Quest for Echelon's Ring

So, I got an idea for a story and it's about a pair of bounty hunters (Elisha and Lin) who go on this quest to find a ring that belonged to one of the great historical figures of their land, a man named Echelon. I'll eventually end up posting the story here, so I'm not going to give you any spoilers, but a little glimpse into who's who and a teaser...

Elisha (No. 958): A nineteen-year-old bounty hunter who was raised on the streets who narrates this piece. He's an expert at things like picking locks, gathering information from strangers and is a pretty bright young adult. He is one of the Shieniel, who are people who have had some sort of encounter with the non-physical world. His choice weapon is a sword, though he rarely uses it. He also carries around exploding canisters and poisoned darts for ranged attacks.
Lin (No. 843): Elisha's eighteen-year-old partner, a fellow bounty hunter. Her expertise lies primarily in the physical aspects of the job and she's in really good physical shape. Before she became a bounty hunter, she was just an average citizen of the town and Elisha hints at the fact that she originally took an apprenticeship to help take care of Nemo, her younger brother. Her weapon of choice is a blast pistol and for close range, she usually fights unarmed.
Jordan: Identification number unknown. He was the bounty hunter who originally trained Elisha, but since then, he has left to go on a search for Veritas, or Ultimate Truth. It is revealed that the sword that Elisha now wields used to belong to Jordan and was probably given as a gift at their parting.
Mark: ID number unknown. A fellow bounty hunter and close acquaintance of Elisha. It is revealed that Elisha loaned him his "time-keeper" (basically a watch).

A few additional notes:
Veritas: Otherwise known as the Ultimate Truth. Only Shieniel can properly seek it and really only a few Shieniel are interested, as most believe it is a highly theoretical and not very practical area of interest.
Shieniel: People who have had some sort of encounter with the non-physical realm. They're often treated as outcasts to society, especially since people forget that there was a time when everyone was a Shieniel. Elisha and Jordan are both Shieniel.
Luaniel: People who have never encountered anything outside the physical realm. They make up about 95% of the current population. Lin and her family are Luaniel.
Echelon: Elisha explains this myth within the context of his narration, but Echelon was a town elder during the time where people were beginning to become Luaniel.
Melekhiel: a mysterious being. You'll find more out about him in Elisha's narration.

And... now for a teaser! This is just the first two paragraphs.

I don’t know what brought me here or even why I decided to stay. This whole place is a bit of a creepy castle, like the kind you read about in stories about medieval times with knights and princesses and dragons. To be honest, I never cared for much of that. No, I was always caught up in the practical aspects of life, like where I would find my next meal. Living on the streets is hard, even if you do happen to land a good paying job as a bounty hunter.

I didn’t always start out as a bounty hunter and I guess that’s not even what I really am. Not truly, anyhow. Jordan was the one who gave me this sword and taught me just about everything I know. He helped me get my first job, but since then, I’ve moved on. He helped me find my place in a society where everyone treats us badly because we are different. Actually, what am I spending time telling you this for? He doesn’t even come into the story that I’m about to tell you. In fact, I haven’t seen or spoken to Jordan in about three years. Last I heard, he went off on some quest for Ultimate Truth or, as he called it, Veritas. My story actually starts much later than that.

So there you have it. I think this story will actually get done pretty soon because I actually have a clear idea of where it's going.

Return of Digit Island!~

Well, I'm thinking about resurrecting Digit Island yet again, albeit with some changes and some alterations to character histories so that they don't all know each other. <_<

Scene: An abandoned stone courtyard. The sun has gone down and there is a chill in the air. Two humanoid figures are facing one another. The taller one, clearly belonging to a male, is sitting and the shorter, standing a short distance away, hands on her hips.

"Are you sure these are the seven?" the female asked, her voice incredulously high, especially for her. "They look... weak."

The other figure spoke a few sharp words in his native tongue. "They are human, Tem," he replied, switching back over to common. "It is the will of the High Council that this be done and as part of your discipline-"

Before he could continue, the one addressed as Tem interrupted. "Yeah, yeah. I know," she narrowed her eyes. "I just don't think they'll be ready when the time comes. But don't say I didn't warn you."

The man stood up, taking some effort to push himself into a standing position. "Take the twins with you," he replied, his voice barely audible, even in the dead silence of the night. "They'll remind you not to lose faith in humanity... yet."

Enter Isaiah and Jeremiah Lewis, age 19.

"We're going to be late for classes!" Isaiah grabbed his bookbag and ran out the door, dragging his brother behind him. Today was the first day of classes at Veritas Academy and the older of the twins had his introduction to engineering class in less than five minutes. Jeremiah, as usual, was lagging behind.

"Just hold on... there's no need to rush," Jeremiah grabbed his notebook and managed to barely get his set of house keys out of the lock before he was yanked away. Another typical morning to another typical day, right? Wrong.

"Hey! You two. You're with me today." Isaiah frowned; he'd heard that familiar voice before and it always meant trouble was close behind. Before either of the brothers could say anything, they were whisked off to a campsite. Tem was up to her usual tricks again.

Meet the Chosen Seven:

SCOTT ADAMS, your average fifteen-year-old high school student from California who enjoys theater, hanging out with his friends and just generally having a good time,
SAMANTHA ADAMS, Scott's twin sister who is an avid storyteller and a caring friend,
NATHANIEL "NATE" WINTERS, Scott and Sam's fourteen-year-old cousin who is originally from New York who has an aptitude for technology and setting things on fire,
KIRAN SHASTHRI, one of Nate's best friends from school who wants to be a medical missionary when she grows up and is rarely seen without her flute,
MICHAEL LIU, a quiet fourteen-year-old with a mysterious past,
KEITH CHANDLER, a thirteen-year-old kid from eastern Washington who talks to inanimate objects and lastly,
EDWARD McALLISTAIR, a sixteen-year-old football player from Texas with a superiority complex to boot.

Together under Tem's instruction and the watchful eyes of Isaiah and Jeremiah Lewis, can these seven young teenagers work together to save Digit Island before it falls? Or will Tem's skepticism about the strength of humanity prove accurate once again?

Fantasy

I recently came across a note that a friend of mine wrote on facebook in the form of a poem, talking about why she writes fantasy. This got me thinking about why I enjoy reading and writing fantasy literature. Since I am not nearly as creative as she is, my reasons will just take the form of a list.

• Guys treat girls with respect. It's something that is surprisingly uncommon these days... the idea of chivalry and honour. But in most, if not all, fantasy stories, the leading guy is a firm believer in and follower of the code of chivalry. Girls are also tend to be less manipulative than they do in today's society.
• A true sense of family and belonging. Even if it's not by birth, characters in fantasy stories generally act like family better than ones in realistic stories do. Take LotR, for example. What holds the fellowship together to the best of its ability is the power of friendship and teamwork. The goal wouldn't have been able to be accomplished by one character alone and each character has a place that they belong.
• Responsibility of powers. Whether this involves magic (as many fantasy stories do) or the ability to kick some serious behind with a sword, fantasy stories explore the balance of having power and being responsible about it. Those who abuse their power get what's coming to them in the end and those who either refuse to be tempted by the power (think Aragorn's reaction to the Ring in LotR here... or Faramir's reaction in the books!) or accept it with responsibility to use it for good (ie, Gandalf or Elrond or Galadriel with their Elven rings) are rewarded.
• Second chances, redemption and self-sacrifice. I don't know if this is true, but fantasy characters seem to mess up more than realistic characters would... or their mistakes hold much graver consequences. Through this, fantasy authors are able to explore themes like second chances (Pippin got at least one in LotR), redemption (Edmund's story in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and self-sacrifice for the sake of helping others (when Boromir died at the end of FotR or beginning of Two Towers, depending on whether you're following the movies or the books, respectively). You don't see that as clearly in realistic fiction.
• Beauty of other cultures. Fantasy authors are able to address controversial issues like racism in a much less offensive way than realistic fiction authors would be able to. The deep-seated prejudice between the Elves and the Dwarves in Tolkien's stories could easily be applied to modern prejudices and show readers how foolish it is to judge people solely on an aspect of themselves over which they have no control.
• In a highly materialistic, secular humanistic culture where there is little belief in what cannot be explained by science (or pseudoscience, as the case often is), to jump into a world where elves and dwarves, fauns and satyrs, talking beasts and trees that move exist is rather refreshing. To be able to enjoy a story like that allows for just a little bit of hope that some of it might be true... and thus opens a person up to the possibility of a supernatural.
  
• The end. I have yet to come across a fantasy book where the bad guys win in the end. The bad guys always have to get what they deserve (usually in the form of death or some other humiliating punishment) and the good guys win, but rarely without some large sacrifice on their part (once again, this often involves character death). In the words of a young character of mine whose universe is at war, "we have to win in the end 'cause we're the good guys. And the good guys always win in the end, right?" He's able to sum things up much better than I can. This idea is very Judeo-Christian, as God will have the final victory.
  

And I think that just about wraps things up. These are the main reasons why I enjoy reading and writing fantasy as much as I do. Thanks for reading.