Katzaniel

I should probably stop using these Critic's Corner threads as a sort of OOC for my stories, but they're so convenient Besides, I have to mention that I made a major edit to my last post just now. I realized that without Sardin's POV, it rather abruptly moved from mid-fight to nothing moving in the alley... so everything before the "--------" has been added to fix that, and explain certain other things that would not otherwise be explained until later, and there's really no good reason to delay an explanation. (Also, I fixed up my tenses - blah - but that's not a major change.)

I would like to note that Kasmandre has given me permission to finish this story on my own. Not understanding Sardin well enough to thoroughly explain his motives, I have opted to leave out his point of view - though the character has by no means been dropped, and the story has not changed from its original plan, only the method of telling it has. I should also like to note that the story has moved to the Assembly Room for a time because it's vitally important in Katzaniel's own story, and I want everyone to have a chance to read it; but it will eventually go back into its proper home in the guild.

Sardin sees the vampire takes aim, but is unable to fight his way past the three others blocking his way. He shouts a warning, but the words tear from his throat a moment too late. He watches Katzaniel slump and then fall, still unable to get to her. From a distance, all he can do is slow the process down, but if he can get to her, he knows, he might be able to provide some real healing. The enemies are reinvigourated from the defeat of the great tiger, but they have dwindled greatly in number since the start of the attack. Sardin slashes and dodges furiously, trying desperately to end the fight in time. Eventually, though, he feels Katzaniel's life-force slip away. Heart pounding in anger and frustration, Sardin nearly lets himself get hit before he starts to concentrate once more on the fight. Finally it is down to himself and one remaining vampire. Fitting, somehow, that it should be the one who had shot Katzaniel. He was obviously an officer of some sort; a darker suit, a higher neckline, three black stripes on his forearm. And a satisfied sneer. He aims his gun and starts to speak, but Sardin doesn't want to give him the chance to shoot any more than he wants to hear what the vampire has to say. He lets himself become a swirl of sand, then reforms a little to the side, striking neatly with his blade to lop of the man's head. The glances around, once, quickly, to make sure none of the others is moving. Then he turns to his fallen companion. While he had been fighting, he sees, the body had morphed into that of a man. The same man, he sees, who had often appeared as Katzaniel's upper half. Skin dark, hair short and tightly curled, even in death he grasps a spear. He is wearing nothing but a loincloth and a necklace made of teeth. Sardin wonders briefly what sort of history had given this man the tigertaur shape and brought him back to a human in death, but he knows there is little time for such concerns. He needs something from the body - he always takes something from the body - so he grabs one of the teeth from around the man's neck, and fits it into his belt. --------------------------------------------- For a long time the body lies there. It does not move, as nothing in the alley moves. But inside, a titanic struggle is taking place. A sliver of being is questing for understanding, trying to sift through the confusion and memories that are nearly overwhelming it. The first battle is the simple fact that existence continues after it should not have; the utter certaintly that a deathwound had just been suffered, and yet life is still going on. That small spark fails to understand why, but it does not drop back into the void. That is the first victory. The second is in not giving way to the surge of memory. There is precious little to comprehend, only a series of moments that does not seem to string together. A hot, sweaty grapple with a menacing tiger. Death, painful and horrible. But not death. It remembers too a battle, very much like this one, between two sparks of life. The memory of failing, receding, waiting. And now, suddenly, being brought forward again. It is probably the memory of that first battle of wills that allows the sliver to fight and win this one. Consciousness is slipping away, but that had happened once before, and it, without really knowing what it is, knows that it doesn't want to recede again. And so the second battle, a spark against the nothingness, is won. Deep within thought, a subtle change takes place. This is when the ancient magic completes its cycle by enacting the change on the physical realm: the dead body shifts, for one last time. Very slowly, it changes into a form it had not had for centuries. A dark-skinned man emerges in the tigertaur's place. The third battle is that for control. There were ways of controlling one's muscles, long ago forgotten. The silent struggle continues, and, long after Sardin has left the alley, finally the man opens his eyes. The sudden rush of sight almost overwhelms him again, but victory is becoming a habit now. Strength is returning, and this bit of life has come past the point of return. Whether he wants it or not, the witch doctor of old has managed to survive the bullet that killed the one he fought so many years before. He doesn't remember immediately, though. Or rather he doesn't sort out the meaning of the memories so quickly. He is confused, remembering only fragments of the physical fight that nearly killed them both, the magic that somehow caused them to share the same body, and the fight of wills for control of that body, which Katzaniel had won. He remembers nearly nothing of the next centuries, up to the moment when he felt the tiger's lifeforce fade away. Exercising his new-seeming abilities, he sits up. His presence in the alley and the bodies of the many vampires causes him to remember the very recent past: The fight with the Treme. There was a man at his side, then. Wasn't there? The thought slips away as the witch doctor suddenly sorts out those earliest memories. He had been a man, once. He had lived in a village, using magic to heal the villagers, until the tiger had begun raiding their livestock at night. But his memories were faded, incomplete. What had his name been, then? He struggles to recall that detail, but can't. As he looks at the bodies littering the alley, however, he does begin to remember more about the years between then and now. In his mind's eye he sees Katzaniel when she decides to take on that name. He sees her applying for membership at the Pen Keep. He sees her in Scarlot's office, and he sees her with Sardin as they are sent on this quest. That must be the man, then. The witch doctor sits in the abandoned alley for a long time trying to fit together these pieces of memory. Finally he decides he must act. First, though, he needs a name. He is not Katzaniel anymore, rest her soul. Perhaps a derivative of that, though. He will go by the name of Aniel. Standing up, Aniel wobbles a bit. Control is not complete, yet. He experiments a bit: taking a step, lifting his arm, moving his head. He masters those actions, then takes it farther. Soon he is walking around quite normally. But now what? Deciding to act is not a decision on how to act! His choice is taken from him as he hears a sound on the other side of the alley. Glancing around and thanking Ya'rr, the god whose name inserts itself into his head, that he had had time to regain control of his muscles, Aniel ducks behind a garbage bin just moments before three men come in sight.

Yeah, as soon as you try to edit one of the old tables now, it messes it up. But that's okay, as it's not that hard to fix with Find/Replaces via Notepad or some such - I'll outline the method here at some point, but not just now. In the meantime, I *think* I fixed your problem - you seem to have linked a thread with no tables, but I found and fixed a thread of your with tables in it. (Note that I have kept a copy of the original post in case I made a mistake.) Appendum: The minor change to which Tanny is referring is, I believe, the fact that [table=100%] is now simply [table].

I know I can do it in the forums where I've got l33t powerZ, but I can't seem to access anything regarding the poll after it's posted in this forum. (aka "Silly rabbit! Trix is for mods!" )

I can't change the poll to add your votes, but I know it's possible so I suspect a mod will be around shortly. As for the results, well, I'll PM you the current results but that's bound to change. I'll try to remember upon closing the poll to post the final results, too. Oh, and I wanted to explain (in response to a question raised elsewhere) that for the Faded image, the portion of non-faded icon signifies your rank. Thus depending on the guild, you could have 1/3 or 1/4 for rank 1, but the highest rank would always be a complete image.

Question: Do I need to be a member to play? Answer: No. (But, I suspect that no one would mind if you used this to inspire you for an application piece, if you haven't written one already...) Question: Would it count if I - Answer: Yes! Whatever you were about to say, unless it equates to really not even trying to include the two elements, can count. Seriously. I look forward to seeing the creativity and variety with which these are implemented.

Just one comment from me at the moment: If you want it to be a play, perhaps first-person isn't the best choice?

The public unveiling of many month's discussion and work should probably be held under more fanfare than this, but we want everyone to like what we're doing, and so we would appreciate everyone's opinions before actually finalizing anything. Behold! The following images are all under consideration as the format of a "Badge", to be placed under each guild member's name beside their posts. This will hopefully serve as a way to show your achievements within the guild, and can be something of which to be proud. Note first that none of these is totally finalized. Colours, for example, are not what you should be voting on, since they are undecided. We thought it best to get the format decided before perfecting them, because otherwise we would be perfecting 7 or more images. The point of this vote is the overall look, and how well they show the respective ranks. (Also, I realized late that the Guild Leaders will have to be shown with either text or the shield, not both, since it's otherwise difficult/impossible to tell which guild they lead. We're still discussing that, among other things.) So please don't vote based on something like colour - but feel free to mention it to us, anyway. Note second that the SWG has 4 ranks in total while the AAA and AVV have three, and some of these images might make ranks appear uneven if someone achieves them all. Also, Images 6 & 7 are shown with the AAA at rank 4 (impossible) just to illustrate what 4 items and 4 pens would look like (very possibly too hard to see, in the case of the pens, and too much, in the case of the assortment of items - but this is why we need other opinions.) Image 1: Faded images. Image 2: Fill - Text and Background. Image 3: Fill - Background. Image 4: Fill - Sidebar. Image 5: Fill - Text. Image 6: Assortment of Items. (A single feather is rank 1, adding a scroll means rank 2, adding an inkpot means rank 3, adding words on the scroll means rank 4.) Image 7: Pens. If you have a reason other than purely "I like that one best", it would probably be appreciated by all if you could take a moment to comment as well as vote. By this I mean, for example, if certain of the badges are hard to make out (and I know some are) or hurt your eyes, or would look horrid on one of the skins, or anything. By the way, just so you have a better idea what I mean about where these would go... I added this in manually, and it may not be *exactly* right, but about here:

Question: Do I write one piece with both the word and a circle, or two pieces, one with each? Answer: One piece, please. I think the best way to describe what I'm after, here, is that if you're not sure whether your idea successfully encompasses both, it probably does. For example, if your word is COAT, you may say that someone's coat is red, or say that their jacket is red, or have them fiddling with the buttons on their parka. You may have a teacher telling them how to spell the word "coat" but not have the item itself appear anywhere. Do the same with "circle". You could have poeple playing with hula hoops, or discussing the concept of time circling back on itself, or singing a song with the word in it, even if you never directly quote the line. It's as if I've given you each two words/concepts that you must fit into the piece, but one of them is entirely your own and the other will be a thread to keep them all related. Any way you can think of to include a coat and a circle, either materially or otherwise, into the story is fine. What I suspect will be the most interesting part about this activity is the different ways in which everyone decides to implement it.

Anyone here remember those little puzzles where you started with one word and then made another, one letter at a time? COLD COLT COAT MOAT MEAT HEAT My thought was that I would write a circle of these things, depending on how many people wanted to be a part of this, and then each person would write a poem or story or essay or whatever they desired, as long as it 1) was about that concept or had that word in it or somehow incorporated the meaning of the word I gave them and 2) Did the same for the word "Circle". There are many different ways to interpret that word, so I hope that's inspiring rather than confining. I'm thinking it would be fun to do this by PMing me rather than signing up here, so that over the next little while stories and poems will pop up and no one will no which ones have anything to do with this. You may sign up more than once; perhaps we'll have more than one circle. On Thursday the 15th (a week from today, and the day after my four finals) I will send you your word(s). Hopefully by the end of January or so I will be able to post the complete circle(s) with links to each post. Remember, if you want to ask any questions or to sign up, PM me. I'll answer any questions here, though, so that everyone can see the answer.

Ooh. I'd say that piece belongs in the Assembly Room, Gryph. Could stand to be a little longer and change the bits about "I'm picuring such and such" into "And then such and such", and then - cool. I wonder if this thread couldn't spawn a spate of interpretations of this tale?

Er, "anything"?

Vigil, do you realize that "/" usually means "end"? Thus, "/Flame On" means "end flame on", which makes no sense whatsoever... Plus, how on earth is it possible to mistake a person for a statue? And if he was gonna kill them, why didn't he do it before she picked up the phone? Especially if she'd been looking at him nervously.

I also really liked this piece. It reflects taking appreciation in the few minutes you have between a busy life, and there's some really good lines in here. "My hand on the door/her hand on mine" and "When I go blind/This is all I wish to see" are probably my favourites. I just wanted to add that if you do take Wyvern's advice and remove the word "Exeunt", please replace it with something similar. I thoroughly enjoyed the contrast between "A short kiss/that lingers endlessly" and the ending, and felt that the piece was largely defined by that moment.

This is a writing site. We should make them write an essay about why their server is best. Pssst! Huh? Katzaniel! Wha, oh, hey - what? You've never played Warcraft and you have no idea what these people are talking about! Hm, oh yeah, true.

Hehe, that inspired me. I'm done already. Yikes! Warning: This story required a lot of swearing. It's hard even for me to write swears, so I hope y'all appreciate it! Heh, anyway, swearing, open discussion of sexuality, and violence. Don't click on this link unless you can handle it. (If one of the judges can't handle it, I'll see what I can do, maybe make some temporary edits.)

Katzaniel smacks Mynx's computer, watches in surprise as it stands up and moves threateningly toward her. She hefts her spear and glares at it, causing it to settle down, though only to the level of obedience at which it started. Sorry I can't help any. Hope you enjoy Christmas, anyway!

Okie, after much deliberation I am going to attempt this. Please don't shoot me if I fail!

Yahoo News: Jacket to allow cyberhugs Which begs the question, what does a tacklehug feel like?

*points and giggles at the irony of Tam's comment* Appendum: Tam, you got rid of your old sig! Gah!

Okay, so maybe panic time. Actually, no, because I've virtually decided that I can't/won't win this year. Maybe I'll try for 40k. Maybe I'll try for 30k. But I can't wear myself out trying when I have a major project due on the 30th, among other things. Next year, I won't have school to worry about, so I'll try harder to win, then. Title: Spik Day: 23 Chapters: 9 Wordcount: 22956 Mood: Strangely Calm Sorry, Sweetcherrie.

"Character to be determined", by the way, can now be replaced with "Jhenrau Tyier". I have posted a bit about him in the Piazza but the gist of it is that he was a Captain of a spaceship (in a sci-fi setting ) but couldn't handle power well; demoted to janitor but *still* screwed it up, then ousted off the ships altogether. Then he managed to find a portal to the Pen. (That seems to always be the way of it with my characters, but really, how else am I supposed to get him here?) I *might* post his arrival during the interviews, but he won't be interviewing even if he arrives. I probably won't, since that would require being caught up in the reading, which I'm not. Anyway, I intend to catch up for Phase II.

~History~ Jhenrau Tyier (pronounced jenn-ROW as in cow, TEE-air) was once the famed captain of his own spaceship. But he grew giddy with his own power, abused his position and risked the lives of many men, all for the sake of imagined respect in the eyes of others. He was demoted - given a maintenance position out of pity -and was, for a while, a shamed and embittered servant of his new Captain. Even this position proved too much for him when, fighting for the Captain Shaprio against a mutinous Major Stebbins, Tyier pretended to have been given orders from the captain and endangered himself and others, in a poorly-devised scheme to regain his past stature. Though things turned out all right for Shaprio in the end, Tyier was recognized to be mentally unstable and was taken off of the spaceships entirely, to live out his life serving meals at a cafeteria and attending sessions with a psychologist. Jhenrau Tyier, sick with shame at his doubly-cursed past and wrought with an unacknowledged desire to bring fame to himself, somehow, once more, would probably have died without those feelings being brought to the surface again, if he had not one morning been inexplicably faced with a magic portal. Beyond it he saw the flashing lights and music of the Pen's first (possibly only) game show. The rest is history...

Well, it should probably be Yui's turn to post the next, but since she doesn't seem to be taking it... 743689 I'm guessing 6 because it hasn't been used yet and it's a better evening time than 5. Mm, could also refer to clock face though I'm not sure how exactly that works in. Anyway, so that y'all have something else to consider: Angry and hungry are two words that end in '-gry'. There are three words in the English language. What is the third word? PS. You may have heard that one before, as I had, but the way people often tell it, it has no answer. This version has an answer.