A King must consider his actions... ----- Chapter 17. Iris Mirabilis looked down from the balcony at the very top of his castle, moonlight streaming down and turning the blue-gray skystone to silver. Far below, he watched a small blonde-haired figure in a private courtyard, practicing cuts and jumps and rolls, sometimes stopping to indulge in strange sequences of movements that did not immediately make sense to him. Iris raised his gaze slightly, noticed another figure, slight and swathed in shifting rainbow hues, [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 41
October 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Jason had made a rather startling discovery... ----- Chapter 41: Worries and Joys Verne and Kafan stared at the reprinted articles, while Sylvie peeked over their shoulders. "H'alate," muttered Verne. "This is most inconvenient." "Maybe not quite as bad as it seems." I said. Verne had looked like Death warmed over when he came in, but that might have been the yellow street lights. He looked a little better, here in the office, than he had yesterday. I hoped that meant he was taking it easy. "With [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 16
October 3, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Well, it's time for Erik to show something of what he's learned... ----- Chapter 16. "We're running out of time, I think." Iris nodded, surveying the training area with eyes that seemed to look far beyond the walls of the castle. "You have come far, and your words have convinced me that you do have some plan. In a week or two, perhaps, no more. Have you decided on what you will do when you leave?" "I'm pretty sure what I need to do. I have to cross the Deadly Desert alone, and even as a [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 15
September 26, 2014 By Leave a Comment
As Uncle would say, "Research is IMPORTANT!" ----- Chapter 15. "… and these notes were written by the Wizard himself, not all that long before Oz fell." She placed the thick sheaf of parchment on top of the least-wobbly stack next to Erik. The mortal could-be-Hero nodded absently, absorbed in sketching some sort of diagram or chart which, she could see, had already been re-sketched, modified, parts scribbled out and redrawn, with dozens of little notations that she couldn't really [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 37
September 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
So, the first big bomb had been dropped on Jason... ----- Chapter 37: Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast I rubbed my temples, trying to take this all in. "Okay, let's see if I have this straight. You are some kind of genetic experiment? And this wanted-poster stuff about you is all lies made up by the Evil Government Conspiracy?" If Kafan had been a cat, his fur would have bristled; as it was, he did a pretty good imitation by glaring at me. "I don't like your tone of [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 36
September 22, 2014 By Leave a Comment
And now the first of the two chapters responsible for >90% of the times the original DK was dropped in the middle.... both for the "WTF you have got to be kidding me" reason... ----- Chapter 36: Fleeing From Frankenstein He looked around and smiled, satisfied. Despite his oddities, the village accepted him. His children were growing up strong and healthy. His wife took care of them all. In a country torn by civil war all too often, this village had managed to keep itself isolated and [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 14
September 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Time for the good guys to start moving their plans forward a bit... ----- Chapter 14. I sat down at the small table; this time it was just me, Iris Mirabilis, Nimbus, and Polychrome. "So… what's on the agenda today?" I said after a pause. "Nimbus tells me that you have… made considerable progress." The Lord of Rainbows' tone showed that there were still reservations in that assessment. "While we have many concerns, it is clear now that you have the potential and the will needed, and that – [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 35
September 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Jason and Syl had had a very scary idea... ----- Chapter 35: A Test of Trust "Good evening, Master Jason." Morgan said, opening the door. "Evening, Morgan." I answered, glancing around. There were still lots of pieces of clutter around from the work that was being done on the house. "Verne around?" "He and Master Kafan are in the library at the moment, sir." I opened my mouth to ask who "Master Kafan" was, then remembered Verne calling Tai Lee Xiang "Raiakafan." "Thanks, [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 34
September 15, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Jason had found Verne a long-lost friend, but... ----- Chapter 34: Reunion Jitters "Guess who!" Two soft hands covered my eyes in time with the words. To my credit, I managed to keep from jumping, though she probably knew how much she'd startled me anyway. "Madame Blavatsky?" She giggled. "Nope." "Nostradamus?" "Do I feel like I have a beard? Try again!" "Then it must be the great Medium of the Mohawk Valley herself, Sylvia Stake!" The hands came away as I turned around. "You [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 13
September 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Let's see how our Heroine views the Hero's progress thus far... ----- Chapter 13. Polychrome watched from the doorway as the group of Guards prepared for training combat. She knew that Nimbus and her father were deeply worried; Erik had the intellectual and, somewhat surprisingly, physical potential to be a good, perhaps even better than good, warrior, but when it came down to actual fighting, sparring with the men, the closest thing to real combat they could manage to give him… he [ Continue reading... ]
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