Shadows Edge

“If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”

It was the line that made people trust him, especially when he gave them a rueful smile when he said it. They’d trust him and let him in the doors - to their businesses, their homes, their lives.

Jimmy had been cursed with an uncomfortable face. Ugly would be an understatement. Rough hewn was a compliment. Looking at his face, you found yourself wanting to look away from the horror yet unable to tear your eyes away.

People always laughed self-consciously when he posed his question. It seemed inconceivable that any face could be worse than the one he had been born with. They assumed that they saw the truth and eased their consciences by insisting they were helping someone less fortunate.

It was their misfortunate to have little imagination. True, it would be difficult to find a person with a more unfortunate face than his. But that assumed that you were human.

Jimmy wasn’t.

Demonkind can have more than one face. . .

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Here’s the first piece for character #3 in the Character Challenge:

Name: Meniz the Seer
System: D&D
Character Class: Wizard, specializing in Divining

I’ll admit I haven’t rolled the actual stats for Meniz yet, but I do know what he looks like.

Meniz is about as average as its possible to be. His dull brown hair is falls in a shaggy mess to his shoulders. A sharp intellect can be seen in the brown eyes, but so can fear. Even if you spent time speaking with the wizard, you wouldn’t be likely to remember much about him. Certainly you wouldn’t remember that he was a wizard, at least not by his appearance. Having spent time in his prince’s army, he eschews wearing the robes that normally make it a simple matter to pick a wizard out in a crowd. Instead, non-descript breeches clad his slender legs, and his scrawny torso is covered in a loose brown tunic.

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Over at Your Cre8tivity, there’s a Quick Step exercise that revolves around everyday items. I have plenty of those sitting around my desk at work, so I thought I’d give it a try. The idea is to describe the item in such a way that other people can guess what it is, and to do it with out using “like” or “it is.” Another suggestion is to try to write the description as if you were the object. I’m not going to go that route, but I thought I’d give the exercise a try.

This should be fairly easy to guess - feel free to comment if you know what I’m describing.

The silvery, smooth metal post, as long as my fingernail is wide, is unseen until it is pulled from the wall. Its point is sharp - sharp enough to draw blood with just a bit of pressure, so I’m careful with where I put it until I need it again. The other end of the metallic post is embedded in a brightly colored plastic cylinder. Other versions, still attached to the wall, have pea-sized plastic spheres or squares, and some are clear plastic instead of colored. The sharp point pierces a thin sheet of woodpulp before being safely sheathed in the fabric covered wall once again - a bright spot against the blandness of my cubicle.

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Your Cre8tivity’s quick starts include an exercise called Description Alley. I’ve never taken a real retreat, but I know what my perfect one would be like - at least physically. So here’s my description of it - now all I have to do is find it.

It’s mid-day as I approach the rustic log cabin. The sun shines gently, casting only short shadows across the landscape and sparkling off the lake’s waters. The sunset will be beautiful viewed from the cabin’s screened in porch.

A gravel path leads toward the lake and I follow it, reluctant to leave the sun just yet. At the half-way point, both the lake and the cabin are visible, making it the perfect place for the rock firepit situated there. Further down, the path splits. One branch leads directly to the lake, the other to a secluded hot spring at the lake’s edge.

By the time I wander back to the cabin, the surrounding mountains are beginning to cast shadows that will eventually shade and cool the entire valley. The refridgerator is stocked with fresh vegetables, fruits and meats. Enough for a week’s worth of simple meals.

Furnishings are simple and comfortable, making me want to pull a book from the library’s shelves and curl up in their overstuffed cushions. I’m pleasantly surprised by the size of the library and the number of reading nooks in the cabin. There’s one near the fireplace in the front room that I think will be a favorite.

The cabin is quiet, almost too much so. As I peruse the rooms I notice there are no alarm clocks. This is something I am extremely happy about. I do notice small speakers mounted on the wall of each room, and it takes some hunting to discover what they are for. The entire cabin has been wired so that the stereo system can be piped into any room.

I’ll have plenty to do - swimming, hiking and even some rock climbing if I care to. If the weather should turn, though there wasn’t any hint of that in the forecast when I left home, there’s an exercise room here in the cabin. Free weights and an elliptical machine take up one of the corners, but most of it open. One wall is mirrored and floor is polished wood - perfect for yoga or dancing. Of course, I may decide to lazy and just soak in the hot springs between reading and working on my stories.

There’s been a smile on my lips ever since I arrived and it blooms into a grin as I flop down on the bed, feeling it give just the right amount.

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Now that I’ve completed 2 of the 5 characters in the character challenge, I need some help.

The first character was of my choice.

The second character was of Gemini’s choice.

Where shall the final 3 characters come from?

What kind of character do you think I should try next? It can be a concept, class/profession, physical type, genre, etc. Basically anything that provides a starting place for a character/story.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think I should try next!

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Although Anna has always preferred to interact with machines and computers over other people, she needs human contact. Thus, she will find herself looking for ways to get out of the game even though it is someplace she “should” enjoy. In addition, Anna is not used to being in a position of authority and power. While she may have dreamed of escaping into one of her games, the reality will be uncomfortable for her.

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Things were moving along at their normal, boring rate - until today.

Even as she started to wake up, Anna knew that something was different. Shw wasn’t in her familiar bed. In fact, the room she awoke in was far different than any other she’d ever slept in. It was an odd mix of luxury and not-yet-finished.
Finding something even slightly familiar in the wardrobe was difficult - all the clothing seemed to be from an earlier time period and definitely not from the American Geek culture she was a part off.

Anna opened the door and started down a long hallway. At the end of the hall, she found herself facing a throneroom of sorts. That, along with a bodiless voice informing her that a warrior had just been built, made her realize where she was - if where was the proper term.

However impossible or implausible, she had somehow been transported within one her favorite computer games - Civilization. From all indications, she not only was within the game, but was there as the leader of one of the civilizations.

She’d have to do two things - keep the civilization alive and watch for any hint of a way out - somehow, this didn’t feel like it was just a dream.

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I don’t know if you’d consider this cheating or not. *grins* I decided I’d try my hand at Gemini’s Fiction in a Flash exercise using the first Inspiration Tag. I’ve been wanting to write something based off the tag anyway. So here it is - enjoy, and feel free to let me know what you think!

They could have been stars, those tiny pinpricks of light in the darkness. But they weren’t. Sun-On-Water knew better. They were the eyes of the ancestors, bright with disapproval of her.

The fire caught, flaring. She hacked at the think tail of her hair, finally laying it amidst the flames. Turning from the ancestors in disgrace, she prostrated herself in front of the fire. Soft chanting rose, pleading their forgiveness.

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There is very little external opposition or conflict in Anna’s life. Internally is completely different matter. Anna’s dissatisfaction with her life is in constant conflict with her need to support herself and pay her bills. Given the opportunity, however unlikely or implausible it might be, she would rather live within the confines and strictures of her games. At least there the rules are straightforward and easy to determine.

In addition, Anna’s need to feel confident and secure makes it difficult for her to pull herself out of her games and return to the “real” world where she feels powerless and insecure. This inner conflict is probably the most difficult for her to overcome.

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Anna spent her childhood as a military brat - moving from place to place every couple of years. Her shyness, combined with the frequent moves, made it difficult for her to make many friends. Knowing that she would be moving before too long, she rarely put much effort into establishing close relationships with her peers.

Instead she retreated into solitary pursuits - reading and, when she was old enough, computers. Books and computer games gave her entrance to worlds beyond possibility. She could create herself anew with each one, becoming, within the scope of the game or story, whatever she wished to be. Video games became an escape for Anna. They were always more interesting than her real life. Within them, she could be a powerful person, noticed, appreciated and respected.

It was her computer studies that got her a good-paying job. Her solitary tendencies made it simple for her to concentrate her work efforts, giving her job security. That’s all it was. She has never had any emotional investment in her work. As far as she’s concerned, she’s nothing more than another mouse in the maze at work. She’s watched as collegues were promoted to team and technical leads, knowing that her own shyness and solitary ways were what kept her from following in their footsteps.

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