a long sip of booze, the overgrown lizard inhales deeply and begins reading from page 1... The Appropriate Pronounciation of the Name 'Wyvern' Written by I. M. Tonedeff Co-authored by Could U. Repeathat The pronounciation of the name 'Wyvern' has long remained one of the great unsolved mysteries of mankind... Ranking up there with the unknown regions of distant Universes, the realities behind urban folklore, and MARI Telecommunication's ways of thinking, it is a riddle... an enigma... a puzzle which may never be fully pieced together. With this in mind, the purpose of the following documents that I and my associate Could U. Repeathat have spent several years transcribing is to broaden your perspectives on the way this word can be pronounced in order to build your understanding and general affection to these strange syllabels. Now come with me... take my hand, and let us journey through the marvelous and fascinating fantasyscape of pronounciations! Signed, I. M. Tonedeff *Wyvern rapidly flips through the 3 pages that comprise the 'Table of Contents'...* Part 1: Bibliographical Lizardines, the Dictionary Approach Let us start our long and hazardous journey at the very heart of human language: the English dictionary. In the American Heritage Dictionary, Wyvern is actually spelt "Wivern" and is pronounced exactly the way it sounds: "Wiv-ern". At the same time, however, online dictionaries spell it both "Wyvern" and "Wivern", and while the pronounciations these internet dictionaries give are similar, they are far from identical. The lesson learned here is that dictionaries are simply unreliable sources of information created by dominant corporations in order to brainwash helpless individuals, but back to the topic at hand... Me and my colleague needed to check several of said dictionaries, and so we took them one by one in alphabetical order of distributer... *Wyvern grumbles and coughs, fumbling with his binder and flipping through the pages to find more interesting parts...* Part 2: Of Wyverns and Men, Pronounciation by the People ... Yet the pronounciation of the name "Wyvern" is not limited to the dictionary... Different people from different cultures and societies take and pronounce the word in several unique and distinguished ways. Here are a number of examples that we found through extensive research: -The Western World pronounces it 'Why-vern" -The Northerners pronounce it "Wiv-ehrn" -Fellow lizards pronounce it "Hsss-hissssss" -Tax agencies pronounce it "Tar-get Num-ber Won" *Deciding that he'd rather not read how restaurant clerks and sensible women pronounce his name, Wyvern decides to flip through numerous pages and cut to the chase...* ... In conclusion, the pronounciation of the name Wyvern is, and will always be, somewhat of a mystery... yet don't let this ruin your pronunciation lives! Be creative, and find your own way of pronouncing the name. Become your own pronunciation individual! Live life free of those bothersome codes that harness your sense of syllabel structure! Find happiness in the way you speak, for then and only then will you be able to find the true meaning of your pronunciation life! Pee-se bee wi-th U I. M. Tonedeff Note from the Co-author: please excuse my colleague's rantings... reading one too many dictionaries can do that to a guy. The truth is, there is no definite answer to the appropriate way to pronounce the name "Wyvern". We apologize for the inconvenience... With that, Wyvern shuts the huge binder and tosses it to the side, shrugging and grumbling to himself as he wanders off the soap box to get some grub... [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/17/02 2:53:56 am

Jonathan Wolfe hesitantly pushes open the door to the Recruiter's Office, eagerly anticipating the verdict of his application, only to be immediatly greeted by the Elder of Initiates... The overgrown lizard is wearing a formal business suite and widely grins as Jonathan enters, shaking the applicant's hand in a proffesional manner and quickly escorting him to the Recruitment Desk. As Jonathan is seated in a comfortable easy chair and Wyvern scrambles to take out several legal documents, the applicant notices that there is a television resting on the desk along with a brand new Y-Box Home Entertainment System (a video game system that has no relationship what-so-ever to Microsoft's X-Box)... "You'll be happy to know that the acceptance of your application has been skillfully arranged..." hisses Wyvern sinisterly, rubbing his scaly palms together with glee "I'll accept your application under one condition: if I can have exclusive rights for a video game spin-off of your application story!" Upon hearing this, Jonathan Wolfe raises an eyebrow in curiousity and suddenly sits upright in his chair. "Video game spin-off...?" "Absolutely!" responds Wyvern, glorious visions of geld dancing through the lizard's head "I'll sign with some electronics company, label it an Action/Adventure-type shoot'em up, and make millions and millions of geld!" Jonathan Wolfe frowns. "But won't it take away most of the plot when the story is converted to a game? And why wasn't I informed of this project earlier...?" Wyvern curses something under his breath and fidgets, then looks towards Jonathan Wolfe once again. " So what if it takes away from the plot? ... You'd prefer if the project didn't take place then, Mr. Wolfe?" Jonathan Wolfe smiles slightly and nods. Wyvern sighs and lays several documents he was hoping to have signed back on his desk. "What a pity... I had a proto-type copy ready and everything. Well, I'm afraid that your application will just have to be reje-" *AHEM* Wyvern is interrupted in mid-sentence by the familiar sound of his Almost-Secretary clearing her throat... Melba glares at Wyvern, holding a menacing-looking baseball bat in one hand while clenching the other into a tight fist... "Don't you think it's rather corrupt to judge people's applications by their marketability rather then their writing?" growls Melba angrily, slowly approaching the Recruitment Desk. Wyvern thinks this question over for a moment, then smugly responds "No..." while smiling evily and crossing his arms over his chest. Noticing Melba's baseball bat, the overgrown lizard has a sudden change of heart and changes his response to "Yes, Yes, Yes!" in a matter of seconds... With that, the overgrown lizard returns Jonathan Wolfe's application sheet with the word 'ACCEPTED' stamped on it and promptly throws his Y-Box out the window... ;p OOC: A good story thus far, Jonathan Wolfe, and an 'ACCEPTED' application. Welcome to the Mighty Pen, and be sure to post your e-mail so I can get you the password info and stuff! [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/11/02 1:31:01 am

A very interesting short story, Justin... one rich with symbolism and meaning. I particularly like your use of similes, especially the comparison of the man's increasingly jealous emotions to a garden in bloom and that of his life to an act in a play. In my opinion, the underlying theme of this tale is centered around the scathing feelings of jealousy the man feels after the part in a play is taken from him, and the man's attempts at deliberatly forgetting this injustice. The disturbing part of the story is that he fails to do so, as when he looks back upon the script that should have been his the weeds of jealousy are born yet again. Perhaps then the theme of this story is that there is no moral weed-killer that can fully do away with emotions of jealousy and anger... My apologies if I misinterpreted... ;p I found it very well written, especially your uses of similes. ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/9/02 12:40:10 am

I agree that this is an excellent poem, and I particularly found the clusters of images centered around gold and amber well done. I agree with Xradion's take on the theme... Keep up the good work! [image]http://members.shaw.ca/kea/am/wyvy.jpg[/image] ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 6/10/02 12:03:07 am