Nyyark

Indeed it was peiced together from my memory of how to do sonnets. I was going for the broken theme, but my mistakes seem to have worked to my advantage. Good to point it out though. One thing I've noticed is regardless of conforming a real standard or not, forcing myself to conformed to a percieved standard really increased the quality of the work.

Enjoyed

Yeah the last four were a little weaker. I was trying to make sure I honored the Major and Minor Octet, which calls for a sonnets to first six lines to be of the theme, and the last 4 to vary (if I remembered rightly) so I tried personifying, then the actual journey. I think maybe it would have been stronger if I'd chosen a more subtle minor, or one that elaborated more directly to the theme of the major.

It's been some time since I last saw your face. I'd quite forgot the subtleness of you. You hurt you know, but I relish your pace Like drowning slowly, missing the reaper's cue. Familiar water, your gentle bath, Signals that home must end this destined path. I've traveled far from you, Melancholy, But only time will tell if lessons learn'd Are not scares but wounds, such quick heal'd folly. Home again, my path away once more turn'd.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try and smooth out my transition a bit. I was going to go into depth about magical IP packets that sat on the line and muched his rivals bids until the last second, but I thought that the detail would be overwhelming and destroy the simplicity of the nice day setting. EDIT: Perhaps I'll give powerful Mages familiars, and Ked's might currently be a laptop that would be funny and cool. Especially if it was a she...and made Ked's old Lover jealous...ok need to stop, don't over think... As far as the plot... I was actually thinking of following an aspiring mage helping his master (an old lover of Ked's) try to solve the mystery of Ked's murder. I thought starting off with Ked would give a contrast to just how powerful a Mage Ked was, and just how far the main character has to go when getting into a mess with the Old school mages. I've been trying to not think the story through to far, every time I do I end up killing them. I have a general idea of the plot and thats all. Just for a note: Ked's body died, but his Mage-Self is stranded in the astral plane with no anchor. I had that "first time" in there as a hint death to a mage is not exactly the same as it is to a mundane person. Was it too subtle?

Prologue It was a good day, ranking among the best Ked had experienced this past century. The sun, set in a piercing blue sky recently drained of smog by the pleasantly warm wind blowing through the city, was shining brightly, and Ked had just managed to acquire a Token of Significance on ebay for just 51.67$. "Magic is the only way to bid," He thought to himself, oblivious to current of people around him. His smile deepened as his shuffle selected Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor. "I remember when that came out," he mused, "good year 1704. Reminds me of the old days." Only three more blocks to go until he reached his sixth floor condo, a distance his youthful, heathy, magically-enhanced physique could easily have jogged without breaking a sweat. He was taking it slow today however, not only because of the beautiful weather, but because he liked the crowd around him to be as ambivalent to Ked as he was of them. Ked's fingers absently sketched Runes of Greater Power in time with music as he let the crowd carry him along, each rune swiftly abolished before it could invoke. Other than the occasional faint blue flash from his right hand, he looked just like a normal college bound kid. Despite his ever aware Mage-Sense, Ked didn't realize he was being stabbed until the knife entered his left shoulder. He jerked his Mage-Self forward as he halted his rune sketching mid-scribe. The effort to cancel the rune made him a fraction of a second too slow and the tip of the knife nicked his astral shoulder as it drove deep into his body. The sharp stab of True Pain told him that this was a Mage-Bane blade, and someone knew exactly who they were trying to kill. As the knife pulled back for his next assault Ked reflexively repaired his body of all but a a shallow cut that corresponded to his Mage-Wound. Ked's Mage-Self tumbled backwards out of his body, leaving his Lifeline attached to his right thigh away from any major arteries. Through the Lifeline Ked puppet-spun his body about to face his assailant. The assassin stabbed him again, this time in the heart. "This idiot's messing with wrong mage," thought Ked, as the assassin pulled the knife out for another strike. Ked's Mage-Fingers carved a Rune of Damnation into his assailants back. As the slippery cartilage of the man's spine began to melt Ked's Mage-Sense detected the first spark of external magic in over five years. It quickly vanished as the would-be killer crumbled forward. Ked's satisfaction froze on his Mage-Face as he noticed a second to late that the Mage-Bane knife was being guided by the falling assassin precisely where his Lifeline connected to his body. Not a second to soon Ked released the binding strand of being, killing his mundane self. He screamed curses in the black, magic-less void that now surrounded him. For the first time in the five centuries of his Mage-Life, Ked had died.

i do apologize if the contest left a bad taste in anyones mouth. I hope the pen is able to enjoy the T-shirts despite of this. On an odd note, the link works for me, so I would never had known was broken except except Rev said something.

Votings over....Mynx wins.

So after further dead silence I have a new announcement to make. Pages and initaites may vote for the winner of this thread. Send me a PM listing who you think should win the first ever CoreWarez minted Pen T-shirt

OOC: The time for entries has closed. Initates please pm me your votes so that the lucky winner can recieve their shirt

It took Nyyark longer than a moment to realize that Madhatter had arrived. Later he would blame his over-dependence on "electronics" for the stage set up. The salesman had explained that anyone could operate "electronics" even if they lacked the ability to manipulate magic. Nyyark had thought that "electronics" would suit him perfectly, but the outlandish dials and unhelpful symbols covering the things caused them to be as unworkable as any spell Nyyark had ever encountered. Fortunately, Nyyark had decided not to use any untested technology for his extremely important initiate guests. What he had decided upon was an artifact the crows had found lying around the keep labeled "Servants." Well technically it said "Secret Servants of the Seventh Hell” but as usual, who ever ran the keep before he did was just being wordy. Unfortunately, Nyyark did not consult Crow before deciding on this artifact. "Come'onCome'on” Nyyark chanted as he rapidly rubbed the interestingly shaped orb atop the mechanism. With a hiss and out-pouring of darkness the artifact started. "Massster" purred the seven shadowy beings before him, "How can we sssser-" "No time for that” interrupted Nyyark, "We have our first initiate! See to it that he is well cared for." As the figures contorted their way over to Madhatter, Nyyark couldn't help but wonder why the artifact had called exclusively female servants.

Nyyark smiled happily at Katzaniel. "Thank you so much for helping start up the Almost-Dragonic-Telopscopic-Holographic-Stage-Improvement-Set." Nyyark said. After recovering his breath he went on, "I couldn't make beaks or claws of the remote. I think this one is a lizard eating a geld peice, or maybe a really, shiny cookie. I don't know... Anyways, it seems to be working now...!"

Dear Initiates of the Pen, You have been invited as VIP guests to the PenT-shirt contest! The thread can be found in the conservatory. Please come in and enjoy the thread. Practice roleplaying by having your character attend the event as part of the audience. Become part of the community by casting your vote after the closing date, and if you want to truely show that you are the stuff a pennite is made of, write up a post analysing your choice explaining why you voted the way you did. I know that you are not eligable for the prize this time, but I would really appreciate your participation in this event, and I know the rest of the pen would too. Lets make initiate judges a tradition we can keep! If you have any questions or comments at all, feel free to PM me. I especially appriciate questions about the contest, or how to roleplay, but any communications will be greeted warmly. -Nyyark PS: I apologize to those honored guests that have become a part of the community in spirit rather than rank. You are certianly welcome to roleplay as an audience member, and if you have a pending application, you could vote as long as you post explaining why you choose what you did (giving quality feedback).

The ex-closet looked splendid. Atleast compared to its former broomy self it did. It'd taken the elephants almost a day to knock out enough walls to put the stage in, but better late than never. Now, with the elepants recaptured and penned in the back, the room was ready to open. Nyyark gave the initate VIP seating one last check over, then flipped over the the sign labled "CLOSED" on the front door. It read: OPEN!!!! This area has been designated for the Mighty PenT-shirt Contest. Initiates are all invited to come and watch as the members bearing the rank page and above, submit, live for your pleasure, a story and poem. Initiates, when the final curtain falls, you will be called upon to choose the best prefomance, so that the winner might recieve the very first every PenT-Shirt. Please refer all questions Here.

Happy Birthday