Greetings

[Alyccea Nymaessene]

We do seem to have a crazy amount of stuff in common! If we lived near each other I would definitely take you up on that offer of coffee (though in my case it would have to be a chamomile tea). :fistbump (I couldn't find a tea-drinking emote so just imagine they're clinking their teacups together. )

It's awesome that you have such a wide variety of interests! Do you have any other hobbies?

Out of curiosity, what exactly does a cultural anthropologist do? I may need to start plotting for my next big career change...

 

[Dnae Ila]

Ashara, I too love your sig. I think you did a good job working with the space. May I ask, what is the typeface you used for "guardian of the pocket dragon"?

 

[Ashara Koh'inor]

May I ask, what is the typeface you used for "guardian of the pocket dragon"?

Sure! It is "JellykaBees Antique Handwriting". I don't remember if I got it off of 1001freefonts.com or dafont.com
Are you familiar with typography? Not many people refer to them as typefaces anymore, so that caught my attention

Thanks for the compliment!

 

[Selvyn al'Aran]

Maps make me want to know more about the history of the place they represent, though, so I had to ask. And that includes geological as well as political/human history - I like looking at mountain ranges and continent edges and imagining the events that would have taken place to drive sections of land together or apart, and how that would have affected people and/or animals that lived there, from an evolutionary and a cultural perspective. And languages, too! In our world it's amazing how different two languages, cuisines, styles of dress etc. can be simply because the people involved were separated by a mountain range or a rough sea. And how similar two groups can be despite being separated by a large distance, simply because their people invented bridges or boats or tunnels or good shoes!

Maybe they're all inaccurate - can you tell whether the "normal" modern maps you find in an atlas or on a globe are accurate? :shifty Just a thought.

Yes, such divisions are fascinating. I’ve never got to the stage where I really plan out the history of any borders and the conflicts surrounding them, unfortunately. I’ve had brief ideas – the bottom map had a large city-state that declared independence from the surrounding empire somehow, which was a huge loss for them as it was the former capital – but nothing with as much detail as what you described. It’s very inspirational, though; I think I’ll use it to help create the world behind the map I’m working on now. So far it’s got a higher chance than the rest at being more than just a map.

Your point about inaccuracies is very true. I always knew the British Isles had to be much bigger than they appeared in atlases, and that confirms it. :shifty

THOSE MAPS, Selvyn! I guess you probably tire of hearing the praise, but I am just astounded. They are lovely, and I can tell how much time you put in to them to make them so painstakingly beautiful. I am fascinated by the various landforms, mountain ranges, names, etc. And, like Alyccea (I hate to steal her quote, but I cannot think of a better way to put it - bravo to the beautiful and well spoken lass from down under)! I tend to be more of a worldbuilder myself so whenever I draw out a map or try to write I end up enjoying the details of culture, land, etc. more than I often do plot. Which, is probably why I am not a writer or at least one of the reasons.

It would be difficult to tire of hearing praise. Especially as I haven’t shared them with many people to begin with. I am glad you like the names, mountains and other landforms; those were probably the most time consuming things to do.

Worldbuilding is where my focus was too – and still is, I suppose. I try to create a world, or at least a portion of it, before going into more detail, but perhaps it is time to try a different approach.

I also noticed that your maps are all singular landforms set amidst an ocean with very little else (this is not a criticism, just an observation). Is this an influence from your own island home? Belonging to a large land mass here, but being on the coast, I find that when I sit down to draw my own land influences my choices greatly. Just curious.

I had not considered that, actually, but thinking about it now, I expect that it was at least a partial influence. Even when I was just doodling maps on paper they were almost always islands. I suppose I like creating the outlines of a map; the bigger picture as opposed to a particular place, at least until I have a better idea of how big a world is and its rough shape. I’ll have to try and create a more local map – that would be a big change, but I think it would be fun.

I hope one day when you have time I can coerce you (perhaps you need more items for the pocket?) into making me one? You are always having so many requests, and now your new job here at TV, so I did not want to seem pushy. I mean, not that smacking you over the head and stuffing you in a pocket would ever seem pushy either....arch

Don’t worry about that! I enjoy making signatures; that’s why I make [STRIKE]too[/STRIKE] so many. Besides, the request thread has been pretty quiet lately. It would not be pushy at all.

I would do the same for Selvyn, but he seems more like a half-tame dragon and doesn't come across as one who would want to be inundated with letters and attention.

I will not confirm or deny these allegations. :shifty

 

[Dnae Ila]

I thought it might be a jellyka. That designer has a lot of pretty ones. I was sort of hoping it was Dragon Is Coming because that would have been a fabulous joke, but when I compared, it clearly wasn't.
Yeah, I'm a bit of a typography nerd. My work has forced me into it, haha.

 

[Ashara Koh'inor]

(gently pats pocket and peeks inside)...
Selvyn? You ok in there? It's been awfully quiet lately.

It would be difficult to tire of hearing praise. Especially as I haven’t shared them with many people to begin with.

Don’t worry about that! I enjoy making signatures; that’s why I make [STRIKE]too[/STRIKE] so many. Besides, the request thread has been pretty quiet lately. It would not be pushy at all.

First, I can't thank you enough for sharing your incredible maps. I have been back to look at them several times. They make ME want to write stories and explore their lands. I truly can appreciate how difficult it is to share one's own creations, as I usually tuck mine away for years on end without them ever seeing the light of day. Writings at least, my drawings and paintings sometimes surface.

Now, about that sig.... may I have one please????

 

[Selvyn al'Aran]

Zzz...Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus... oh! Yes, I am still here. Just dozing.

I am very glad to hear that! It's wonderful that they have been inspirational to others. I've always found writing harder to share than anything else for some reason, unless I plan on doing it from the start, like the short story I wrote for Bel Tine this year.

Of course you can! Do you have any ideas for what you'd like? I can probably think of something, but it's always easier when I have a theme or a few words to start from.

 

[Ashara Koh'inor]

Zzz...Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus... oh! Yes, I am still here. Just dozing.

:rofl Never tickle a sleeping dragon....Haha don't worry, I believe I already commented that I don't think you are exactly tame. In fact I only hit you over the head because I wasn't sure what that standoff .gif was going to lead to in the beginning. If you weren't so comfortable down there in the pocket I wonder at times if you'd dart out and either disappear or I'd find our roles reversed.

Are you a Harry Potter fan??

Where is your story for Bel Tine? Is it posted?

Oh dear, ideas for the sig... well, my favorite color is red (but not like the Red ajah in the book or anything). I like trees and the ocean. I am more of a hermit in most cases, I am a Pisces, but I like birds a lot - in fact in RL I have trained a flock (I refuse to call them a murder) of wild crows to come eat in my back yard every day. Hmmmm.... Surprise me.

 

[Selvyn al'Aran]

Dragons like comfort, I'm told, so you should be safe for now.

I am, yes. As for the story, it was posted, but the forums closed after the event ended. I'll paste it in a spoiler below, if you're interested in reading it - it's 2000 words long. If I were to do it again I'd focus on either the beginning or the end, and not have both. Trying to fit both parts - which ended up being jarringly different - in the word count was a bit of a stretch, and the ending suffered for it. Still, it was fun!

Spoiler

‘Push me sideways and drown my cactus, they’re coming back!’

The captain of The Wobbly Radish, reflected Lucius, was a verbose man, and a bit deaf, too, for what was left of his crew had been trying to tell him just that for the past minute.

As the captain tripped over a bundle of rope and fell down squawking, Lucius revised his reflection. Perhaps the man was just brain-dead. It had been a trying day, true, and the captain had managed it adequately, pushing back a pirate assault at the cost of a mere ten of eleven crewmates, but things really had gone downhill after Timothy had been captured. Timothy had been the first mate. He’d also been the first to go.

‘Pardon me, Captain,’ said Lucius, pulling the now-blubbering man to his feet by his equally blubbery hand, ‘but do you have any idea how we’ll get out of this one?’

‘I’d have your tonsils if you thought I didn’t!’ cried the captain.

Lucius blinked and, before he could stop himself, swallowed. He needn’t have worried - the captain had demonstrated many times that he wasn’t the most observant of fellows.

‘Ricky, push the speed to a roar!’ bellowed the captain, spittle soaring from his lips. ‘Barnaby, go pull on the gull’s wings! I want us floating in the wind, like a whale granted feathers from the cloud’s rumbling belly!’

‘Ricky’s gone, cap’n,’ said the final crewman - Stanley, Lucius thought his name was. ‘So’s Barnaby. An’ Timothy. An’ -’

‘Spare me your sorry soliloquy, Stacey!’ The captain strode to the stern, took a spyglass from his pocket and jammed it against his eye. ‘Damn the circular rim of this sordid knave!’

Stacey stared gormlessly at the captain, perhaps wondering what the words ‘sordid’, ‘knave’ or ‘circular’ meant.

Lucius stepped past Stacey and moved to stand behind the captain. Peering into the distance, he could see the ship following them in far greater detail than he had been able to minutes before.

Circular in shape, with a pale, pink sail that seemed to shimmer in the light of the rising sun, the vessel did not seem seaworthy in the slightest. And yet, Lucius frowned, seaworthy it was. The ship and its crew of pirates had effortlessly caught up to The Wobbly Radish before, and raided it with an ease that had been frightening to behold.

They had seemed to fade from view, there one moment and gone the next; there had been times where the only indication that anyone was on their ship at all was the eyes that glowed brightly in even the darkest shadows, and the foul, high-pitched giggles that sounded like music.

Lucius had thought much on the matter after they had made their escape, and he’d realised that the pirates possessed sails of their own: transparent, paper-thin wings. How else had they been able to snatch the crew away with only a giggle, with no cry of alarm or a struggle?

And now the pirates had found them again. It should have been impossible - their lead had been tremendous - but there they were, in plain view, and they were gaining on The Wobbly Radish with dreadful haste.

‘Oh, my noggin’s got a good spark of a shot now!’ The captain, who had been gracelessly pirouetting, pulled the spyglass from his eye with a shout of triumph. ‘Stacey! The line in the rock stands for eons without knock, but now we tumble forth in our damnable desperation! Forward! Forward! And to the left!’

To his credit, Stacey did not hesitate. Lucius had no idea what manner of sense the captain had been trying to wrestle out of his wretched mouth, but he supposed the crew had been exposed to the man’s insanity enough for some things to rub off.

He knew he had been right in his judgment when Stacey steered the ship towards a towering chasm that cut into the cliff. Cloaked in shadow even as the sun rose higher still, it seemed a thoroughly malevolent place. ‘Captain’, said Lucius. ‘I applaud your bravery, but is this truly the best course?’

‘The track to be taken is the track that sprouts in the light of the dawn!’

Even as Lucius came to the startling and somewhat upsetting realisation that the captain had almost said something of value, The Wobbly Radish slipped neatly between the two shelves of rock. From his observation of the pirates’ ship, they were not likely to be able to follow them. He released a great breath, his muscles loosening, and was just about to commend the captain for his surprising success when he was abruptly thrown off the boat.

The cold of the sea shot through him at once, cruel and unyielding. ‘What?’ he spluttered. ‘What is this? Did we not have an agreement?’

The captain leaned over the side of his ship and threw a satchel of Lucius’ belongings overboard. Thankfully, it landed on a rock above the water, but Lucius had to swim swiftly to prevent it from slipping further, and by that time the ship had moved enough that he knew he would never reach it.

‘Your treaty is rife in woe and sorrow!’ the captain screamed at him. ‘Nothing but the languid minds of tadpoles would suffer your flea-bitten countenance if I yet have a say in the deed!’ And with that, he stormed away from sight.

Lucius hauled himself onto the rock and sat, watching The Wobbly Radish until it, too, vanished. ‘That could have gone better,’ he said mildly.

***

Hours later, as he slipped down a hole at the foot of a steep slope with the tumultuous roar of the rain pelting his back, he accepted that things could have gone a lot worse.

To begin with, things had only gone up - literally. A rotting stairway pinned to the side of the chasm had yielded a way out of his predicament, and he had taken it with meticulous enthusiasm. He remembered the great fields of flowers that had greeted him, the way they shifted softly in the breeze, how they covered the ground like a carpet that stretched for miles in every direction.

There had been daffodils, roses, and others he did not care to recall as he continued falling - the hole he had landed in was, it turned out, the entrance to a remarkably deep tunnel. There were trees, too, though they were spread out, sparse in numbers when compared to their efflorescent friends. He’d recognised but one - a short, stocky thing with branches of tumbling cherry blossom that drooped lazily in the sun.

It had been sunny then. Not long after those pleasant observations, when the flowers had given way to grass and the fields rose into hills, the skies had clouded and rain fell from thundering heavens in grey rivulets. Utterly unprepared for such conditions, he had scrambled to find cover, lost his footing, and fell.

The tunnel was smooth and slippery, and after five minutes, Lucius wondered when it would ever end.

‘Avast! A visitor!’

The words galloped through the earth, cavorting from one direction to the other in tempestuous echoes, its call heralding further cries of excitement and surprise.

As abruptly as it had started, the din fell silent - for one moment, all Lucius could hear was his own heartbeat, pumping at a most irregular rate, but before he could gather his thoughts and compose a plan, he was flying out of the tunnel and into a brightly lit cavern.

He could make out gargantuan mushrooms, wooden sculptures, fire contained in jars hanging from every nook and cranny - and then the world came to a sudden stop, and he found himself pinned between two hulking, hairy fellows with beards blooming on their chins.

‘Ahoy!’ they cried, marching him into the cavern. People, the same height as his companions all, bustled about, wide grins spread across their faces. They seemed to be preparing for a feast.

With a jolt, Lucius recognised the place. This was the fabled Fungi of the World, his erstwhile destination - with mushrooms the size of mansions and fairies scurrying to and fro, it could be no other. He made no effort to stop his own grin, and he offered no reproval as he was pushed into a chair and surrounded by trays upon trays of teapots and cake, so joyful was he.

After the captain abandoned him, he had not thought he would finish his journey, but here he was! Here, in the sanctuary of the fairies, where - so it was said - objects of great power were as common as cutlery.

Lucius gasped as his hopes were proven true: a fairy had just passed him a slice of shortbread on the Platter of Potence. To see such an object that had brought civilisations to ruin being used as an innocent serving tray confirmed his suspicions that the fairies were ignorant or impervious to their enticing nature.

Scarcely had he finished his forty-second helping of cherry cake, however, than a terrible sound did roll through the cavern: the sound of giggles. Lucius felt an unwelcome chill settle around his heart. The pirates were attacking.

‘Avast, me hearties! Shake the grog, and smartly! Lubbers do be marchin’ through at their peril! Arrr!’ called a fairy, rousing the rest to action.

Their eyes aglow, the pirates emerged from the shadows, their loathsome weapons firing brilliant streams of stars at the fairies. The fairies fought back by throwing the contents of their cups at the pirates, and Lucius knew that they would not last long.

He cast his eyes over the cavern - if only he could find a powerful object that would suit the occasion! There were many of them resting upon shelves, but he was reluctant to use any he did not recognise for fear of hastening the destruction of the Fungi of the World.

At last, he let out a cry of relief, spying the Horn of Fanfare, an ancient horn said to summon a great army to battle. He ran towards the shelf, avoiding the skirmishes that had erupted all over the cavern; ducking one moment to dodge a pirate that had been tossed with considerable strength and leaping over a stream of boiling tea the next.

Finally, he reached the shelf. Sparing but a moment to admire the craftsmanship of the instrument, he raised the Horn to his lips and blew. A windy, wailing sound swept through the cavern, and mist billowed into being, its source unseen. A weight settled over him, watching him, judging him… and then the animals appeared.

Ghostly, radiant, the spectres of all manner of creatures coalesced from the mist - Lucius saw squirrels, rabbits, deer, owls, even badgers; they all leapt at the pirates with unholy glee, and the fairies cheered them on, drinking tea and throwing cakes. Their victory was assured.

The aftermath of the invasion was nothing short of spectacular, and he was pleased to find that the prisoners of The Wobbly Radish were well and good - the pirates had held true to their evil ways, setting them to work cleaning their ship wearing boots with springs, but they had suffered no harm, and Lucius had to admit that the crew had never been neater. The fairies, for all the tea they had wasted and all the cakes they had consumed, had still more food to spare, and the banquet continued long into the night.

‘Me beauty!’ the fairies cried to him, ‘Aye, me beauty! Ye saved us all!’

And so Lucius went to bed content, satisfied that his actions had saved many lives from damnation, not knowing that even now, curious fairies were finally experimenting with the relics they had oft ignored. If he had, he would surely not have slept as easy, for the terrors of the Bun Ring, Flossmourne, the Elder Frond and countless more were enough to keep any man from his slumber...

Here is a signature! I really like your new one, though. You should keep that. Did you make it yourself again?

I'm not sure if it is a crow or a raven. I'm thinking a raven, but... you did say birds in general, right?

 

[Ashara Koh'inor]

Thank you, Selvyn I think the sig is quite lovely. It is so many of my favorite things all in one, I am just so amazed! The bird appears to be an American Fish Crow, and it just so happens I prefer crows to ravens We have the more generic American Crow where I live, but I am familiar with both. And I am so impressed with the subtle Pisces sign for the "H" - LOVE IT!!!

Yes, I did do the recent sig on my page, I am glad you like it.:clap Elyss has sent me a few images and requested some of her own so I will be working on those in the next few days. It is much more stressful making them for others I find!

I'm off to read your Bel Tine story now, thank you for including it

 

[Selvyn al'Aran]

I am glad you like it, especially the Pisces bit. I was pretty pleased with that idea, and it was a very last minute thing. I was using this website to make an educated guess of the species, but even the full image of the crow didn't display many of the identifying features, and I didn't look beyond that page for the Fish Crow. All these subtle differences are very interesting, but it can be tricky to link them to the right bird.

It is more stressful doing it for others, but quite fun as well - there are ideas I would never have thought of that are fun to work on, and it's often a good motivation to learn new things.

 

[Elyss Koh'inor]

Selvyn I enjoyed your story! Your characters were entertaining and your names for the ship and magical objects are great. I think you could focus on one of the two parts like you said, or make it a little longer to bridge the gap between the two. There's not so much of a gap that you would have to add much. Like I said, I enjoyed it very much

 

[Ashara Koh'inor]

Ok Pocket Dragon, I know you are busy now being a Recruit and all, but I thought you might be getting hungry...

Spoiler

and, just in case you need a few more supplies for map making and writing...

Spoiler

Hope you're having fun in the Tower!

 

[Aldus Taivron]

This introduction was marvelous prose, and is enough to make me reconsider my own rather taciturn offering.

Nah, I'm good. You still did a great job, though!

 

[Selvyn al'Aran]

Selvyn I enjoyed your story! Your characters were entertaining and your names for the ship and magical objects are great. I think you could focus on one of the two parts like you said, or make it a little longer to bridge the gap between the two. There's not so much of a gap that you would have to add much. Like I said, I enjoyed it very much

I am glad you enjoyed it. 2000 words was the limit for that particular story, so I didn't have much room to add anything else. I got a bit carried away with the first part, I think - the Captain was ridiculously entertaining to write, and so the first step of Lucius' journey took almost 1000 words instead of the few hundred I thought it would when I was planning it. I didn't have the heart to cut the Captain out after all of that. It really did become two different stories in the end.

Ok Pocket Dragon, I know you are busy now being a Recruit and all, but I thought you might be getting hungry...

Spoiler

and, just in case you need a few more supplies for map making and writing...

Spoiler

Hope you're having fun in the Tower!

That is wonderful, thank you! Though I do wonder what a true dragon would make of cutlery... or plates, for that matter. That is also the most elegant pot for pens I have ever seen.

 

[Ashara Koh'inor]

Well, it had occurred to me that most dragons seem to prefer young maidens at mealtimes, but I do believe that would make an awful mess of your lovely map room.

 

[Ashara Koh'inor]

This introduction was marvelous prose, and is enough to make me reconsider my own rather taciturn offering.

Well, first thank you for the compliment. Secondly, I just like that you can use the word taciturn. Props to you

 

[Lithiel Morn]

Somehow, I can still envision Selvyn as being a very mannerly, gentleman of a dragon who can use cutlery perfectly. And if he chooses not to, well...

 

[Selvyn al'Aran]

Well, it had occurred to me that most dragons seem to prefer young maidens at mealtimes, but I do believe that would make an awful mess of your lovely map room.

Somehow, I can still envision Selvyn as being a very mannerly, gentleman of a dragon who can use cutlery perfectly. And if he chooses not to, well...

So what you're saying is... I'm the draconic equivalent of Hannibal? Draggibal? Hannidrake? Hm. So many possibilities... :scratch

 

[Ashara Koh'inor]

So what you're saying is... I'm the draconic equivalent of Hannibal? Draggibal? Hannidrake? Hm. So many possibilities... :scratch

Oh dear....does that mean you rather have a maiden for meals?