Turkey day is done

Time for the coma to begin. Spent the day at the office. Looking busy catching up on school work and dreaming of the Nano that I let slip away. Ah well there's always next year. And I will continue with the story I am working on. I have an ending in mind which never happens to me. So I want to write until I can stick The End at the back of the book. It'll be a new experience for me and one that I need to reach. I can't keep starting stories and not finishing. When this story is finished I will get back to DuskHaven. After that who know what will be next. I figure those two stories should take me through the end of next year. I'll have to come up with something new for Nano as I want to do something fresh for it again. Not a lot else to say today. I hope both of you out there had a happy thanksgiving and we'll see you tomorrow.

A sad and lonely blog

I was going through my links today when I saw my sad little blog sitting there crying out for an update. So here's the scoop for the folks who actually check this. (Both of you) I am still here and I am still working. DuskHaven took a backseat to School and Nano though. Nano has been fun if unproductive for me. I didn't realize how distracted I'd be with school and family so here we are 4 days from the end and I only have 15K written. It's all good though as I like most of that 15K. I'm turning a short story I wrote earlier this year into a full novel. So far I like where it's going and I think I have an idea of where it will end which is a novelty for me.

Anyway one of my former co-workers has started blogging daily about what's going on in his life just to get back in the habit. I think I may try that as well. DuskHaven will return and more will be written about it but for now I think this blog will go more general purpose so I actually keep it up.

That's all for now campers. We'll see you tomorrow on Turkey Day.

Back in the saddle again

Well I managed to blog once from Georgia then drop off the face of the Earth for the rest of the trip. Our Condo in Florida did not have wifi as advertised. The Clubhouse had wifi and we were unfortunately 2 or 3 houses too far away to sneak on it from home and frankly I was too tired most nights to even consider walking down there too post.

Let me sum up Florida for you in three words. "Death by sauna." Holy cow but it was hot and miserable there. My hats off to anyone that voluntarily lives there because I'd sooner lick a cat then move there. High 90's and humid is a miserable way to be. Especially when surrounded by a million billion tourists at the happiest place in the world. Disney in June is not the happiest place in the World. Sorry Mickey but when I can't move without hitting someone that's no longer a theme park that's some kind of prison camp. The rides we managed to get on were still a lot of fun and the fast pass system they have there is excellent. I highly recommend getting the fastpass tickets. Just be sure to plot out what you want to ride on most as they go fast.

The rental house was nice if a bit rundown in spots. The maintenance folks claimed it was all from some epic party held in the house the week before we arrived but the variety of damage and wear made that a little hard to believe. It was really nice having a house to go back to in the evening rather then a hotel room. Having a fridge and stove made life so much easier and cheaper too. Hit the Walmart on day one for eggs, bread, and milk and you have a cheap breakfast for the week. We had a few dinners at the house as well which were all excellent.

For one of our big nights out we went to see Medieval Times. I guess I'd recommend this as a see it once type of thing. Tickets are expensive but the show is a lot of fun. Eating with your hands is always a plus too. The jousting and fighting looked a little too staged to me but then again you can't have people getting hurt or they'd shut the place down. I just wished they hadn't tried to stage a single person fighting against multiple opponents. The one on one fights and jousts looked decent but the group fight looked badly staged. Ok I'm going to wait for Bob to swing then I'll step forward to swing after he turns my way. Heck I can't fight and I could have stabbed the guy through a dozen times during the battle. Otherwise it was fun though and the food was very good with good sized portions as well.

On our drive back we split off from the rest of our group and took I-75 North so we could stop in Chattanooga and see Rock City! I hadn't been there in probably 15-20 years and my wife and kids had never been. Yes it's totally a tourist trap but a very well done tourist trap. I love the psychedelic version of classic kids tales and of course the views from Lookout Mountain are outstanding. My family was not so adoring of the Dayglo gnomes and crazy displays from classic fairy tales but then they didn't grow up seeing them on every trip to Florida. Maybe my younger son will like them if I get him there at the right age. At a year old he couldn't really let me know what he thought of it all. :^) Anyway I think that's enough trip round up from me. Next post I'm back on DuskHaven. Oh yes in case you're wondering what took so long I had to finish my studies for my final MCSA test. I passed and now can add more letters after my name. Now I have 2 glorious months free of after work studies before I start school in the fall. So it's time to get cranking and get some serious work done on DuskHaven.

Hello Georgia

Well I'm trying to blog on the road again.

We just finished a marathon fourteen hour car ride and are here in Savannah Georgia. I'd tell you how it was but I can't see straight enough to look. :^) We're staying in Best Western again but this time it's ridiculously nice. The rooms are all suites as far as I know. Sadly we won't get to check out the pool as we're on to Orlando tomorrow morning. From what I could see though it's not a terribly big pool but decent enough.

In the course of today I've seen both ends of I-77 and frankly I like this end better. :) The drive through West Virginia is a bit harrowing at times but also beautiful. The two tunnels as you leave WV are the icing on the cake. But the geek in me couldn't help but think of North Pass out of Dun Morogh into Loch Modan in World of Warcraft. I'm such a geek.

Tomorrow we're on to Orlando and some big ol' rental house which should be fun. There's a whole family group meeting up there so good times should abound. Wifi is supposed to be available in the house as well so hopefully this will not be my last post for the week. I hope to get some plotting done on DuskHaven and get rolling on it again.

Speaking of writing I have finished another short story called Magic of the Highways which I will post if I ever get the permanent website finished here. I hope to draft my wife to help with grammar checking as mine is pretty appalling. I think my ideas are decent but my writing leaves something to be desired.

Till next time Rolard out.

Fire Magic and some tweaking to Light Magic

After reviewing my post on light magic I think it will stand on its own other then one addendum.  Knights cannot create food and water from nothing.  There needs to be a source.  In Rolards case he has a small number of travelers biscuits and a water skin.  He breaks off a bit of the biscuit and pours a dash of water.  He can then copy that food into a decent sized portion for one person.  He cannot copy the copy of the food as it simply will not work.  So he is cheating the laws of thermodynamics but not completely destroying them.

On to Fire.

Fire magic is far less understood then the Magic of Light or the power of the EarthSeers.  Mostly this is because there is no formal school of magic surrounding it.  There were a few books written by the more powerful practitioners but many of those were lost in the fall of DuskHaven.  While Fire magic runs in family trees it is far more likely to skip generations then the other magics.  It is also more likely to "pop" up in a child when no one in the family recalls another with the Spark.  Because it has such a scattered history and is so rare it is often misunderstood and to many a Spark is almost as evil as one who works with the Magic of Darkness.

Rule 1:  A Spark can control temperatures both up and down though they have difficulty taking temperatures below freezing.  They can do this to an object they are directly touching.

Rule 2: A Spark can set an object on fire.  Once they release the object the fire created this way will burn them as well.  So a Spark could create fire in their hands using cloth or paper.  But after lighting a fire and stepping back they are vulnerable to the flame as well.

Mechanics: Changes in temperature are done much like a heat pump moving heat around from one object to another.  Setting an object on fire is done internally the fire is drawn from the user and can have unintended consequences.  Lighting a small fire a torch or campfire for example will have no noticeable effect but trying to light a large fire at once such as setting a bonfire into flame in one go rather then using kindling can drain the caster immensely.  It drains the spirit and will of the caster, this effect is usually temporary though some Sparks have been known to use their powers so irresponsibly that their very nature was changed.  It is from Sparks like this that fire mages gained much of their bad reputation.

Drawbacks:  The loss of spirit and will is usually enough to keep Sparks in line.  There are very few Sparks in existence now.  Besides Gretta there are perhaps half a dozen known scattered through the Border and Inner Kingdoms. 

This... is... Frankenmuth!

This is a bit of an odd post for me. I'd never considered blogging on the road before. But I'm laying in bed at the Best Western in Saginaw Michigan and they have wireless Internet and I have an Asus EEE so why not.

Well that didn't work. I wrote the above sentence and fell asleep. LOL!

Anyway Frankenmuth was a lot of fun. I hadn't been there in a good 7-8 years and my kids had never been. We ate WAAAAYY too much chicken at Zhenders and thought about buying a cuckoo clock. Turns out my Grandmother had an old cuckoo clock that she gifted us with when we left. It's not as fancy as the ones in Frankenmuth but it's a family hand me down. Now to get some weights for it and get it running again.

On a side note if you decide to visit Frankenmuth let me strongly urge you to stay somewhere other then the Best Western in Saginaw. The AC was broken which made the room really warm the whole time we were there and outside it was only 55'ish. I'd hate to see it in the summer. The indoor pool was the only nice part of the hotel and it was only nice in the morning as by early evening it was full of rowdy teenagers and half drunk party-goers. It was cheap though and lived up to the you get what you pay for rule of life.

Now for some Frankenmuth details. Zhenders.... ahhhhh I could write a short novel on the joy that is their chicken dinner but I shall try to limit myself a bit here. Zhenders is well over one hundred years old now and is the largest independent restaurant in the US. They have ten dining halls and serve over ONE MILLION meals in a year. That doesn't seem like much compared to say McDonalds but you have to remember this is entirely scratch cooked amazingly tasty food. Nothing is precooked or reheated. The family style chicken dinner costs $18.95 and I highly recommend you go with it if you will only eat one meal here. I've never had anything else but I only get up there every few years. If I lived closer I'm sure I'd branch out into their other dishes as they look delicious as well. The family dinner starts with home-made (get used to seeing that word here a lot) liver pate and cheese spread served with real french bread. Coleslaw, Cottage cheese, Chicken Noodle soup round out the appetizers. Oh and did I mention they're all home-made? Good. Just to note I hate Coleslaw and I ate the coleslaw here. It's that good. The main course is their famous deep fried chicken with home-made (there's that word again) mashed potatoes, dressing (stuffing), cranberry relish, noodles with a butter and cracker topping, and some more awesome bread. Finished off with a small bowl of ice cream. We went for lunch and let me tell you I needed the walk afterwards. Expect to wait in a line to get in. We were there on an off weekend and waited about 5-10 minutes for lunch but if you try to go on a busy holiday weekend like mother's day don't be surprised at a 2+ hour wait for dinner.

Just a minute or two drive South of Frankenmuth you will reach Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. You'll find signs for Bronner's as far South as Key West. (Head North on I-75 1500 miles or so and it's on the right.) We only spent an hour or two here but if you like Christmas stuff then you will easily spend a day here. My only regret of the trip is we were too wiped out in the evening to drive back down and look at all the lights here. Acres of Christmas lights, bulbs, trees, and decorations await in one of if not the largest Christmas store in the world. Cool place.

Well I didn't accomplish any real writing on the trip but I'm hoping to be back at it shortly. If you read two posts ago the Writing Excuses guys are working on magic systems again and after listening I think I'm OK on Light Magic but I need to really think about my other magic abilities. I think my main control on it will be its relative scarcity. Magic runs in family lines and can come and go along the generational lines.

Magic of Light

First Rule:  Light can intimidate and scare humans but it will not directly hurt them.  In most cases it will in fact heal them.

Second Rule: Light will hurt and kill demons.

Mechanics:

Those gifted with the Light usually realize it much later then those in other schools of magic.  Many are in their mid to late twenties before recognizing the talent.  A few recognize it as early as thirteen but that is highly uncommon.

The Light is "visible" as a bright shining beam that starts behind them somewhere and disappears ahead of them.  It is non directional.  Whatever direction the user is facing that is the direction the beam appears to them.  It is only "visible as the beam when the practitioner has their eyes closed and is deeply focused.  Prayer is often used to clear the mind of thought and to bring on the focus needed to observe the beam.  While in this state questions and thoughts may receive hints as to the correct course of action to take.

When in combat many of the Silver Knights will become bathed in a shining suit of armor that helps protect them from demonic blows.  Again it does not stop blows from humans and does not help greatly against a demon wielding a weapon as it does not stop weaponry.  Their swords will also often be bathed in the light which greatly aids them in their fights against the demonic hordes.

Less common abilities include shooting balls of light at demonic foes and summoning a hammer made of the Light itself.  This hammer is unusual in that it is a real physical object and as such it will harm both human and demonic enemies.  But harm given to a human usually results in great pain to the wielder as well as the Light reacts harshly to being used in such a way.

The Light can also be used to heal wounds and cure diseases as such Silver Knights are usually treated with the utmost respect.

Amongst the rarest of Light magic is the ability to purify and create food and water.  Only a handful of Knights have had this ability.  Rolard has it to a lesser extent in that he is able to use the Light to copy and existing food stuff.  Usually a bland travelers biscuit but there have been reports of Knights in the past who could create entire banquets from nothing.

Drawbacks:

For the most part Light magic is benign and causes little suffering directly to its wielder.  But on occasion wielders will receive unwelcome visions of potential futures.  Unfortunately, in almost all cases these visions come too late to avert the fate they show.  But not always, so the Knights always pay heed when one of their number has a vision.