Time and again
06 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Mini-story, Tale of the Past, Team Theta Tags: Cyrus, Logan
Logan and Cyrus had met each other before – worked together, even. However, that was years ago and things change with Time.
–
Logan felt a bit nervous as he moved down the corridor. It was one thing to be assigned to one of the intelligence teams. He’d been expecting the call for years now. Ever since he’d contracted the curse, he’d known the day would come. He’d never expected to be assigned to the administrative team, though. What did that even mean?
He looked up as he reached the door. Frowning, he touched the Greek letter that was emblazoned on the crazed glass. A theta – the symbol for their team. He sighed and was about to push the door opened. It fell back, away from him, and he stepped back with a stifled gasp.
The first thing he saw were wide, hazel eyes. “Oh,” a soft voice said. Logan blinked and he looked at the person in front of him more keenly. He took in all the details: the untidy red-brown hair, the careless way he wore his uniform and, there on his shoulder, the symbol marking him as…
“You’re the team’s second?” Logan blurted. He shook his head. “You’re hardly more than – than a child!”
“I’m plenty old enough, Starke,” the other snapped. His brows furrowed and he bit his lip. Whirling away, he waved an arm at Logan. “Found Starke,” he said. Then, he crossed his arms over his chest and strode back to stand beside a female agent – the team leader.
Tiana Hartfield smiled. “Agent Starke,” she said, waving at the young man beside her. “I believe you’ve worked with Agent Grayson before?”
Logan blinked and looked at the younger agent again. Some things were the same, now that he knew the man’s name. The same eyes, of course. His hair was longer now – messier than when they’d worked together all those years ago. There were other differences, too. Grayson wasn’t a boy now, not really. He was a young man and a rather handsome one.
A faint smile touched Logan’s face. “My apologies,” he said, using his most charming tone. He bowed slightly. “I didn’t recognize you, Time. You’ve… matured. It’s very good to see you again.”
Grayson frowned at him, his expression guarded. Then, he sighed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said, shaking his head. He finger-combed his hair and smoothed out his uniform. “It’s not as if I don’t get told to smarten up my appearance often enough by Director Haruko.”
“Time you listened,” a low voice said.
Everyone in the room straightened at the sound of their director’s voice – except Grayson. He sighed and rolled his eyes again. “Yes, Uncle,” he said. Only then did he straighten as well. Logan hid a smile. Oh, yes. He remembered Grayson well. That attitude, like his eyes, was the same as always. He looked over at Grayson again, this time with a bit of respect. It would be a pleasure to work with Time again.
“Nice of you to finally join us, Chance,” Haruko said, his tone a bit annoyed.
Logan bowed slightly. “I apologize for my tardiness, sir,” he said. Straightening, he met the director’s eyes. “Full moon last night.” He nearly smiled as the director’s pupils seemed to twitch – the only hint of fear the arrogant man would give.
Faculty – Core Curriculum
21 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Lessons in Magic, Team Theta, World Building Tags: Keenan, Logan
Adrian Glen – young Professor of Transfigurations; quiet and serious; does not seem to like the students very much, often scolds them for small infractions; is distrustful of Cyrus; thinks that Larissa is lovely, but is too shy to tell her so; formerly of Lucidaran House
Athena Lark – junior Professor of Captivations; a terrible flirt, has bedded nearly all the male staff and some of the females staff; very skilled with spells relating to allure; low, musical voice; lovely, feminine; formerly of Eidolon House
Chloris Adams – junior Professor of Potions; head of Constantine House; Keenan Meadows will often substitute for Chloris Adams, and she will take his classes at Northeast Academy as well; skilled with spell-activated potions; Master of Apothecary Arts; golden brown curls, blue eyes; 36 years old; formerly of Constantine House
Shadow – Professor of Herbology; true name is Thaddeus Goldeneagle; head of Eidolon House; only head of house to have not attended Ashwinder’s Academy; old friends with headmistress; claims to be 50 years old, is actually at least 400 year old; strange personality; dark brown hair, intense gray eyes
Chelsea Williams – young Professor of Evocations (also called Defensive Magic); head of Kindaran House; she and Loki were lovers; 23 years old, one of the youngest professors they’ve had at the school; lovely and rather innocent; formerly of Kindaran House
Alexander Narasweln – senior Professor of Astronomy; playful and kindly towards students; very informal in class; skilled with astrology; rumored to be Nestor’s lover; formerly of Constantine House
Melinda Kalkberg – senior Professor of Transmutations, leads school chorus; curious and outgoing; likes the students to ask questions, even if she doesn’t know the answer; skilled with bardic magic; head of Lucidaran House
Xenia Bluebunting – junior Professor of Illustions; a bit flighty; has very particular views about what she should and shouldn’t be asked to do as part of her job; grew up with Athena and is, therefore, immune to her charms; lithe; formerly of Lucidaran House
Logan Rembrandt Starke – senior theoretical wizard; replaced Loki Gildheim as Professor of Theoretical Magic; a werewolf; an agent with Shynian Intelligence, skilled investigator codenamed Chance; unable to perform any magic (a mundane), however he is considered the a top notch theoretical wizard; dark hair, gray eyes, glasses; has terrible scars on his chest and back from the werewolf that attacked him in December of 1995, from whom he contracted lycanthropy
Theodore Madison – senior Professor of Language Arts; one of the only staff members to have no magic; magic makes him uncomfortable; unable to perform magic safely; gifted in Theoretical Magic, but has no desire to teach it; formerly of Candidan House, failed to graduate from Ashwinder’s Academy
Jeremy Crane – late Professor of Equestrian Arts, also teaches Flying (carpets, broomsticks, animals); only ghost among the staff and faculty of the school; knows nearly all the secrets of the school, but has never heard of any monsters on the grounds; killed protecting a student from an enraged hippogriff; although he’s dead, he’s full of life; formerly of Constantine House
Loki Gildheim – late Professor of Theoretical Magic; he and Chelsea were lovers; was attacked at the edge of the school grounds my some sort of monster; although the faculty and staff are being told that he is injured and making a miraculous recovery, he was killed; in spite of his posting, he had strong magic, gifted in Captivations; formerly of Kindaran House; red hair, green eyes, glasses; died at the age of 24 years
Staff – Ashwinder’s
20 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Lessons in Magic, Team Theta, World Building Tags: Cyrus
I’ll add to this when I’ve worked a bit more of the details out.
Alyssa Gardener – elderly headmistress; matronly sort of woman; seldom seen, except during meals or emergencies; closer to the faculty and staff than she is to the students; formerly of Contantine House; silver hair, gray eyes
Eustace Foster – senior wizard; deputy headmaster, Professor of Abjurations (also called Offensive Magic, especially skilled with curses, hexes and jinxes); very particular about how things should be done; controlling and manipulative; has an eye out for young men, has targeted Cyrus in the past; formerly of Eidolon House; brown hair, hazel eyes, glass, scar on right cheek
Myron Lorember – elderly groundskeeper; has worked at the school longer than nearly any of the professors; frequently scolds Cyrus; skilled only in low level spells; formerly of Candidan House; gray hair, blue eyes
Alistair “Cyrus” Ezekial Grayson – young caretaker; seems shy, quiet and bumbling; actually an agent with Shynian Intelligence, top undercover agent called Time; very poor hand with magic, tends to break things (too powerful for him to control); afflicted (unable to recharge without the aid of an energy sink, which he has hidden in a white teddy bear); very skilled with taming magical beasts, natural gift with herbology, animagus that becomes a rainbow swallow; was not trained in magic at Ashwinder’s Academy; red-brown hair, red-brown eyes, glasses; 20 years old at start of story
Danae Silversparrow – senior school nurse; serious and business-like, while still being caring and gentle; acts motherly towards Cyrus; very skilled in potions and healing spells; formerly of Kindarin House; graying black hair, brown eyes
Larissa Redfinch – young librarian; intelligent, quiet and bookish; skilled only with low level magic spells; formerly of Contantine House; blond hair, gray eyes
Houses – Ashwinder’s
19 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Lessons in Magic, World Building
Yes… some ideas gleaned from Harry Potter. However, it’s mostly original stuff.
**
Eidolon House
Head of House: Shadow
Noted quality: Sneaky, troublemakers
Actual reason for sorting: cunning, determined and resourceful
Colors: Red and silver (white)
Symbol: Wraith
Candidan House
Head of House: Theodore Madison
Noted quality: Wanton disregard for authority
Actual reason for sorting: brave and bold
Colors: Gold (yellow) and black
Symbol: Gryphon
Constantine House
Head of House: Chloris Adams
Noted quality: Hardworking
Actual reason for sorting: loyal and true
Colors: Cream and gold (yellow)
Symbol: Wolf
Lucidaran House
Head of House: Melinda Kalkberg
Noted quality: Bookish
Actual reason for sorting: clever and scholarly
Colors: Green and silver (white)
Symbol: Dragon
Kinderan House
Head of House: Chelsea Williams
Noted quality: Quiet and shy
Actual reason for sorting: innocent and kindhearted
Colors: Blue and silver (white)
Symbol: Unicorn
A bit of worldbuilding…
18 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Lessons in Magic, Team Theta, World Building
I’ve been working out some of the details of the school where Logan teaches and Cyrus works.
**
Ashwinder’s is a prestigious and well-known school for magic located in an undisclosed location (somewhere in Canada). Students come from all over the magical world to attend classes. The teachers are among the best and brightest minds in their fields.
The student body numbers, roughly, eight hundred students with an average class size of between twenty and thirty students for lecture classes and forty for laboratory classes. The students range from eleven to eighteen years of age and are divided into five houses.
Houston, We Have a Problem
06 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Crossover, Mini-story, National Museum
The trip was going well, considering the storm that raged outside. Then, there was a bang and Peter looked over at Alaric and then back at Robin. “What was that?” he said.
Shaking her head, Robin stood and moved to the door of their cabin. She was just reaching for the handle, when the door opened. The young captain looked up at her and then looked over at Alaric.
“I regret, my lord,” he said, “to tell you that we have been struck by lightning. We need to evacuate the ship.”
Alaric stood and nodded. “Very well,” he said. He snatched his cloak off of a hook near the door and then, he – along with Peter and Robin – joined the other passengers as they moved towards the emergency exits.
The evacuation was going smoothly, until they reached the last pod that had been set aside for the passengers to use. The crewman looked at the earl and his companions and the young man that remained. He grimaced. More
The Weird
03 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Crossover, Excerpt, National Museum, Poetry
When someone in the place where my NaNo is set has fae heritage, people say they have a bit of “the weird” in them. This poem is from the point of view of two of my main characters.
A bit of “the weird”
It’s what they say…
Do they know what that means?
Do they know how it hurts?
To be shoved away or pushed aside,
Or left out of their normal life?
A bit of “the weird”
They whisper and point…
Do they think we don’t see?
Do they think we don’t care?
To see their fear or feel that shame,
Or see how they look down on us?
A bit of “the weird”
But who really cares?
Isn’t it part of who we are?
Isn’t it how we help others?
Rise above it or work within it!
But don’t ignore your inner self!
World Building: Dark Fae
31 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Crossover, National Museum, World Building
There are two kinds of fae, as classified by humans. Light fae are fae that are either fair to behold or appear as mostly human in appearance. Dark fae are either hideous or inhuman in appearance. Very often, dark fae will not come out in the daytime. This is not an exhaustive list. It contains only the ones that I have come up with to date.
Fox fae – a vampiric fae that is very close to nature; rather than feeding on blood, fox fae feed on energy itself; most have vulpine features of some kind; it is believed that they can take on the form of a fox at night
Nightfiend – a vampiric fae of hideous appearance; very adept at casting glamours; they attack those who are out at night, generally the victim does not realize the attack is occurring until it is too late; they are repelled by those of great faith and cannot be stopped if you scatter grains, as they will stop to count each one
Shadow Hunters – generally appear as handsome young men with bluish skin; they are said to kidnap young men and women who wander alone at night; it is also believed that they hunt vampiric fae
Hag – generally appear as hideous old women, however some can appear as beauties either in the spring or in the daytime; most avoid contact with humans, however some will steal children who are left unsupervised
Goblins – hideous, mischievous fae; some are dangerous to people, while others are merely destructive; they lurk in dark places, waiting to strike out against those they can catch unawares.
World Building: Light Fae
30 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Crossover, National Museum, World Building
There are two kinds of fae, as classified by humans. Light fae are fae that are either fair to behold or appear as mostly human in appearance. Dark fae are either hideous or inhuman in appearance. Very often, dark fae will not come out in the daytime. This is not an exhaustive list. This is only the ones that I have come up with to date.
Bloodkin – a vampiric fae that generally appears as a handsome young person; they will not come out in the day, preferring to hunt at night; they are repelled by those of great faith and cannot cross flowing water
Pips – similar to sprites, however they are far more mischievous and some are even destructive; some can be appeased with offerings of honey and milk
Sprites – there are elemental and house sprites; they are small and generally helpful, although they can be mischievous from time to time; they love squash of all kinds
Elemental fae – generally appear as handsome young people; they are said to carry away anyone who joins them in their nightly revelries; some will kidnap anyone who wanders into their territories; many will abduct children and replace them with a changling
Gremlins – fae with an affinity for technology and machinery; generally appear as small young men with oversized feet and bulbous noses; generally helpful, but curious and mischievous; if angered they can be very destructive; most dress in the current fashion of humans, with tall top hats
World Building: Alaric’s Home
29 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Crossover, National Museum, World Building
As with many high-born nobles, Alaric keeps an apartment at the sovereign’s palace. His apartment is nicely furnished and one of the larger ones found there. Besides the bed chamber, there is a modest bath with indoor plumbing and a spacious sitting room. The decor is in the colors of the Rathmore noble house and the Hurley family crest is placed on the wall of the sitting room, above the fireplace.
Rathmore Manor is located in the capital city of the Earldom, Kaatskill. It is a large home with several bedrooms on the upper floors. There is also a breakfast room and the earl’s personal library. The lower floor has the public areas of the home, such as the formal dining room and ballroom.
