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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
 Posted - 25 Jan 2010 : 16:22:45
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What a delicious treat.....more to say when I finish it at lunch....but YUM!
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A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 01:17:50
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Poor Korvo.... She thinks he is in love with undead and not her!
And I was enjoying the read enough, I missed the character related to the past novel G W. |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
757 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 07:53:40
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
Poor Korvo.... She thinks he is in love with undead and not her!
And I was enjoying the read enough, I missed the character related to the past novel G W.
Goth girl's mother |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 13:21:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
Poor Korvo.... She thinks he is in love with undead and not her!
And I was enjoying the read enough, I missed the character related to the past novel G W.
Goth girl's mother
Ahhh...I was much more interested in the goth girl I guess |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 13:23:04
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Erik.....Big props for your Shout Out! to one of the best old school realms characters....Miltiades!!!
I'd love to read that book |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 15:29:38
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
And I was enjoying the read enough, I missed the character related to the past novel G W.
Goth girl's mother
Ahhh...I was much more interested in the goth girl I guess
Well, her mother's side of the family, anyway. 
And seriously, you read this story during lunch? And here I was worried it was too gory.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 16:45:41
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
And I was enjoying the read enough, I missed the character related to the past novel G W.
Goth girl's mother
Ahhh...I was much more interested in the goth girl I guess
Well, her mother's side of the family, anyway.
And seriously, you read this story during lunch? And here I was worried it was too gory.
Cheers
yeah , I totally devoured this story at lunch....along with a BK double cheeseburger and a small chocolate milkshake!
[/quote] |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
757 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 19:03:27
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| I’m not sure I liked this tale. In all fairness, it was well written, the characters had depth and history and Korvo’s internal struggles and monologue-ing was fantastic. I just really, really despise ‘Goths’ and/or ‘emos’ and having the romantic lead be a Goth-girl, just ruined this tale for me. The greatest end to it for me would have been if Ande had become some form of mindless un-dee-ee-dee herself, preferably by being brutally killed at the claws of the former Sir Doln. Korvo is an idiot if he loves her and deserves everything that befalls him because of that stupidity. But perhaps that was the point. Top notch writing Erik, but I hated it! |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 20:59:18
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Kyrene, that's probably one of the best reviews ever.
We all bring our own personal biases to a story, and that's one of the strengths of literature. That you couldn't sympathize with a certain character was my fault, really, for not writing her better (though really, in this case, you were supposed to sympathize with poor Korvo and his misunderstood-and-heavily fantasized-about fiendish heritage).
If it makes you feel better, Ande isn't really a goth/emo girl--it's just her appearance that's dark, because of her necromancy thing, which springs (as I implied earlier) from her ancestry. She is, basically, an odd-duck wizard apprentice who is fascinated by necromancy . . . to her eventual cost.
Calling her a "goth girl" is not me trying to be terribly serious though her implied love for vampires is, of course, deathly serious. (See what I did there? Squee Edward! Yays!  ).
I think that an ending like the one you suggest, while poetic and appropriate, probably wouldn't really have worked with the tone of this story. The protagonists are just dumb, led-around-by-my-hormones teenagers (well, not Ande, who is pretty much a cool and calculating mad scientist in the making), and they don't really deserve the messy end that I would otherwise have scripted for, say, more mature characters.
I mean, not that I *didn't* . . . I mean, *wouldn't have* written it, just that I'm certain I would have snickered a bit, copy/pasted it into a new file, and written a different ending.
And I can tell that you're just as blood-thirsty as I am when it comes to your fantasy. Which is, I think, a good thing.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
Edited by - Erik Scott de Bie on 26 Jan 2010 21:34:55 |
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
757 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jan 2010 : 07:55:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
We all bring our own personal biases to a story, and that's one of the strengths of literature. That you couldn't sympathize with a certain character was my fault, really, for not writing her better
Well, if we, as readers, were supposed to like (or sympathise with) her, then perhaps you have failed (or not hit the mark with this specific reader). However, I did not like her at all, which is a good reaction to evoke from a reader, considering that the character was well written and rounded. In that case, if at least evoking some reaction to your character was your intent, you have well succeeded.quote:
(though really, in this case, you were supposed to sympathize with poor Korvo and his misunderstood-and-heavily fantasized-about fiendish heritage).
And there you didn't fail at all, as I did sympathise with him, having had my own irrational romantic fantasies/liaisons in my youth. I could see his folly though, and kept shouting at him not to do such and so, but to no avail. His inability to stand up for himself only helped to mire him deeper and deeper in a morass of his own making (okay, Ande did help from time to time).quote:
And I can tell that you're just as blood-thirsty as I am when it comes to your fantasy. Which is, I think, a good thing.
Not quite. I just think a little more 'punishment for their crimes' (and stupidity or hormones is no excuse) would have been appropriate. Regardless of my (extreme) dislike for Ande, she and Korvo got off way too lightly. And yes, my suggested ending would have been way too harsh a punishment on the other hand, but would have made me cackle gleefully nonetheless. Stupid is as stupid does after all.
Oh, and about the word "tumble", how Realmsian is it? I ask, since I've started compiling a Glossary in the Realmspeak scroll and would like confirmation of its use and/or meaning. |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jan 2010 : 15:31:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
However, I did not like her at all, which is a good reaction to evoke from a reader, considering that the character was well written and rounded. In that case, if at least evoking some reaction to your character was your intent, you have well succeeded.
Well, that was sort of my intent, yeah. Basically, I always want my readers to feel *something* about a character. A character is only really "bad" (i.e., undeveloped, not fully written) if people have absolutely no sentiment toward that character one way or the other.
quote:
quote:
(though really, in this case, you were supposed to sympathize with poor Korvo and his misunderstood-and-heavily fantasized-about fiendish heritage).
And there you didn't fail at all, as I did sympathise with him, having had my own irrational romantic fantasies/liaisons in my youth. I could see his folly though, and kept shouting at him not to do such and so, but to no avail.
Yeah, that was sort of what I was going for. I wanted to capture what it would be like to be a teenager in that situation--desperately in love with a girl who doesn't even notice you as a potential romantic partner, being too caught up in her own weirdness, not to mention having a much more handsome and noble rival (Pelnus).
quote:
His inability to stand up for himself only helped to mire him deeper and deeper in a morass of his own making (okay, Ande did help from time to time).
That she did, though it wasn't malicious or anything. To her, they are just really great friends and she's never considered that they could be anything else.
quote:
Oh, and about the word "tumble", how Realmsian is it? I ask, since I've started compiling a Glossary in the Realmspeak scroll and would like confirmation of its use and/or meaning.
"To tumble" can be used as an intransitive ("care for a tumble in the hay?") or more rarely a transitive ("he tumbled her in the hayloft"), and is basically a euphemism for love-making (or lust-making, if you'd rather).
There are literally hundreds of sexual euphemisms you'll find throughout literature--I guess the nearest equivalent in real-world usage is something like when we would say "bump uglies" (at least in terms of how crude it is).
As to whether it's considered a Realms-ism . . . While I have read it and used it many times in Realms fiction (where I think it is particularly apt), I'm pretty sure I have seen it in other fantasy works, though it's not hugely common. So it's really up to you whether you include it in your glossary.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
Edited by - Erik Scott de Bie on 27 Jan 2010 15:35:49 |
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
757 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2010 : 07:25:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
As to whether it's considered a Realms-ism . . . While I have read it and used it many times in Realms fiction (where I think it is particularly apt), I'm pretty sure I have seen it in other fantasy works, though it's not hugely common. So it's really up to you whether you include it in your glossary.
Well, since it is in your tale, it is thereby canon. I was more concerned about confirming its meaning and/or use, since I too have read (and used) it before (but could not remember where). My thanks!
Oh, and it's not really my glossary. I'm merely trying to prevent Realms-isms from falling away due to:
a. not being compiled in one place (as far is humanly possible).
b. not being able to verify the veracity of a term. |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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Erethar
Acolyte
Germany
20 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2010 : 09:45:47
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I really liked this story. I thought of it as a light-hearted dark-humoured tale. The only thing is, it hadn't the feel of a 'real' story from the realms, it felt more like a tale from a realmsian chapbook, the characters just seemed a bit to cartoony(sp?).
But thats no Problem, because this is what i love in the realms: I can fit almost every story in somewhere. Und to think about it, Some Stories written in the Realms from Realms Characters would be a very good read (perhaps also a challenge in style) |
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Caolin
Senior Scribe
769 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2010 : 19:06:29
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| I loved this story. Very light hearted even though it was kind of dark. Could someone explain the Miltiades connection? |
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jornan
Learned Scribe
Canada
256 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2010 : 02:06:38
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Here is the info for Miltiades from Forgotten Realms Wiki
**Spoilers**
"Miltiades, although not specifically referred to as a death knight, is a skeletal undead paladin. Militadies grew up in the city of Turell. He was it's steward and champion. Due to his service, he was given the Holy Shield of Tyr, a magical war helm, and a runic sword of Tyr. For 50 years he faithfully guarded the city, until the battlemage Zarl attacked. Turell was besieged for 1 year, during which he personally slew many of Zarl greatest warriors. Zarl never challenged Militadies, so Militadies snuck into Zarl's camp one night and murdered him dishonorably. Miltiadies was then slain by all of Zarls men, and Turell was sacked and destroyed without it's protector. Tyr refused to allow Militadies to die and rest in honor, leaving his spirit to wander. 1,000 years later, Tyr tasked the half-dead Militadies to find the lost city of Phaln, which had been captured by Bane's minions, the red wizard Marcus and the pit fiend Tantal. Upon his resurrection, Militadies met Ren o' the Blade, Evaine and her familiar Gamaliel, and the druid cousins Androlson and Talenthia.[1]Shortly after, Militadies slew the ghost of Zarl, but during the battle the Holy Shield of Tyr was destroyed. Militadies and his companions rescued Phlan, and Militadies entered a peaceful slumber.[2]
A few years later Tyr once again raised Militadies to help the son of Shal and Tarl find and recover the Hammer of Tyr. At the end of the successful mission, a paladin of Tyr named Trooper gave his soul to his patron deity to restore Militdies to life. Militadies and Evaine has since stated a relationship, but their prior duties have put it on hold."
I also dig the reference. The Pools trilogy was one of the first Realms series I read beyond Drizzt and Co.
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2010 : 02:11:40
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If anyone's curious as to locating the Miltiades reference, it's one of Aryande's books.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Realms of the Dead - "Body in a Bag"
