DR: Daniel's Teaser

Disclaimer: Characters, etc. belong to me. This is narrated to Daniel's POV and slight spoilers are contained, as it takes place AFTER Dark Redemption.

To clarify things. First, I never wanted to save the world. All I wanted was to make things better for those I care about. My family, my friends, even those kids at the Academy who pick on other students.

Second point of clarification. I never once dreamed we'd be in so much danger. It was a harmless simulation, designed to pass away the hours of the afternoon and procrastinate on a pile of homework from Ms. Turner's AP biology class. Maybe if I'd known we were going to almost be killed like that, I wouldn't have dragged Bridget along.

But what does one do when thrust into a situation where the fate of the world is at stake? What if you simply cannot do anything to make things better? At that point, do your choices even matter anymore? Contrary to popular belief, perhaps questions have no easy answers. Maybe the right answer is different from person to person and dependent on the situation.

Yet then again, maybe not. From the very beginning (even though I never read the books written by Ms. Adams), I knew that Synistra had to be evil and we, as the heroes, had to be the good guys. I have always known that the good guys have to win in the end, but when I was younger, I didn't understand why CJ was so hesitant. I think I do know why now; my time in Almendrim has taught me that evil never goes down without a fight. The good guys still win in the end, but it's never easy.

And maybe that's why I did what I did. I chose to do what was necessary to help the good guys defeat the evil guys in the end and no choice comes without sacrifice.

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.

Sam's Fantasy Epic

I've been working on a story that Sam is writing and she lets Michael read later. I have vague ideas of some of the characters, but I don't know where the story is going.

Just to let you know, Sam is a huge fan of writers like Tolkien, so her stories have a definite fantasy flavour to them. Yes, there is magic in this story, but it is written in the spirit of Tolkien and Lewis.

Character List
Royal Family of Kumori~

King Richard: 53. Was once a fair and noble king. Now going slightly senile due to the effects of a magical illness he contracted as a child.
Queen Lauren: 42. Wants to marry off her children while her husband is still able to function. An adept hostess.
Prince Adam: 20. The eldest son and heir. Arrogant and slightly spoiled by his mother. Very handsome. Is overdue for an arranged marriage, but Queen Lauren cannot find any girl who will suit him.
Princess Emilia: 17. Middle child. Is jealous of her mother's attention to Adam. She enjoys dressing extravagantly. Likes Lucius Touchstone.
Princess Charity: 14. Youngest child. Friendly and takes a special liking towards Violette. Enjoys playing matchmaker. Original tamer of Luminas.

Residents of Kumori~

Violette: 16. A resourceful and hard-working girl originally from the kingdom of Thalmosse. From a noble family, she was one of the girls taken to be a possible wife for Prince Adam. Luminas now belongs to her. Olivia is her best friend and Quincy is her twin brother.
Olivia: 16. Vi's best friend and a fellow servant girl. A bit spacey at the best of times. She is an Outsider.
Lucius Touchstone: 18. A servant who is learning how to become a healer from Eirhian. He likes Emilia, but is a commoner.
Eirhian: Age unknown. A celestial Outsider who works as a healer. She used to be an assassin and is now training Lucius. Nioko belongs to her.
Nioko: A rather snarky imp who often takes the form of a snake and accompanies Eirhian wherever she goes.
Luminas: A playful imp who takes the form of a giant butterfly/moth.

Other characters~

Sir Keith Chandler: Early-to-mid 30s. A mysterious knight originally from the kingdom of Galoris. He rarely speaks, but he has been training Robert for at least a few years.
Elyora: Sir Keith's fiancee.
Robert Anderson: 15. Demonic outsider who accompanies Sir Keith on his expeditions. He's originally a commoner from the kingdom of Galoris.
Synistra: Age unknown. A demonic outsider who is a skilled user of magic. Resides in the kingdom of Sheol.
Quincy: 16. Violette's twin brother who is studying to be a performer in King Sebastian's court.
King Sebastian: The king of Thalmosse.

Kingdoms
Kumori
Thalmosse
Galoris
Sheol

Races
Humans: Your typical humans... normal, diverse, etc.
Outsiders: Any non-human humanoids. They're treated as second-class citizens in most areas. The children of outsiders will always be considered outsiders, even if they look human. There are two types: Celestial and Demonic. This doesn't necessarily have any say on whether the character is good or evil (as Robert, Synistra and Olivia are all the same type of Outsider); it merely comments on their appearance.
Imps/Faeries: Small creatures that usually take the form of animals or plants.

Magic and Other Stuff
Magic: Yes, this story has magic in it... both magic to heal (what Eirhian and Lucius use) and magic to hurt (like what Synistra uses). Magic users are generally Outsiders and therefore, treated as outcasts. It is an inherited ability, but must be developed with effort and much practice.
As an author, Sam is very much inspired by the world that Tolkien created, as well as a bit of CS Lewis. Both authors had magic in their stories (for Tolkien, it was primarily Saruman and Gandalf, and for Lewis, Aslan and Jadis) and it is not inherently evil. I think I'm going to make a blog post over on my other blog going into further detail with this, so I'll leave it that for now.

Faramir's Song

I took a chance to write a brief little song in honour of one of my favourite fictional characters of all-time. Inspiration for parts of it was taken from the scene in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, where Faramir and Eowyn are talking to each other in the Houses of Healing. Enjoy!

~~~~~

Your hand is reaching out
So I cannot deny
These feelings that are clear to me
And there's no reason why.

My heart, it tells me one thing
But I pretend I cannot hear
After all that we've been through
I just want to hold you near.

CHORUS
I want a hug to know you're sorry
A kiss to know you care
A smile when I see you next
To know that someone's there.
A hug to know you're sorry
A kiss to know you care
A smile when I see you next
To know that someone's there.

I see how much you're hurting;
I know how much you can love
All these things you hold inside you
Are gifts that come from above.

And so I ask you one thing
Promise me in return
That you'll be honest with me;
That is something you must learn.

Repeat Chorus

I, give you one thing
The chance to be set free
Take a chance to discover
Who you are meant to be.

I know I'm just a broken man
With not a lot to give
But my heart truly loves you
And just wants to see you live.

Repeat Chorus

Your smile is like fire
That burns my heart of stone
Your kindness is like the welcome
Of truly coming home.

So I'm asking you a question
And I hope you will reply
I really want to see you happy
But you make me want to cry.

Repeat Chorus

BRIDGE
Because I need to know
If you love me too
Because I need to know
That's why I'm asking you

Repeat Chorus x2

~~~~~

Actually, I have no idea where part of the inspiration came from. I was filling out an application for a job and all of a sudden, the chorus popped into my mind. As I continued writing the song, the scene in the third and final Lord of the Rings movie came to mind.

Anyhow, words are copyright me. With the exception of the chorus, I have no idea what the tune is supposed to be and I really don't have a way to share it with you, either. First of all, because I don't have a voice recording system. And second of all, because I can't sing.

To Learn by Reading

To be a good writer, one has to learn not only by writing, but also by reading. Eventually (once school settles down - haha), I'll probably get around to talking about some of my favorite books and authors here and what I do and don't like about those books. Despite my abhorrence for unnecessary character death, I still enjoy reading the works of William Shakespeare. In case anyone was wondering, CS Lewis is probably my all-time favorite author.

Things I Enjoy in Books:

• Good characters. A book has to have decent characters for the book to be good. As CS Lewis remarked, "we read to know we're not alone" and through the characters of a book, an author can speak to us in ways he or she wouldn't be able to otherwise.
  
• A halfway decent plotline. The more complex the plotline, the better. As a writer, I love making complex lines and intricate threads for characters to follow and I appreciate an author who can do the same and do it well. This is where I especially love the works of JRR Tolkien.
• Believability of a world. It doesn't matter whether it's real (The Andromeda Strain) or historical (Pride and Prejudice or The Three Musketeers) or made-up (Lord of the Rings or Narnia), but the world has to be written well and believable. One thing that I really love about Tolkien is that he goes through all the trouble of making up the languages (okay, so he really loved that stuff) and the races and the stories were just a product of people seeing what he'd done and asking him to write. In creating a different universe, you almost have to do all the background work before writing all about the characters or you'll have a lot of gaps. Trust me... I know from experience.
• I love it when authors think of clever allegorical references or symbolism or interesting names that actually apply to their characters somehow. For example, in CS Lewis' Narnia series, Aslan is Turkish for lion. Quite suiting, considering the fact that he is the Lion. Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is frequently characterized by being tall, dark and handsome. Darcy means dark. Pretty interesting if you ask me... and I'm sure there are other authors who do this; I'm just not sure of any others at the moment.
  

Things That Are Major Pet Peeves in Books:

• Unnecessary character death. Mr. Shakespeare, anyone? Need I say more? Actually, I do like Shakespeare... I just see it as unnecessary to kill off characters without a good reason.
• When authors don't check their facts or make things realistic based on what universe they're operating in. Take The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton (scroll down between half and two-thirds way for the part I'm talking about), for example... excellent book and it was written well overall. Unfortunately, I have a knack for random facts that'll only be useful if I happen to get asked to appear on Jeopardy.
• Weak female characters, especially if all the main characters are female and they're all weak. I love the strong female character, like Eowyn from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
• This applies more to fan-fiction and short stories that people write and share online, but I really dislike it when they don't include warnings. If you're going to write romance (whether it's slash or non-slash and especially intense romance), please warn us. Same thing with language, etc.

I suppose that's all I have for now. I enjoyed taking a little bit of time out of my busy studying schedule to write this up and organize my thoughts into a somewhat coherent thought pattern before I go off to eat something for dinner and do more homework.

Hoorah for homework and studying! No really. Oh, this is the site I found the name information from.