Gryphon

One thing that struck me on reading this, particularly relating to the comment Wyvern made that Kyrina appeared very shortly after being mentioned by Marco - it could almost have been a 'ghost in the machine' story. I didn't feel that it made the story any less effective, particularly since we don't know what the picture actually showed, but I could picture in my minds eye something totally horrendous and the "OMG" being a realisation that the little girl had died or was about to and there was a communication happening through a medium that she shouldn't have had access to given her circumstances.

I just wanted to say, my apologies to those still waiting. I've not forgotten about this, I've just been a tad busy at work (plus there's been the distraction of a good book which doesn't help). I was going to do more today while I remembered... then like a fool I left my notes at home and didn't realise until I got to work. Hopefully I'll get into gear and have the next item posted in the next day or two.

A gift... for Ayshela Ayshela is sitting quietly in the cabaret room reading when seemingly out of nowhere Gryphon appears. Suprise is written across her face as she closes the book and sets it to one side. "Gryphon. I didn't see you come in! ... Gryphon?" Her comments stumble to a quiet halt as the winged mage doesn't respond to her and she notices that he seems to be staring off into nowhere as he stands there in front of her. "Gryphon? Are you ok?" Slowly Gryphon's eyes focus on Ayshela and he blinks as though dazed before a big grin passes over his face. "Ayshela, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. I'm almost finished with your gift, I just need to finish testing it." As the last word leaves his mouth, Gryphon launches himself at the puzzled and now startled Ayshela, and both go tumbling backwards over her chair as Ayshela is on the receiving end of a Gryphonic tacklehug. As she lies on the floor recovering, Ayshela looks up into a grinning Gryphon face. "Yep, it works." He says, before dissolving into a mass of little sparkling ruby lights which disperse then fade to nothingness. Amusement and confusion war on her face as Ayshela picks up herself, then the chair that she was reading in, confusion winning moments later as she sees Gryphon come through the door of the Cabaret Room, with a big grin on his face. "Ayshela, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you." Taking in the puzzled look on her face Gryphon bursts out laughing. "I'm sorry... I couldn't resist saying that again, and I really have just finished testing your gift." Opening up the small purple silk pouch that Gryphon hands her, Ayshela finds inside what appears to be a small ruby, sparkling faintly with an inner light. Gryphon quietly explains its function. "It's a remote tacklehug targeter, for those occasions where someone deserves a tacklehug but you can't be there in person. Hold it in your hands and concentrate on that person. You'll get a vision as though you were standing in front of them - but it will be an illusion of you rather than your body. It doesn't last very long, but while it lasts you can control that illusion as though you were there in person. I called it a tacklehug targeter, but you can do certain other limited things with it before it vanishes. Ayshela looks wonderingly at the small gem in her hand, then looks at Gryphon as a broad smile of amazed pleasure spreads over her face. "How wonderfully brilliant! This is absolutely perfect! Now, let me see..." Her voice trails off for a moment as she holds the ruby and concentrates on Mynx, finding her standing contemplating her kitten minions. Ayshela tacklehugs Mynx with gleeful giggles before vanishing, her attention returning to Gryphon who is patiently waiting. "It works! It really works! Gryphon, this is wonderful! Thank you so much, I've been so disturbed by the birthdays and promotions I've had to miss because I was called away and didn't know what to do. Now I can be there even when I can't be there! You're brilliant, and this is absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much!" Ayshela sweeps Gryphon up in a huge hug and dances about the room with him for a moment before realizing she needs to let him go so he can deliver another gift. ~~~

Happy Birthday oh King of kings. May it be a worthy one for you.

Heading for the beach, either to swim or to scavenge for items in the scavenger hunt Zak gives Jack a grin and a nod. "Sounds like a good night out. I'll catch you later though, I'm off to try and find some of the stuff on this list... and maybe catch a few waves while I'm at it."

Doesn't reading it backwards reveal the subliminal messages?

Zak looks back over his shoulder at Jack, seeing him holding out a small bag of peanuts he holds up a hand. "Toss a bag over?" As Jack puffs and belches his way up the beach he gives a suprisingly deft underhand throw and Zak catches the peanut bag out of the air, before looking with interest at Jack and wondering if he might have some useful skills tucked away. "So Jack... Any ideas about building shelters?"

What kind of activity do you want in the day thread Katz? I have limited knowledge of how reality TV shows work because I usually tune them out, but if memory serves me we'd normally have a day or two of activities to complete with evenings of private interviews where all the contestants get to say who they think is good and who shouldn't be there. Then they vote for someone to leave and the presenter gathers them all together and gives the little 'one of you is going home' speach before telling the group who was voted off. Until the later stages of the game anyway, at which point the vote gets done in a public gathering... Actually considering the numbers we're probably at that stage of the game, and votes would depend largely on how people do in the challenges during the day. soooo... what do want posted in day phase? Edit: Maybe we can do challenges - a challenge could be posted and each of us would have to post a response or our actions during the challenge. That would at least give us some gossip fodder for the voting sessions.

Lucky enough to be upwind of Jack for the moment (just) Zak gives him an answering grin, as he watches the beer get put away by the expert. Hearing some malicious sounding sniggering, Zak looks around to find the target and sees one of the girls on standing to one side looking rather upset. With another friendly grin, he picks up a beer and strolls over to her. "Hi... Brianna isn't it? Look, don't worry about them." Zak indicates those laughing at Brianna with a nod of his head. "Everything will sort it's self out once we're on the island, you'll see." With another grin at a couple of the watching guys Zak slips his arm around Brianna's shoulders. "Here, have a beer." As Brianna opens the beer and takes a sip Zak guides her off to find a seat and begins chatting with her. "So... have you ever tried surfing?" The general social chit chat continues ranging over a number of random topics as the two get better acquainted.

Zak trundles up to the counter next to where Jessica was busy screaming about her luggage. With a grin for the cute girl attending the counter he places his small rucksack on the scale to be weighed and watches the drama unfold next to him. Moments later he's set to go, his bag weighing in at well under half the weight allowance, Zak thanks the attendant and flirts with her a bit before going off to find out if any of the other guys want to have a beer or two before their flight gets underway. Thoughtfully he stops in at the airport liquor store and buys a box of beer as carryon luggage. Hey, if I'm not allowed to take it with me, I'm sure we can polish most of it off before we have to get on the plane. Strolling over to where the other guys are watching the drama queen with various levels of amusement Zak says, "Anyone want a beer with the floorshow?" with a grin.

Getting back from a hard day rock-climbing with some buddies Zak finds a big fat envelope with the TV station logo on the front in his letter box. With a cheerful grin to himself he opens it, quickly scanning the contents as he headed for his room. "Accepted? Coool! Dude, I hope it's sunny weather while we're off on this island, it's going to be so much fun." His internal dialog continued as he grabbed a small rucksack off a shelf in his closet and began stuffing a couple of changes of clothes into it. Hesitating he looks longingly at his surfboard up on the opposite wall and for a moment desire wars with common sence... This time, at least, commonsence wins and Zak turns away knowing that there'll be plenty of time to play later. That prize money is going to pay for a lot of time off surfing.

Since it'd be useful for people in the game to know, here is the super-short version of my Umbra character - since I've been too slack to post a full one in the Piazza as yet: Umbra is a fledgling shadowlord - in their natural form and place they are essentially no more than the stuff of shadow, animated and controlled. His appearance in and around themightpen is usually in the form of a shadow with glowing eyes, colour dependant on what mood he's in. Good and evil are extremely flexible though he tends to lean to the side of good... usually. For the purposes of the game Umbra is existing in his mostly humanoid form which he was bonded to when he first came into this world. Sometimes he appears to be a human obscured by shadows, other times he appears to be mostly human. His eyes will always seem to glow slightly. It might be relevant to know that shadowlords tend to have some fairly hefty magical abilities that grow with time as the individual grows in experience. Umbra's skill level is currently undefined, at least in comparison to some of the other beings who hang around themightypen. I hope this helps those who need to mention him in their posts in the game. I will eventually post more in the Piazza. Hope this helps if you need

Hey everyone, thanks for reading. As you can see from the list below (and above) I'm slowly heading into the closing stretch for these items - 8 to go! If anyone missed out on the initial signup but you were absolutely keen to get something made for your character, please either post an enquiry here or PM me about it. I'm not working with such a frantic pace now, so it may take a while, (I have to do some work when I'm at work apparantly ), but I'll see what can be arranged for those who want to get involved. Note that I'll be particularly interested if you've an idea that will be expanded out into a writing project, be it RP or story. I love to see these items in use, and time allowing I'd love more to be involved in a co-operative writing project with the owners of the items if we can come up with some adventures to write about... That said - it will obviously depend on how much spare time everyone has on their hands. ~~~ The Ongoing List: Salinye Venefyxatu Sweetcherrie Zariah Tanuchan Mynx Gwaihir Yan Yan Ganaffi Degenero Angelus Elrohir Cryptomancer Inbi Infusco Ayshela Helga Hurtle Gyrfalcon Daryl Vlad Reverie Kasmandre Wyvern - (under a number of names) Epinephrine The Portrait of Zool

In the workshop... for Ayshela Dawn finds Gryphon sitting in meditation on a new form of spell. Were there any onlookers with the sight a faint mist of low level mage energies could be seen swirling around the mage as he sat with his eyes closed, both hands held out before him, palms facing one another. At the center of his focus an impossible concentration of magical energy pulsed gently as the winged mage built the underlying concept of his spell into a compact seed of power, flickering and pulsing slowly, until the pulse became steady and the flickering became a single flame, visible to the naked eye. Carefully, as though feeding a tiny flame Gryphon feed the mage-seed with energy from his own body, the magic spinning out to create a tiny cocoon about the spark of power. Filaments of light threaded out of the point of light, anchoring themselves in the substance of magic drawn from it's creator. Slowly the pinprick of light grows, glowing the red of fresh blood in the morning sun as Gryphon feeds more energy into the spell. Gently Gryphon taps a nearby line of air magic, feeding the slowly expanding spell while feeling the energy run from him into it like blood from an open wound, yet never too much. As the spell stabilizes it's brightness dims fractionally though it still hangs in the air like a drop of blood. Reaching out with both hands, Gryphon cups the spell-globe between both hands and begins applying pressure, both physically and magically, rapidly feeling the globe of energy compress into a solid form. Moments later he opens his palms to reveal what appears to be a small corundum, deep red in colour and sparkling with a faint inner light. ~~~

As Gryphon approaches his sitting place a transformation takes place. His brown and white cowboy gear fades to black, followed shortly thereafter by it's wearer. Within seconds a Gryphon shaped shadow is walking towards the card table, losing shape as it does so. Two blue pinpoints of light open in the head region of the shadowmass which then starts to re-shape it's self into a humanoid shape in time to sit at the table. A chill voice echos out over the table. "So... who starts again?" Yan Yan shakes his head in almost dispare, bad enough that everyone was looking a little confused, had Umbra even bothered to read the rules at all? ~~~ OOC: Just to remind everyone that I'm playing as Umbra in this case - fortunately it's not his evil side that's come to the fore in time for the game.

What kind of behaviour gets one banned from an old western poker tornament? From TV I was under the impression that anything upto and including shooting anyone who you lost to (if you accused them of cheating first) was acceptable. Oh, and it might've been posted elsewhere, but can we have a link to the rules of the game here somewhere? Please? Edit: Ok, my bad- I should've read the main thread before posting here. Hopefully with the practice round I'll be able to make some sence of the rules... I think I've almost got them.

A gift... for Elrohir Heading for the Cabaret Room to look for Elrohir, Gryphon runs into Peredhil's son as he passes through the Courtyard. "Elrohir! A moment of your time if you please?" Gryphon retrieves a roll of cloth from his pouch as Elrohir approaches and holds it out to display it to the one-time ranger. "I'm pleased to see you're recovered from your Quill presentation." Elrohir says with a smile, "Now, what is this item you've created for me; I admit I'm curious." A stray expression crosses Gryphon's face as a concerned thought occurs to him. "I... it's just a little something that I cooked up hoping you'll find it useful. I understand that rangers sometimes have to undertake a fair amount of travel to get their work done, I thought that you might find it useful to be able to have all your gear and your weapons on you, but not clanking around in an old backpack." As he speaks Gryphon unrolls what appears to be a piece of dull grey, or possibly faded black cloth and Elrohir looks on, curious and polite, knowing that if he does need to go adventuring or travelling he can always open up a portal to retrieve anything he left behind. A sigil blazing with blue-green fire seems to blaze over the surface of the cloth, and is gone in an instant and Elrohir's curiousity grows more intense. "I'm aware," Gryphon continues unaware of Elrohir's thoughts, "that you've some kind of magical ability. So you could probably dispence with this by opening portals whenever you need equipment from home, however I know that can create a detectable fluctuation in the local energy fields, which can be a bad thing if you want to remain undetected. This cloth contains a kind of pocket portal in its fabric. You saw the sigil?" Gryphon looks at Elrohir awaiting his acknowledgement before continuing. "It will not burn to your touch, though I can't say the same for others. Just trace it and you'll be able to access any items you've stored in the weave. There should be enough room for a full set of adventuring gear." "Sweet," exclaimed Elrohir with a large grin. "You're completely right that a Portal draws the wrong type of attention in too many of the places I go. this will work out swell!" Elrohir's eyes dance as he considers what he'll store in the magical weave. "Thank you very much! A most welcome and practical gift indeed!" An extremely happy look crosses Gryphons' face. "I'm glad you like it, it's so hard to tell sometimes what people will find a use for. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do have some other items that are outstanding and I'd not want to disappoint anyone." ~~~

A wave of noise rolls into the office, cheers and laughter, as the door is opened to reveal a young man who appears to be in his mid twenties. He hesitates on the treshold and turns back to call something unheard to an unseen crowd who evidently approve as they reply with more laughter. The desk attendant supresses a sigh. Not another one probably some stoned loser who can't read without pointing a finger and moving his lips... Oh well, this should prove entertaining. Sliding a form onto the bench in front of him the attendant hands a pen to the newcomer and begins his monologue, "If you can just fill out the checklists, include your name, hobbies, interests, why you want to come on the show and then sign the waver please sir." , before standing back to watch the fun as the new entrant to the office tried to figure out how to spell his name. Much to his suprise the young man simply picked up the form, scanned it quickly and carefully, wrote his name, ticked a few appropriate boxes and then handed back the signed form. Only moments had passed. Handing over the interview details while scanning through the form the attendant arched his eyebrows in suprise at the number of hobbies and passtimes listed by the new applicant 'Zak'. Either he's brighter than he looks, or a lier... well... he did manage to read the form without aid of his finger. Maybe this will be interesting after all. Pointing Zak towards the interviewing area the desk attendant turns his attention back to sorting the forms into interview schedules thinking that the show might just turn out better than he thought. ~~~

Bump... I'm going to keep updating the links in this post as I add new items. I hope you all continue to enjoy the posts.

In the workshop... for Elrohir Back in the workshop, feeling rather refreshed, Gryphon flips the page in his design book to reveal the item he had made notes on for Elrohir. After reading them through carefully another time Gryphon reaches for a large square of canvas and begins casting his spells. Placing both hands over the canvas Gryphon starts to focus, mage energy pouring into the cloth, touching each strand of fabric and empowering them with magic spun from inside his being. Gryphon feels the strength of the flow intensify as he relaxes into building the spellweb and the cloth begins to take on a ripple effect to the casual eye as though made of water or another liquid instead of woven material. At this point Gryphon gets swarmed by a bunch of people congratulating him on his promotion despite his Quill Quest being incomplete - the creation of Elrohir's item gets unfortunately delayed. Opening one of his component boxes Gryphon withdraws a vial of powdered opal and traces some arcane symbols on the cloth, which continues to ripple gently as the powder seems to float down into oblivion leaving sparkling trails of blue and green fire in their wake. As the sparks of opal fire dissipate Gryphon caresses the strands of power with his mind, coaxing them into the configuration desired by his will. Slowly the rippling stops and the hue of the canvas darkens. A stray ray of sunlight lands on the cloth and reveals a sigil that briefly burns with a dull light before extinguishing leaving a faint shiny trace on a piece of cloth lying in the sunlight. ~~~

Having been following the story with interest, I'd just like to note that the teaching / fantasy mix is not so out of place as it could be. Even should we ignore the strong story of teaching in a magical environment created in Harry Potter by J K Rowling, the concept of loremasters gathering to teach their magical knowledge to students isn't unknown in fiction. Being a bit of a massive fantasy fan, I'll admit to being intensely happy with the setting... but then maybe I'm just another addict who's addiction is being played to. Just my two cents. Keep the story rolling!

Gryphon looks around, bemused by the sudden influx of people into his room. "But I've got to..." He trails off half gesturing at what appears to be a square of canvas lying on his workbench glittering strangely in the light before being bowled over by several enthusiastic tacklehugs. "Eep!" Sometime later as Gryphon emerges from the first round of congratulations he comments quietly to himself "Oh well, I hope Elrohir probably wont mind waiting a little longer, I don't think I'm going to get too much more done on his gift today." Then he turns back to the party to mingle and thank people for their help and support in his Quest so far. ~~~ The Quest continues...

This brings back memories of when I used to sit on the front porch with a storm approaching (or already here) and watch for lightning... lovely.

In a computer binary number there'd be an extra 0 bit in front of that to make a complete byte. Mathematically it's still correct as the preceeding 0 is implied - reading the number as 01101001 is the same thing as 1101001.

A gift... for Yan Yan Ganaffi Leaving the clearing rapidly behind Gryphon flys directly towards the Temple of Shards, knowing that he's sure to find Yan Yan there somewhere... Sure enough, after a few minutes of searching through the temple Gryphon finds Yan Yan working his way through a complex series of movements which seem to simulate attacking and defending against several enemies using both weapons and bare-handed techniques. Gryphon watches quietly, waiting for the Scout to complete his routine, watching with some admiration as Yan Yan moves, obviously very familiar with what he's doing. After several minutes waiting Gryphon catches a change in the rhythm of the sequence and he knows that he's been noticed as Yan Yan brings the sequence to a close with a savage series of attacks before relaxing to a rest position. Turning to see Gryphon waiting behind him Yan Yan raises his hand in greeting, barely breathing hard from his workout, he runs lightly up to his friend with a welcoming expression on his face. With an answering grin and a nod of greeting Gryphon speaks. "I've finally completed an item for you!" Reaching into his carry pouch the winged mage brings out a belt that seems to be made of interlocking scales which seem to reflect light one moment and be seethrough the next depending on how the light hits it. Gryphon watches Yan Yan take the belt, his eyes widening briefly as he feels the cool smooth scales of it. "Once you put it on all it takes is a thought from you to activate it. Once you have it'll do a couple of things, it will disguise your position by moving your image away from where you're actually standing. It wont move it far of course, but it does mean that when something tries to hit you should you get into combat you probably wont be where your enemy thinks you are. It'll also give you some protection against magic. Aside from the obvious that no mage will be able to target you directly you'll get a little protection from incoming magic which will kind of slide around you. Some will probably still get through though." Gryphon watches as Yan Yan fastens the belt around his waist and sences a brief tingle which fades and is gone in seconds as Yan Yan activates the magic before continuing his explanation. "It will deactivate if you will it to do so or if you remove the belt. I hope you'll find it useful." There is no indication that Yan Yan has deactivated the belt until his image jumps suddenly sideways revealing him in his true position, a huge smile on his face. "You have simply outdone yourself. I don't believe there is anything like this on Scolf." Yan Yan places his right hand on Gryphon's forehead, a sign of respect and deep friendship. This gesture is rarely done to those outside the Red Wolf Clan. "Thank you." ~~~