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 Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:22 pm
Okay...
This is the third time I've changed my concept, but I promise I will make it work this time. I will learn from my past mistakes which were:
-Choosing a concept without looking in the forum.
An extremely bad mistake to make, but this time I made sure no one used this concept.
-Basing a concept off of an uninteresting myth.
I thought I could make it work, but clearly I couldn't. I am genuinely interested in the Book of Thoth, however, and will do a good job.
So, here's what I have to say.
FA'E are 100% awesome. Great art, amazing roleplay, tons of wonderful people. So who wouldn't want a FA'E? No one, that's for sure. I am one of many who dream of getting their own someday, and I will work extra hard to make sure I one day get my FA'E.
God, I hope I will.
So I was looking around one day for a myth or legend to replace the past concept (that passion had kinda burned out). I came across the Book of Thoth, and thought, why not? It was magical, had an interesting backstory, and potential personality. I read about the book and decided that I could totally base a concept off of this.
So I did and hopefully third time's the charm. <3
ToC
o1. Intro
o2. About Elysia
o3. The Tale
o4. Lost Children Concept
o5. Guardian
o6. Pictures
BTW: Beautiful banner at front of page by Maisiema <<<3
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:23 pm
 About Elysia
Basic Stuff
Name: Elysia
Means: Blessed Home
Nicknames: Elly, Si-Si, Izzy
In her pastlife she was: The Book of Thoth
Appearance:
Hair: A really dark indigo similar to the color of ink. It's straight and sleek with a touch of shine. A pair of bangs sweep across both sides of the forehead. It's a real hassle to take care of, if she doesn't want it to dry out the next day, she has to apply a ton of product to it.
Eyes: A set of large, round, dark aqua eyes are set below the forehead. They seem bittersweet, like they're smiling, but there is something tragic behind them. A row of thick lashes shroud them. Elly likes her eyes, but hates her reading-glasses since they cover them up. She would wear contacts, but they make her eyes feel too dry.
Body: Long, about 5' 7" with a set of ill-preportioned arms that are a tad too long. Elysia's torso is slightly larger than her lower half and her feet are on the large side (size seven). Her body seems light and likely to be blown away if the wind blows too hard. On her wrists, she has what appear to be heiroglyphics spiraling about halfway up to her elbow (the heiroglyphics read: see the wind, listen to the beasts, the sun and the music of the stars) if Anya can manage.
Voice: A slightly-rough voice that has a soft, seductive side to it. She often talks with a lilt to it that makes it more feminine (she thinks it makes her sound like a supermodel).
Likes:
Reading: Being a book in her past life, it seems natural that reading would be a large part of Elysia's life. She finds it fun and easy to pick up a book and study it for a while because it's like entering another world. She loves all genres, but is most drawn towards non-fiction.
Cats: Elysia has a thing for cats. She loves them like children and spoils them like a grandmother. At times, she finds their company more enjoyable than the company of people around her. She believes they are one of the more intelligent creatures on her planet.
Bragging: If there's anything better than being right, it's shoving it in people's face with an, "I told you so." Elly's heart desires the feeling of power over people, and she believes the more times she's right, the more respect she'll earn. Bragging about it is just a way of making her feel even happier by giving her a sense of superiority over people.
Being right: There seems to be a scoreboard in Elly's mind of the number of times she's correct against the number of times she's wrong. When Elysia is right, her ego seems to grow a few inches and she feels like a queen. However, this feeling often gets the better of her and the pride she carries with her seems to twist and turn her personality, turning it into something ugly.
Secrets: Secrets are something Elysia can give and keep. She can take in a confession and give one of her own. Trading secrets seems to be one of her hobbies and she treats it like an art. She tries to be discreet, but the dark secrets cause guilt to spread like a cold across her thoughts and for her own sake, she may let it out of the bag.
Twisting the Minds of Men: Not boys. Seducing children seems very, very wrong in Elysia's mind, but she finds that playing mind games with men is entertaining. She'll flirt with them and try and seduce them as best she can. She plays this game with most men in order to get close to them (since she believes it's more fun than talking to them because you can get them all nervous) and it makes her feel like a powerful, sexy beast. After she gets to know a man she's been playing with for a while (or just gets bored), she stop flirting and act like a friend.
Dislikes:
The elements (heat, water, etc): The elements scare Elysia to death. She feels the need to wear three layers of clothes when she goes outside in the cold and wear the equivilant of plastic-wrap in the rain. She was a book in her pastlife, and still carries the hate of the elements with her despite being reincarnated.
Being Wrong and Having it Rubbed in: One thing Elly hates is being wrong. It's bad enough to be mistaken, but to have it rubbed in her face, too? Even though she rubs it in people's faces when she's right, the golden rule doesn't compute in Elysia's mind. Having something rubbed in her face makes her angry and spiteful at everyone. She becomes incredibly moody when this happens, but after a few days of dreariness, accepts the truth.
Know-it-alls: AKA People who Elysia wants to pop in the face with a knuckle sandwich. There is a line between expressing your opinion in a discussion and enforcing your belief by stating the other one's are wrong. Such people get Elly's temper rising and she will get loud and defensive just to prove that the know-it-all is wrong.
Sports: Elysia hates sports. Not as much as she hates know-it-alls, but sports wear down her energy amazingly fast. It doesn't help that she can't throw, catch or run, thus adding a touch of nerd to her reputation.
Personality
Elysia is, wow, the biggest power-psycho Doce's ever met. She likes feeling in charge and powerful, so whenever she does something right, she goes beserk with pride and her ego blows up like a balloon. While this is not neccessarily good for her, it does make her vulnerable. Anyone who dishes out a slice of humble pie to her will definately put her back in her place and remind her that she is not superior.
Despite loving to brag and twisting people's minds, Elysia is very dear to those who are nice to her. She will never gossip about them or even say so much as a mean word to them (ex. [Friend]: Does this dress make me look fat? [Elly]: No, it actually makes you look slimmer). However, she is not one to go out of her way to make friends, she feels that they must come to her. There is only a handful of people that Elysia feels comfortable speaking with and getting to actually know. These are the people with which she wants to become best friends.
Trust is something Elly sees herself giving away very easily, she tells secrets to people she hardly knows with belief that they will not be repeated. If they are repeated to anyone, Elysia will feel a terrible wave of anger and hurt. Although she will want to rip the person who didn't know she would react/traitor's head off, she will simply kick back and let karma sort things out.
Elysia respects people's opinions on certain matters, usually philosophical ones, but if they ever cross the line by criticizing her or someone else, her temper will flare. It won't happen immediately, but there will be a subtle change in the mood Elysia projects, and almost anyone will be able to catch it. Then, from that point on, if the conversation does not make her feel any better, her temper will continue to rise.
Fairness is like the color gray to Elysia. She doesn't really mind it, but she doesn't really like it. She believes a few rules broken doesn't really hurt anyone and giving someone the blame every now and then isn't a crime. She believes that getting away with little things is alright, but she can tell when something is getting too far. Even then, however, she tries not to get very involved.
Values:
Intelligence: Elly believes that intelligence is one of the most important things in life. It helps people understand more about the world they live in and appreciate what they have. She believes that a person who does not value intelligence is not worth much at all because they are too arrogant and ignorant to learn.
Fantasies: Despite being terribly snobby at times, Elysia has great respect for the fantasy side of things. Through her learning, she has gathered that great things have come from dreamers and people who have their head in the clouds. She encourages dreaming of her companions and even enemies, hoping that those who don't understand will someday.
Karma: Elysia is a firm believer in karma. She doesn't care how many people disagree with her, karma is something in her life that she knows exists. She doesn't bother with revenge, because she knows something or someone else will hurt the person who bothered her earlier. She also believes that it works with good deeds as well. For example, if she compliments someone's dress, she'll get a compliment on hers. She discovers the term through her reading and friends.
How Others Usually see Her:
Unless you are close to Elysia or one of the few people she feels she has to be nice too, you are most likely listening to her ramble about something she learned, brag, or scream. To strangers, Elysia is viewed as an incredibly smart, but arrogant girl. She can never be prom queen because she doesn't have the natural beauty, she can never be the class nerd because she flirts with every guy she sees and when she does flirt, looks nothing like a dork, and she can never be athlete of the year, because she honestly doesn't care about and isn't good at sports. To people who do not go out of their way to be friends with her, she's just a pain in the neck, but to people who try and be her friend, she is something much more.
If someone goes out of their way to be friends with Elysia, they'll see a side of her that the rest of the world does not. They'll see how Elysia sees herself, a walking, talking encyclopedia that supplies valuable information and can get the gears in anyone's mind spinning. It could be as simple as talking about snow or as complicated as the meaning of life, but even when gossiping, Elly's friends feel like they learn something when they speak with her.
How Elysia sees Herself:
Elly sees herself as a girl passionate about and bursting with knowledge. She feels that it is best to teach those she cares about so they can understand her view on things and maybe even develop their own views with better support. She tries to be kind and empathetic to those she cares about so they will not regret befriending her.
Other Stages
If Elysia doesn't become a Lost Child, I'm okay with that. Here are some other stages that she may go through:
Baby/Infant: At this age, Elysia is eerily quiet. She seems interested in pictures and feeling things, but makes hardly a peep if left alone. Some days, it seems like Elysia is a ticking timebomb, if one little thing doesn't go right for her, she will enter a collicky state and cry until her voice gets raspy.
Toddler: A little older now, Elysia is starting to take an interest in things. She is starting to become inquisitive and will ask questions about everything. This sets Doce off a little, and so she takes Elysia to the library to, omigosh, get her a library card. Elysia learns how to read and sort-of write at this age. She spends most of her time practicing her reading, but she enjoys socializing nonetheless (when she speaks with people, the phrase, "did you know?" is often heard).
Child: An avid reader, Elysia basically uses her books as reference for everything. She's going through a growth spurt at this age and is starting to find people and things that she hates and loves. She talks with her guardian a lot more now and starts messing with people's heads a little more. She has developed a slightly coniving side to her personality.
Powers:
Happy Scale (How happy this power makes Elysia)
1-10: 1 is the least happy, 10 is the most
Reading: One of the most commonly used powers Elly has. She has the ability to pick up a book, scroll, magazine, etc. and be able to know it's content just by skimming it.
Why: In her past life, Elysia was not just a book, she was the book. It would make sense for her to be able to know how to read quickly. Most literature (even in a different language) is basically review for her.
Happy Scale: 8
Animal Speak: Elysia is able to speak to animals ranging from fish to tigers. She does this by looking into the eyes of the beast and thinking the words and phrases she wants to say to them.
Why: In the Book of Thoth, it constantly states that the book could teach people how to speak the language of animals. Since the text is part of Elysia's past life, this ability comes implanted in her brain.
Happy Scale: 6
*"Seeing" the Wind*: Elly has the ability to "see" the wind by slowing down her perception of time to the point where the wind looks like a ripple in the air moving slowly across the area. Unfortunately, Elysia is not like Spiderman, and cannot move normally when her perception slows down, she moves at the speed of everything around her. It does, however, enable her to think for a few seconds before acting.
Why: Another ability mentioned repeatedly in the book is being able to see the wind. Unlike her ability to speak with animals, this does not come implanted with her brain. She'll have to develop and learn a little more before this ability acts up.
Happy Scale: 10
*"Hearing" the Sun and Songs of the Stars*: Elly's definition of "hearing" the sun and songs of the stars is basically being able to hear a difference that is about to happen in the universe or world around her. It's often an sound that sounds like it's a choir of some sort. If it is a small change, it will ring in Elysia's ears very softly for only a few seconds, but if it is a large change, it will ring loudly in Elly's for around three to five minutes.
Why: The last of the abilities mentioned in the text of the book. Elysia gets this power shortly after her ability to speak with animals.
Happy Scale: 7.5
"Bad Karma": One of Elysia's scariest abilities (that she won't get until she's a youth or decides to go down the ancient path) is that she is able to influence bad luck upon those who act bad to her. Say someone sticks a "kick me" sign on her back, the next day, they may lose their homework or get bitten by a dog on the way to school.
Why: The Book of Thoth had a curse on it that whoever stole the book would have some terrible thing (usually involving death) happen to them. I decided it would be alright to transfer the curse over, but tone it down.
Happy Scale: 9.5
*Main Powers
Picture of Elysia's Face by TLB
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:26 pm
The Tale
Once in Egypt, there was a book that contained great knowledge and power said to have been created by Thoth, the god of wisdom. It was known to the people of Egypt as The Book of Thoth. If someone were to read the novel's contents they would be able to learn "... the language of the beasts, how to see the wind and how to hear the sun, the secrets of the gods and the songs of the stars."(Reference Number One)
But what happened to such a book?
A great scholar and magician in Egypt (as well as one of the sons of the pharaoh), Setna, desired to know. He had read a scroll stating that 300 years before him, there was an even mightier magician known as Nefrekeptah. He was the greatest sorcerror in all of Egypt because he read the contents of the Book of Thoth, and had learned the secrets of the scroll. The scroll stated that the book was buried with Nefrekeptah in his tomb.
Setna dreamed of finding this book for himself, so he may also learn its secrets and gain great power, but first he had to find the tomb of Nefrekeptah. His brother, Anheru, offered to go with him, and the two went together to find the tomb of the great magician. This proved easier than the brothers anticipated because the priests guarding the tombs guided them right to it.
The brothers made their way to the central chamber of the tomb and found Nefrekeptah's body holding the papyrus scroll to his chest. Beside him were the kas, or basically ghosts, of the magician's wife and son. The brothers stood, unafraid, and Setna asked for the Book of Thoth.
The woman ka spoke and warned Setna of the book. She told him the story about how her husband had learned of it's existance and power and how she and her son were pushed off a boat by the gods as punishment for taking the book. Finally, Nefrekeptah died as his final punishment. She added that she and her son were buried in seperate tombs from Nefrekeptah's, but they watch over their magician's corpse anyway. She concluded her story with, "do not take the book, Setna, or you will suffer a fate worse than your darkest nightmare."
Although Setna was amazed by this tale, he still felt the desire for the book and threatened the kas by telling them he had the power to banish them from Nefrekeptah's grave if they did not hand over the scroll. After Setna spoke these words, however, Nefrekeptah's ka rose from his corpse, awakened by all the comotion, and told him that whoever won a game of Senet (a board game involving the afterlife) would receive the book as a prize.
When the board was set up Nefrekeptah picked up one of the pieces and Setna sunk into the ground, Nefrekeptah picked up another piece and Setna sunk even lower. Setna called for his brother and asked him to bring his magic staff. Anheru handed his brother the staff and once Setna had a firm grip on it, he performed a great spell and was freed from his imprisonment. As soon as he was released from the earth, he grabbed the book from Nefrekeptah and fled from the tomb.
As he was leaving, he heard a scream behind him.
"You'll be back, Setna! You'll return begging me to take back the book on your hands and knees!"
Setna and his brother, however, reached their home and told their father, the pharaoh, Rameses, what had happened. After pausing for a moment, Rameses told his sons that it would be best to return the scroll or else they may suffer the same fate as Nefrekeptah.
A few days later, Setna had a terrible nightmare.
He dreamt that he saw a gorgeous lady walking by him and was told that she was the daughter of the high priestess of Bast. He already had a wife and two children, but he was entranced by the woman's beauty and sent her a note asking her to come to him. He did nothing until the reply came, not even read the Book of Thoth. It was as though his life were on pause for this woman.
Then one day, she did reply, and she told him to come to the holy city of Bast. Setna met her in the palace and expressed his love to her. She replied, "I have to tell you, I am no mortal. I am the daughter of Bast the divine. Even though I want to be yours, I cannot be if I need compete for your love. If we are to be together, you must divorce your wife and feed your children to the cats of Bast."
Setna, who would do anything for this woman, divorced his wife and decreed that his children would be fed to the cats. When it was done, the cries of his wife and children could be heard by all. Setna embraced his woman, but found that she was nothing more than a corpse!
When he awakened, he believed this to be a warning of what could happen to him and he returned to Nefrekeptah on his hands and knees. Nefrekeptah, being proud of his prediction, told Setna he would take back the book if his wife and son's corpses could be moved into his tomb. Setna vowed he would, and after finding the tomb where Nefrekeptah's wife and son were buried, he gave them a royal funeral and sealed away the tomb under the sand with the book inside so it's secrets would be hidden forever more.
It seems like the perfect ending, right?
Wrong.
Ever since the creation of the Book of Thoth, it seemed to possess a being, it's own ka. How else could it have determined different fates for Nefrekeptah and Setna? It warned them both with different signs, most curses put people through the same thing (for example, everyone in a certain family line dies at thirty and before they die, they see a unicorn), but the curse changed to suit the circumstances of the people who stole the book (Nefrekeptah lost his family by having them pushed off a boat; Setna lost his by sending his children to be eaten by cats and divorcing his wife).
This book did indeed have an essence, but never had the chance to show it because it was busy being cooped up in a tomb with three ghosts who could, honestly, care less about whether the book was bored or not. The only time the book revealed a tiny piece of its essence was when it was messing with its reader's heads, but that never lasted long because it would get sealed away again. Not only did the book develop a soul, but it also developed a heart, and from hearts come hopes and wishes.
In short, all the book's ka wanted was to live in the world that it was written about. It couldn't read the words on it's body, but the text was a part of its spirit and it could understand the words almost as though they were imprinted in its heart. Words in the text like see, hear, smell and touch made the spirit curious. It wanted to know what a river was and what colors were, but felt trapped in the papyrus of the scroll. So when the scroll finally decayed along with the bodies of the family of the tomb, the spirit of the book was let free from its body and felt it was closer to living. It's heart cried out with joy, now it was no longer trapped in a vessel.
Then one day, Airi came across this anxious soul, and its heart cried, "yes, yes! Please bring me into the world! I want to live!"
And after a minute of wails and pleas, Airi brought it to life.
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:27 pm
Lost Children Concept/Doce's World
Doce comes from the world of Echec [map]. She is not originally from Gaia.
Name of World: Echec
Names are Usually: Portuguese or Latin
Magic: Potion-makers, shape-shifters, and enchanters/enchantresses
Landmarks:
The Beach: Your basic beach. A gate is at the edge of it warning people that they are close to the end of the world.
The Crescent: A forest and lake that seem to be crescent-shaped. Many of the natural resources come from these places. Wild and mysterious creatures lurk here.
The Checker Mountains: More like large hills. Sheep and farm animals roam here. Close to the edge of the world.
Style of clothes:
Peasants: Wear typical French farmer clothing from back in Marie Antoinette's time.
Middle - Upperclass: Wear Victorian clothing loaded with jewelry.
Style of Architecture: Basic Victiorian and French homes usually made of wood or stone. Cottages are located outside of villages. Castles are usually made out of marble.
What are the...:
Checkers: The two kingdoms are at war and are using large discs about a little less large than an acre to battle each other. These discs are enchanted to move towards the other kingdom every three days. They move by flying an acre a day and landing for three days. There are no-checkers zones, which are the light-colored acres on the map. These are created so the civilians of the kingdoms are able to stay alive in the villages and have a safe path to places outside the kingdom available if they need to leave. The homes on darker colored squares are at risk of being crushed by a landing checker. A checker can crush another checker by landing on it.
Gates: Gates serve as warnings. They are large, usually metal gates that stand tall and warn people that they are approaching the end of the world (which is indeed, very flat because it is basically a checkerboard). It is unknown what will happen if someone jumps off the edge of the world, but everyone who's jumped, has never returned
The End of the World looks something like this.
Cities:
The Black Village: A small village near the Black Kingdom. Safe from the checkers. People who support the Black Kingdom live here.
The Black Kingdom: The place where black checkers are made. If red checkers land here, they can take over castles.
The Mountain Village: The place where neutral people live. They are at risk of being crushed by checkers. They are not allowed to enter the kingdoms. The kingdoms have both made laws that state that people may only live in and enter their villages if they help build checkers, this way, there is a smaller chance of spies entering the kingdoms.
The Red Village: A medium-sized village near the Red Kingdom. Safe from the checkers. People who support the Red Kingdom live here.
The Red Kingdom: The place where red checkers are made. If black checkers land here, they can take over castles.
Technology: The people of Echec have basic cooking utensils, stoves and ovens, greenhouses, sewing machines, carriages, messenger birds, advanced power tools, furnaces, advanced beauty products, indoor plumbing, and basic bedroom items. Medicine is equivilant to potions.
Temperature: A tad cool. Summers can be extremely hot.
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:28 pm
The Guardian
Name: Doce Neve
Pronouced: Doh-chay Neh-vay
Means: Sweet Snow
Age: 93
Gender: Female
Species: Shape-shifter (only able to transform into a cat)
Hair: Curly, chocolate, usually tied back
Eyes: Large, brown, like that of a deer
Body: A little on the plump side, has smooth skin similar to the color of a doughnut.
Job: Sells clothes/Homeschool Elysia
James Lipton’s Questionnaire (w/Doce's responses)
What is your favorite word? Mango
What is your least favorite word? Turkey
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Sleep
What turns you off? Lipstick
What is your favorite curse word? @&&
What sound or noise do you love? The purring of a cat
What sound or noise do you hate? The sound of a checker flying
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Gardener
What profession would you not like to do? Explorer
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? You're in.
History:
Doce wasn't from the Mountain Village, actually, she was born in the Red Kingdom, before the war started. The Red Kingdom was very safe and guarded it's people with high, stone walls and a jolly set of guards who loved nothing more than to flirt with women at the local bar. This is not to say that they were social gentlemen, but rather irresponsible ones. You see, they should have kept an eye out, that terribly warm and humid day in July, but unfortunately, they were too busy picking up dates.
It was on this fateful morning when little, nine year-old Doce was laying on the roof of her home facing the sky. She was nearly finished with her shape-shifting training and only had graduation from the Red Kingdom Magic Academy to look forward too. She had barely passed, only mastering one form of transformation, but was content nonetheless. Her eyes were closed as she laid carelessly on top of her house and it seemed like nothing in the world could go wrong.
Suddenly, there was a whistling sound in the air, and it frightened Doce. She had never heard such a noise before and sat straight up with her eyes wide open. In the distance over the grassy fields, there was a black disc flying straight towards her house. Afraid, she ran through her window into her room and down a flight of stairs to the living room. Her hand trailed down the railing as she ran screaming for her parents, but when she finally reached her desired room, she found that they were not there.
There was finally a crash.
The ceiling literally fell on top of Doce as she ran towards the door. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Her outstretched hand reaching for the knob, the white stone and oak wood slowly tumbling down on top of her, the fear of her life and her sanity ending, but through it all, the only sound ringing in her ears was her heartbeat.
Whatever helped her, whether it be a god, her athletic skills, or something else, saved her life because she managed to reach for the door, pull it open and leap through just before everything came crashing down. She landed on her knees just outside her house and was too stunned to comprehend what had just happened. A crowd of terrified and curious people stood outside screaming and pushing the row of guards that stood in a ring around the decrepit ruins of her home.
It was soon after (she was taken to the local tavern by the guards) when she learned from the few guards actually on duty, that her parents had fled when they heard the noise and had not even stopped to save their daughter. This, she learned from the guards, as well as where the disc had come from. Apparently, the Black Kingdom had sent it (as it was marked with Black Checker #002 - Black Kingdom on it's side).
Doce, in fear of another checker crushing the city, ran away from the kingdom, much like her parents ran away from the crash. She ran, often in the form of a cat (the only shape-shifting form she could manage), halfway across the land of Echec in order to get away from the Red Kingdom. She didn't necessarily want to enter the Black Kingdom either because she was afraid it would be hit with one of the Red Kingdom's checkers later and therefore start a war between the two.
Not wanting to get caught up in a war, Doce searched everywhere for compromise and found it in a village known as, the Mountain Village. She couldn't find a home for sale in the actual village, but managed to buy one from a hermit who lived just outside the town. She decided to make some Victorian-style clothes (that often royalty and aristocrats wore in the Red Kingdom) and to sell them every Saturday at the market.
How She Came Upon Gaia
Doce stood in the water at the beach right on the edge of the world. The large, twisted metal-gate stood behind her warning her that she was close to falling off, but she didn't care. She stood watching the water from the beach fall downward into the darkness that thrived beneath her. It was scary and mysterious like her fate and the unknown. Who knew if there was anything at the end of the fall or even if she would die upon touching the outstretched shadow. She had brought everything she thought she would need with her in a bag that she carried on her shoulder and closed her eyes.
All the fighting had driven her to this point. Both kingdoms had been crushed by the enemy and her once prosperous world was now in poverty and ruined. The Mountain Village was at its end, even though it's inhabitants were still alive, there were hardly any resources left. No one would live for very long now and it seemed that all hope was lost. Doce believed that there was nothing left for her in Echec and decided to do the one thing she dreaded the most.
Fall off the end of the world.
She had to take the risk of landing somewhere with food, water and shelter. The crescent was emptied, it's forests were torn down and the lake was drained. No one had won the war, they simply annhilated each other and if the survivors chose to stay in their world, they would all die. There was no where else to go, except away from it all.
The pressure, the fear of dying, the loss of her parents, everything that had built up in Doce was now about to be released in a single leap off the face of Echec. She didn't know what laid on the other side of the darkness, or even if there was another side, but she prayed that whatever had saved her when her house was hit, would save her once more, so after closing her eyes and clinging on to her bag, she jumped, knowing that she would probably never have the chance to return to Echec ever again.
At first Doce was engulfed in darkness and she screamed, but only from the shock of the wind in her hair and how fast she was falling. She was plummeting feet-first and wanted desperately to look up and see if there was any speck of light left, but the pressure of the wind pushing up on her seemed to threaten to break her neck if she did such a thing. She fervently grasped her bag as though it were the only thing that could save her from dying, but soon felt that she didn't need to.
She had hit what seemed like a wall of water that she followed with a cringe upon impact and stopped falling immediately. Doce slid instinctively forward into a cross-legged seating position and found that she was encased in something similar to a bubble that drifted downward in a soft, rocking motion. She stared at the bubble around her in shock, but didn't dare try to pop it. She watched with a fast-beating heart as she fell for about an hour and then felt the sphere surrounding her begin to grow thin.
The black shadow she seemed to be trapped within slowly faded to a sky-blue and the sight of the foliage of a large tree entered her view. The bubble continued to drift until it reached about two feet off the ground and popped, dropping Doce into a rosebush in a front lawn.
Doce looked around from her spot in a bush and saw nothing but houses and trees. She was terrified and estatic all at the same time. There was another world. A better world in which she could live and be safe. She would never have to worry about Checkers or falling off Echec again. A teenage boy and a girl, dressed quite elaborately walked by her and she ran over to them hoping they could help her.
"Excuse me," she began turning red with a little fear and embarrassment. "This may sound quite silly, but what planet is this?"
(It actually sounded more like: "Scuzi, is silly, buh what planet dis?")
The boy made a face that made Doce feel quite stupid and inadequate while the girl beside him giggled and grasped his hand. She smiled and replied, "you're on planet Gaia, my dear."
Attitude towards Elysia:
Elysia is, well, her baby. She didn't come from inside Doce's stomach, but she is treated (and spoiled) like a daughter anyway. Nothing makes the guardian happier than seeing her baby smiling, so she gives her daughter recess during the home-schooling sessions. lets her get away with a few broken rules, and acts constantly sweet towards her. There are times, of course, when the guardian's patience wears down, but other than those few moments, she's as nice as pie.
----Others----
Name: Nefrekeptah
Pronuncuation: Neh-freh-kehpt-ah
Appearance: When seen in the physical world, a white light similar to that of a firefly. When seen in Elysia's mind or the spirit world, a great, tall, powerful-looking pharaoh.
Personality: Although his intentions seem unknown, Nefrekeptah seems to want Elysia to like him. He compliments her and tries to coax her into friendship.
Relation: Shows himself to Elysia every once in a while
Name: Manhoso
Pronunciation: Mah-noh-soh
Appearance: A large, white crow that seems to visit Doce and Elysia quite often.
Personality: Shady and sly. Seems to want to lead the Doces and help them, but at times, will lead them astray and leave them.
Relation: Constantly visits Elysia and her guardian. Elysia is suspicious of the bird, but has named it since it constantly flies to her home and become somewhat of a family member.
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:35 pm
Pictures
Link me?:  [url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=9011175] [img]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a312/0_hearts_0/1Banner.png[/img][/url] Links Out:
None
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:39 pm
I'm not completely done with everything yet (still have to add the guardian), but feel free to comment on what I have so far! <3
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:33 pm
Now I am done! Feel free to critique! ^^
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 5:59 pm
I really like the character and myth you've picked out. Egypt is a fairly untouched mythbase, so it's very cool you're giving it some love.
First of all, the fact that you've managed to personify a book while still keeping her distinctly book is cool. And the backstory is just so neat. It works really well and your elaborations about the book having its own will and spirit works excellently with having it reborn, and its urge to get out there and do things makes it all make sense.
Her appearance is good, too. A question about the hieroglyphs - if one was to attempt to translate them, would they say anything? A passage from the book, perhaps? I'd like to debate size 7 as large, though. xd Can you possibly explain the blue eyes, though? If she's from egypt, I would imagine her manifestation would be fairly egyptian. Is there any purpose for blue eyes, or did you just feel like them? (either way is fine, really.)
Her likes and dislikes really seem perfect, especially the bit about twisting the minds of men. After all, she sent great men to madness in her past! The personality is also really cool and very fitting with being a book. Same with her values.
--though I have to question karma. It's a hindu thing, right? Her world isn't hindu, nor is her backstory, so where did she come up with this? Or does she believe in it, but not necessarily call it karma?
I like the powers.
I like the NPCs and guardian. Very cool stuff, though you might want to include something about how the guardian got to gaia if you plan to use her for a not-lost-child scenario.
I LOVE her world (and get the pun. Echecs = checkers in french.) It makes me a little depressed that the LC contest is over, because it would be such a cool thing to talk about. I have to ask, though, was it a little inspired by Through the Looking Glass?
Overall, I really, really like the idea and think you're on to something good here. Best of luck!
Ps - your art has gotten a lot better recently!
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 6:58 pm
Aw. thanks for the wonderful critique. =^^=
I'm glad you like her personality. I tried to mix in a bunch of little quirks and attitudes to make her who she is (inflated ego + love for books + hobby of twisting men's minds = Elysia!)
Making the book come to life was really, really hard. At first, I was practically banging my head on my desk trying to think of something, but after reading the reference a few more times, I noticed that the deaths of the readers' families were different and decided to play off of that.
I'm a little embarrassed to say that the blue eyes came from absolutely no where. I just figured, "hey, she's got enough brown, black and yellow, why not add a little blue?"
Basically, I just wanted her eyes to pop out. >.<
Yeah, twisting up men seemed right up her alley. It goes along great with her power-freakness and ego. It also was a major part of the story.
I agree with you and make a little story about how the guardian found her way to Gaia (most likely her falling off the world).
About 25% of the world was based off Through the Looking Glass. I read that book and it had me absolutely intrigued. I'm a little sad the contest ended too, I would have loved to roleplay in that world. T__T
Thanks for the encouragement and I'm glad you think my art's improved! <3
EDIT: Oh BTW, I assumed Elly picked up the karma concept but just didn't call it karma.
EDIT-EDIT: The heiroglyphics would probably say: see the wind, listen to the beasts, the sun and the music of the stars.
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Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 5:27 pm
((Changes have been made! Below is a mini-story I've made for those interested in reading it.))
The Fairytale
By: TLB
Elysia plopped down in her new bed. The bottom of her nightgown swayed as she embraced her new sleeping space. It was big, cozy, and bounced slightly when jumped on. She felt a little upset about giving away her crib to charity. Afterall, she lived in it for a while, and saw it as her own property, but as time went on, she found that her beloved crib was becoming far too cramped, and she often complained to her mother, who as a result, decided it was time to trash the crib and buy her baby a bed.
When Elysia found out, she was both shocked and excited. She had grown so attached to her crib, but she remembered how much discomfort sleeping had caused her in the past few nights and she agreed with her guardian to buy a real bed. She went with Doce, one bright, sunny morning to a large store called, "Furni Land". They asked around for directions to the kid's bedrooms, and were finally pointed in the right direction by a pleasant, young teenage girl with large, midnight-black wings extending from her back and a golden nose ring hanging from her nostrils.
Elysia's heart rushed when she saw the various beds. There were pony beds, racecar beds, and even beds inside of pods that hung from the ceiling! The choices seemed endless as Elysia had to test each bed by laying in it for a few seconds. She had an awful case of bed-head by the end of her furniture-store adventure, but was pleased that she had finally chosen, in her opinion, the perfect bed.
It was a rounded-square, pink bed with thin, white flowers printed on it's blankets. Attached to the dark, wooden frame was a box like table with three drawers that easily slid open and closed. The table was conviently placed near the head of the bed, so that any young toddler could reach over and easily grab a glass of water or bedtime snack.
Elysia pulled the blankets over her and snuggled down in her brand new bed. She had placed a small lamp and glass of water beside her on the table just incase she needed a drink in the middle of the night. The bed felt very warm and relaxing, like a hug from a grandmother.
Doce, smiling, plopped down at the foot of Elysia's bed and asked, "how do you like your new bed?"
"It's great mommy!"
"Think you can manage without the crib?"
"Yeah," Elysia paused for a moment, thinking about something. It was scary without the bars of the crib to protect her, now she could roll onto the floor and wake up facing the ceiling. As this new fear crept into her thoughts, she sighed and looked into her guardian's eyes.
"I'm just a little scared though," she admitted, but suddenly came up with an idea that would both relax her and keep her interested. She twirled a strand of her dark her and gave a little smirk.
"Maybe you could read me a story."
This stopped Doce dead in her tracks. She was perfectly happy until this very moment when her baby asked for a story. She didn't know any stories or tall tales, they barely had any books back home on Echec...
Wait a minute, Doce thought. I can tell her about Echec. She'll think it's a real fairytale and will leave me alone so I can get some sleep. This was a perfect plan, as it would rack up some mommy-points and would satisfy her audience, preventing them from bugging her all night for a story.
"Alright sweetie," she said and laid down on her stomach, facing Elysia. "Are you ready for a fairytale?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay dear, then let's begin..."
"Once upon a time, there was a land above Gaia, it was called Echec. It was like an island in the sky and there was a great forest and lake called the Crescent. Do you want to know why it was called the Crescent, Elly?"
Driven by curiousity, Elysia screamed, "yes!"
"Well, you know when the moon is shaped like a banana? It's called a crescent."
"I know that, Mommy, I'm not stupid."
"Did you know that they said the Crescent was actually created off the moon itself? There were two kings in Echec who ruled two kingdoms, the black and the red. The Black Kingdom was known for homing powerful potion-makers and warriors, but the Red Kingdom was a home for the wise shape-shifters and enchantors. Either way, together these two kingdoms could change the universe, but instead, they fought to see who was truly stronger.
One day, the leader of the Red Kingdom, the Red King, Vermelho, traveled to the center of Echec. All he saw was grassy plains, and because there was a terrible drought, his people needed water. He had made an agreement with Preto, the ruler of the Black Kingdom, who needed food. Preto could use his powerful potions to create almost anything, but he could not use them to change something that was already there, such as turn the saplings of the meadow into a forest. Vermelho, however, could use his ability of enchantment to make the small saplings in the field grow, but his power could not create something new, like a lake.
When Preto arrived at the field, his black and violet armor contrasted Vermelho's red and white robes. They met under the crescent moon, which seemed to watch their very beings.
The two great kings stood facing each other and without saying a word, they leapt and turned their agreement into a contest to see who could build the greater landmark.
Vermelho took a rod out of his pocket and tapped each sapling lightly with it as he ran, then he dragged it across the ground where it hit the spots where seeds were buried. The saplings and seeds began to grow and grow until they seemed to touch the moon.
Preto, however, took out a vial of clear liquid in a crystal bottle and sprinkled it as he ran. Wherever the liquid dropped, a large deep puddle was formed. The moon seemed to reflect as clearly in the water as it would in a mirror.
When the sun began to rise and the kings were done, they inspected each other's work. The Red King stated the the lake was too deep, and that a child could drown, whereas Preto stated the forest was too big and a child could get lost. The worst thing though, was that there was a beautiful crescent moon hanging over that night as they were working, and both kings wanted to base their landmarks off of it so they could tell the other, 'ha, at least mine is refrenced off something as beautiful as this moon above our heads. You just scattered your landmark around like wibbly-wobbly.'
Unfortunately, though, they both won and lost. They weren't able to beat each other at their little contest, but their people no longer had to worry about what to eat and drink. The kings went back to their home, and the next day told their people of their tale."
Elysia was very drowsy now, but Doce's story was excellent in her opinion. She thought that the kings were rather silly, almost like two brothers who bickered and fought all the time. They had gotten what they asked for, but even when the work was perfection, they still found things to pick at and find mean things to say to each other. She didn't know why she was getting so wrapped up in the fairytale, though. It didn't even have any important themes. It was just a plot.
"That's a nice fairytale, Mommy, but why were the kings so mean?"
Doce, who was already at the door, about to walk out, shrugged and replied, "I don't know, dear, maybe they were trying to impresseach other, maybe not, but I love you."
"Love you too, Mommy, good night."
Doce closed the door, leaving it open just a crack in case Elysia called her in the middle of the night. There was some guilt growing inside her heart, though. It began subtly from the beginning of the story to the end and now she was regretting even calling it a fairytale. She didn't want to think that she had just called her entire life fiction, that it was just a fairytale for a little girl, but now it was over and she wouldn't have to think about Echec for a while. Sighing, Doce tucked her guilt away and headed to her room, hoping that she would forget about it all in the morning.
Meanwhile, Elysia laid drowsily in a fetus position in her bed. She closed her eyes, about to fall asleep and thought wearily, that was a good story... If only it were real...
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 10:15 am
BTW, just thought I should mention that if anyone plans on questing for Thoth, you should know that he will technically be Elysia's daddy, since he is, afterall, the author of the Book of Thoth.
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:31 pm
Hmm, I'd prefer Jade's okay on the whole animal speaking issue, since it's one of her restricted features... But Elysia seems to have some other powers there, too, not just animal speaking as a main one, so I'm okay with it. STAMPED! 
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Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 11:37 am
Great, thank you so much. ^^
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