Character Sheets....Because I CAN

Oh, gosh, I feel so weird being the only one posting here. And about my COMIC, of all things!

Weird. So weird.

Well, anyways....here are character designs. Please give suggestions! I only have two so far (Yul is still being worked out....she's so hard to drraaaawww), so I guess I'll post that one as well. Eventually. Maybe. If I'm feeling brave. Oh, gosh....

Character design is of utmost importance in comicking, obviously, so seriously, if there is something about the aesthetics that bothers you, something you feel could left out or put in, please tell me.

Anyways. Here's Gehnn:

NOTES: She hails from a tribe of desert people who like to wear bright colors, hence the random sash and head covering. The head covering is actually of religious importance - when a girl/boy reaches the age of 14, they cut their hair and pull it back, signifying their willingness to work hard, to support their family and their village. The head-cloth signifies devotion, and to take it off (when you're not sleeping, anyways) is very, VERY much frowned upon. Much like the Native American tribes of today, Gehnn's tribe has gradually lost many of their traditions and is currently struggling to revive them. Thus, the importance of the head-cloth. 

Also, her tribe is known for their skill in glass and stonework, which is highly prized as little of it is allowed to leave the village (again, because of holding on to traditions and not allowing anyone to trivialize them). The necklace Gehnn's wearing would probably go for a small fortune on the market. 

In other news, I am going to give her different sandals. Because the ones she's wearing in this drawing would be less than functional in her line of work (i.e. a lot of running around and occasionally climbing things)

Also, they're just plain ugly. Don't know what I was thinking. 

ANYWAYS! Now on to Rex: 

NOTES: Yeah, a lot more...um...detailing on this one. I don't know why I drew a glowy-face down in the corner - I think I just really messed up the face and so decided it would be a grand opportunity to mess around with lighting. Didn't work out so well. Sort of turned into radioactive jaundice. Oh, well. 

Anyways....Rex has always been my stumbling block when it comes to design. Primarily because, beyond his magnificent sideburns (oh, thirteen-year-old me, when are you ever going to get over Javert?) he was just never all that interesting-looking. So I added some things. 

So, Rex is a member of an ancient and powerful race called the Rems, or rather the Remish (as they prefer). They ARE human, but sort of distantly so. Like, a gorilla as related to a chimpanzee. Sort of. So I made them a little more 'alien', in that they have longer arms, bigger eyes, and a bit more hair, which grows a little differently than a 'normal' human's does. For instance: those sideburns? That's not beard hair. He was literally born with those. I mean, they were a lot smaller and less bodacious back then, but you get my drift. It's actually a part of their hairline. Girls have them too, but they're considerably less hairy and easier to trim. Perhaps in light of this, Remish men don't actually have facial 'beard hair' as we know it. Their hair just extends down their jawline and stops, and that's it. They can't grow goatees or mustaches. They actually find the concept of growing hair around your mouth rather gross. 

Also, eyes! Rems have what look like permanently dilated pupils, but in actuality that's just coloration. They have a thick black ring around their pupils (which are the same size as ours and work exactly the same way), around which is a thinner ring which we would call the retina, but which is actually just a small part of it. This smaller ring is the one that's colored, and in Rex's case they're a sort of dark orange. This is pretty common among the Remish, where eye colors range from bright orange to pure black. There isn't a single green, gray or blue-eyed person among them. No one is really sure why this is - scientists just assume that the black ring must have served some sort of function at one time, but now it's just decoration. So who knows. 

Also, hair color! Rems have normal-colored hair for the most part, although their hair tends to be more red-ish than most humans. Rex is a prime example of this. 

It has just occurred to me that my description of Rex is almost twice as long as my description of Gehnn. Huh. Well, I guess that's what happens when your character is a member of a different species. More or less. 

Anyways....yeah. Those are my characters. Well, two of them, anyways. Yul is coming. Someday. Maybe. If I finish. 

BRAINSTORMING sort of

So I need help with brainstorming some stuff. Well, one thing mostly. Also, I guess this is a good way of catching plotholes and stuff. I've had major writer's block with this story for years, and am just now sort of getting past it. Sort of.

So here is the result of my personal brainstorming session! Sorry if it's...um....incredibly convoluted and confusing. It's almost pure stream-of-consciousnesses writing right here.

Anyways:

JADRUS BRAINSTORMING SESSION

Okay, so I need to figure out what the story to this stupid story is.

I have (most) of the setting and characters figured out but no story. I mean, I HAD a story but it sucks. Badly. I need to fix it NOW. ALSO I need to put the setting all the way together. But that can come later.

So, the story starts off with Gehnn meeting Rex. Why is Rex there? What incentive do Gehnn and Yul have for joining him on his journeys? I’ve already looked at the whole “bad people are stalking G and Y so they need R’s protection or whatever” but that is so overdone and stupid and it just doesn’t work with G and Y as characters at all. I’m not going for TOTALLY original here (that’s kind of impossible), but I do want something interesting at the very least.

So, to start off, why did Rex leave Asorame in the first place? Who are his enemies and why? Etc., etc.

Rex’s backstory: he is the grandson of Jadrus Aevarden, the Traitor, who invented many weapons for the Three-Day War and finally went insane and triggered his last weapon, which destroyed most of Asorame. Sort of. Wait, how does this make sense? What did the weapon do?

(for background, Asorame is Rex and Jadrus’s home country. It is known for being awful. Which is why it went to war with pretty much everyone else. I do explain this in a few paragraphs. Sorry for the randomness.)

Let’s start there. The weapon released some sort of chemical in the air, which Jadrus intended to destroy ‘everyone’ because he thought they were all evil (he witnessed some pretty horrifying things during the war). The chemicals caused the air to change and become poisonous, and now strange things grow in Asorame. Wait, that sounds way too much like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Hm. Okay, keep the air change – the plot point that Asorame destroyed itself, basically. It is a wasteland, but still more or less inhabitable. Asorame lives off of indoor gardens and small sanctuaries where the air is made clean by filters.

Okay! Idea: The Remish discovered that their time is limited. Their gardens are failing and soon there will be no food. Wait, isn’t there magic? Well…um….the chemical extends to magic? YES! Well, more or less. It inhibits peoples’ ability to channel it. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t do small things with it (the enchantments on Rex’s staff, etc.), but you can’t do big things that last a long time like make plants grow and thrive.

It is thought that Jadrus had created something that might remedy this, as it is hinted at in his journals that he was working on something to ‘repair the land’ before he went insane. It’s thought that whatever he created, it must be in his hidden laboratory outside of Asorame (he was one of the few Remish to leave Asorame on a regular basis, being somewhat paranoid about his rivals trying to steal his work). Rex, being Jadrus’s descendant and a highly esteemed Craftsman himself, is tasked with finding it, deciphering clues from Jadrus’s journals and asking for aide from the other magical races who were in contact with Jadrus before the Three-Day War.

Hey, that’s not too bad. But there needs to be opposition…hmm.

Maybe there’s a group that doesn’t want the Remish to survive? Or doesn’t want them to go back to their former glory? Something like that?

How about this for a backstory for Asorame: before the Three-Day War, the Remish were the most powerful and technologically/magically advanced race on the Continent. They let other people live in peace, sort of (if only because of their xenophobic culture….might have to re-draw the map to explain this), but generally lorded it over everyone else, taking what they wanted and threatening attack if anyone complained. Basically. So one nation finally got fed up and attacked, and then EVERYONE (except Samare) attacked. Asorame would have won the war if Jadrus hadn’t lost it and blown everything up (more or less).

So, there are these people who are spying on the Remish people, making sure they don’t come back into power again who hear about Rex’s mission. They’re afraid that if Asorame is brought back into power because of Jadrus’s ‘miracle invention’ (which no one understands the true nature of), then everything would go back to the way it was or else there would another horrible war and this time they would lose and everything would be awful again. Anyways, they go after Rex and try to stop him.

There are also some races that agree with this sentiment and are in league with the Opposition, and so they too try to stop Rex.

So, this is a sort of story of seeking redemption, sparking rebirth and questioning whether or not something is worth saving. There’s also stuff about judgment and responsibility and how one person’s idiocy can make a whole nation suffer and stuff like that. Should probably decide on a certain collection of related themes.

The Opposition (as I have mentally labeled them) can’t directly confront/capture Rex because outside of Asorame he is very, very powerful because the magic is a lot more, um, heightened outside of Asorame’s poisonous atmosphere. They aren’t sure what he’s going to do. They’ve tried speaking with him/detaining him before, but….it really didn’t work. They have evidence of his heightened abilities because this particular confrontation.

Okay, so that’s Rex’s incentive for starting his journey. So why would Gehnn and Yul leave behind their peaceful, quiet lives to help a total stranger who claims to be a member of a race that’s supposed to be extinct?

Well, it can’t just be for the curiosity value. Hm.

Okay, well, let’s go back to G and Y’s backstory:

G ran away from home at a young age and immediately got into trouble in the Big City. A Big Bad named Jethr got her out, on the condition that she become part of his gang. She became a thief, and a very valuable one. Yul was also a thief, but more of the bruiser type. They both decided to run away from Jethr, who tried to get them back and failed. They ran all the way to Yeggronn, which is pretty much smack dab in the middle of the Continent and is known as the City on the Border – it’s right between the Northlands and Southlands. It’s a good place to get lost in, so they did.

So Gehnn saves Rex from dehydration and starving to death in the desert (he was pretty exhausted from his confrontation with the Opposition, as well as low on food since they stole his supplies (all they can really do is hinder him at this point)).

Still not sure why he wants them to come with him or why they would want to go with him. This is always where I get stuck: The Call to Heroism. The Hero’s Call. Whatever you want to call it. I get stuck when it comes to this point. It took me forever to figure out the stuff about Rex. So I know why HE’S on this journey. But no idea why anyone else would be. 

(also, I have a feeling that I should clarify that the Remish/Rems are the natives of Asorame - Asorame is pronounced AH-sor-REM. Similar to how the River Thames is pronounced, basically.) 

Some more of my comic script. This is actually from the beginning, so hopefully it'll make sense. 

If the scene sounds familiar...well, it is. I drastically revised the script from Chapter 1, so hopefully this is a bit more interesting and better paced.  

Chapter 1: The Man in the Thicket (revised)

(scene: Gehnn at the stall. It’s dead. She is very bored.)

(Yul comes up behind her and grabs her shoulders.)

Yul: GOTCHA!

Heh heh heh, sorry, sorry. You just…sorry. You were there and I couldn’t resist.

So….slow day, I take it?

Gehnn: Mmmrrgh.

Yul: Heh. Well, it’s a rest day. What else did you expect?

Gehnn: I didn’t expect anything. Min said we could do with the extra hours.

Yul: Selling fruit and tea to…..air?

Gehnn: Not my idea.

Yul: Hmm. Why do you work for him again?

Gehnn: I pay my rent and eat well, thank you very much.

Yul: On what he’s paying you?

Gehnn: He pays fine. Better than what you get paid.

Yul:…..true.

Gehnn: Besides, he actually teaches me things. I’ll have a stand of my own one of these days.

Yul: Oh yeah? And what’ll you sell, Miss Eyepatch?

Gehnn: I’ll sell freshly carved wooden legs. Finest make in the land. Visitors will come from all corners of the Continent just to get a glimpse of the fabled woodwork of my wooden legs. And then you’ll gaze upon my gloriously wealthy visage and weep from awe.

Yul: You have a strange mind, Gehnn.

Gehnn: Sure I do. I’ve got all this time to daydream.

Yul: Hm. Well, you know, Gehnn, you don’t have to stick around here all day.

Gehnn: Oh, yes I do.

Yul: I mean, it’s not like Min is going to just appear around the corner, ri-

Min: Hey, GEHNN!

Gehnn: See?

Yul: Woah.

(Min runs up to them)

Min: Lucky day, Gehnn – you’re free to go. I have a customer who wants to come down and talk terms with me, and by the looks of it, we’re not getting much business anyway.

Gehnn: Gods bless you, Min. You’re a treat.

Min: Yeah, yeah, just get out of here.

Gehnn: Supper at Moiah’s tonight, Yul?

Yul: Yeah, sure. We’ve only got one more shipment in, and it looks like they’ve got enough hands to handle it already.

Gehnn: Great. See ya!

Yul: Wait, where are you going?

Gehnn: Out for a walk. Need to get outside the walls for a bit.

Yul: But there’s a warning out –

Gehnn: Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!

Yul: Wait, Gehnn-

Gehnn: See you at Moiah’s, Yul!

(Yul and Min stand there for a minute.)

Yul: What goes on in that girl’s head…

Min: Funny you should be the one wondering about that.

Yul: Funny you should talk and think I give a rat’s -

 (scene: Gehnn walks through the city. She passes by some arguing men, and a bunch of kids running through the street. She comes up to the gate.)

Guard: You know there’s a warning out for skin hounds, right?

Gehnn: Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m not going out that far, it’s fine.

Guard: Hm. Well, it’s your hide, I suppose. And it’s not like there was a pack reported or anything.

Just stick to the creek and you should be fine. Don’t think they’ll be coming down that far from their caves.

Gehnn: Right.

Guard: Here ya go. Just be back before sundown.

Gehnn: No problem. Thank you!

Guard: Yeah, yeah.

(Gehn walks down a path. It is pretty. She looks to her left, and walks off the path. She comes to a small patch of bushes and other assorted plants. She kneels down and starts cutting off leaves from one of the bushes.)

(She hears a noise, turns. Nothing. She turns back, still alert, and cuts herself on the clippers. She eyes it distastefully, and then gathers up her things and makes to head out. She heads down the path, and suddenly sees a skin hound right by the path. She freezes, and then looks behind her. There are more coming out of the bushes, setting on their haunches. )

(she stands there. One of them leaps forward. She leaps out of their grasp, and starts running. They chase her. She falls, and is cornered. One leaps on her, and suddenly is blown off. She looks around. A man has his hand raised. There is air whirling around him. The skin hounds are blown away. They run away.)

 (Gehnn stares at him. The man stumbles forward, and falls to his knees. Gehnn rushes over to him. They look at each other, and then the man reaches out and touches Gehnn's forehead.)

(She suddenly has the image of kneeling in an empty space, her surroundings melting away. A soft whispering speaks in her ear. Gehnn looks confused, and then speaks, slowly.)

Gehnn: R....Rrrex?

 (She sees the eyes behind the mask's lenses - they are half-shut, exhausted. She stares at him, and then, slowly, reaches out to touch his face. He collapses.)

(Gehnn stares at him for a few more seconds. Then, she reaches down, and pulls him up, draping him over her back. She is surprisingly strong for her size. As an afterthought, she reaches down and picks up his staff, and with that, she takes off with him towards the city.)

(She comes to the gate, banging on it. It opens, and the guard comes out, looking concerned.)

Guard: What -

(she rushes past. The guard looks astounded. His partner comes out, staring after Gehnn.)

(Gehnn takes Rex to the hospital. She bursts through the door, Rex drooping over her shoulders)

Doctor: Well, hello, Gehnn.

Things I will change in transfer to comic form: It isn't a 'hospital' in the way we think it is. It's more of a clinic. Thing. Anyways. That's one thing. I'm also going to get rid of a LOT of Gehnn's lines. I have since disposed of the idea of giving her a speech impediment, since it didn't add anything to the story and just made writing (and reading) dialogue a huge pain. But part of her character is being less chatty and social and more quiet and observant. So not as many lines. 

Oh, man, I have rewritten this so many times. I recently read that it's best to just be simple and straightforward when writing scripts, and let the artist (well, me) figure out the pictures, instead of outlining them in the script. And it has made writing these scripts SO much easier. 

So, anyways, this is the end of chapter 1 and the start of chapter 2. The chapters are pretty short thus far - need to lengthen them a bit, methinks. Ah, well. Hope it makes sense!

(Gehnn takes Rex to the hospital. She bursts through the door, Rex drooping over her shoulders)

Doctor: Well, hello, Gehnn.

Need something?

Gehnn: I….(pant pant) found him…..outside….thicket…..

Skin hounds…..attacked….almost didn’t….

Doctor: What? Skin hounds? How’d you make it out?! Not even a scratch on you!

Gehnn: I…..he…..

I…ran. Somehow got away.

Please. Just help him.

Doctor: Well, you came at a good time. Most of the beds are empty. Here, let me help you –

(they plonk him on a nearby bed)

Doctor: Well. Certainly is unique, isn’t he? I don’t think I’ve seen clothes of this make…well, anywhere.

Gehnn: Can you help him?

Doctor: Hm. His heart’s beating normally. And he seems to be breathing normally.

Of course, I can’t say anything for certain until I get a proper look at him.

You found him in a thicket, you say?

Gehnn: Well….under it. He was resting there. I think. I was going out to collect....to cut some seasoning. For supper.

And I found him.

Doctor: I see.

I’ll look at him, see what’s wrong.

You should probably head home. Get some rest. You’ve had a big shock.

I’ll send you a message later.

(pause)

Gehnn: I….guess so.

Oh, wait. Min.

Doctor: (pulling back cloak) Tell him you had to go home by Doctor’s orders. I don’t think he’d be willing to risk annoying the Merchant’s Guild by making you work with that over his head.

Gehnn: Yeah.

Thank you.

Doctor: I’ll be sending you the bill later, you know.

Gehnn: Heh. Yeah.

Yeah.

(Scene: Gehnn walks back to her house. She sits down on the bed. She rubs her head, and stares at the wall.)

Gehnn: Rex…..

(flops back)

Rex.

Is that a name? Or a title? Or a race?

(pause)

How did he speak to me?

(she sighs, and closes her eyes.)

Min’s gonna have a fit.

CHAPTER 2: Rex

(Scene: Doctor examining Rex. Still has mask on.)

Doctor: Don’t want anyone to see you, eh?

I can understand that. In this part of the world, not many do.

Lucky for you, this is the safest place for miles around. So whatever trouble you’re running from, you’ve found a good hiding place here. A second chance.

(pause)

Heh heh. Why am I even talking to you? It’s not like you can hear me.

(feels around the edges of the mask. Perturbed.)

Huh.

You sure got it well stuck.

Don’t think I’ve ever seen a mask like yours, come to think of it. Nothing like with these slots or markings. Or these….cursed….straps!

(he gives up. Sighs.)

Do I seriously have to call Arzin in and have him cut this thing off?

(looks at mask.)

Well, you’re not gasping, I guess. Nothing I can do about that now.

Let’s just see about the leg, then….

(Scene: Gehnn is at the stall again, this time with customers.)

Boy: C’mon, Gehnn, just put in a good word for me!

Gehnn: No.

Boy: Come ON!

Gehnn: I’ve told you a good thousand times, Hy, she said no. She’s not gonna change her mind.

Hy: But, if you talk me up to her –

Gehnn: Hy, the plain fact of it is, Yul knows what she wants in men. And nothing I’ve said about it has ever changed her mind.

Hy: Uh…..what…kind of men does she like?

Gehnn: You would probably be better off not knowing, Hy.

Hy: I mean, maybe if I spruced myself up a bit, she’d –

Gehnn: It ain’t spruce she’s going for, Hy. Trust me on that.

Hy: But if you told me-

Gehnn: Hy.

You’re a good guy. Don’t let her spoil it.

Hy: Oh.

Gehnn: Really.

Hy: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Sure. Um.

I guess….I guess I’ll just….go this way. And think about this.

Yeah.

Gehnn: (sighs)

Customer: Boy troubles, honey?

Gehnn: Not mine, praises be.

Customer: They all come around eventually, don’t you worry.

My own Pike, he an’ I were bandit children up on those desert trails. I ignored him until he killed up a pack of skin hounds and made a coat outta their hides for me. I married him the day he gave it to me.

Gehnn: That sounds….wonderful.

Customer: It is, isn’t it?

Just remember what I told you, Honey. Keep strong!

Gehnn: Sure will.

(thinking, wearily) Yul would love that.

Min: Gehnn!

Gehnn: Oh, hi there, Min.

Min: Gehnn, Arzin finished those chair repairs. I can take over shop while you go to pick it up.

Gehnn: Does this mean I don’t have to sit on this thing anymore? (points at splintery old stool upon which she was formerly sitting)

Min: Just go and get it.

Gehnn: Sure thing!

(runs down street, towards smith’s. She comes to a barrage of crowds – goes down alley, climbs on top of wall, runs across roofs, drops down in front of smith’s. She walks up to the door, and rings the bell.)

Apprentice: Someone’s at the door.

Arzin: Then get it.

(door opens.)

Gehnn: Hi, Clem. Arzin said the chair was ready for pickup?

Clem: Uh, yeah. He’s busy right now, but I can-

Arzin: Hey! Is that Gehnn?

Gehnn: Hey, Arzin.

Arzin: It is you! Here for the chair, I take it?

Gehnn: Yep.

Arzin: Clem! Go to the back and get the chair.

Clem: Yessir.

Arzin: It’s been a while since I’ve seen you around my shop, girl.

Gehnn: Min’s been running the stall longer since the Trade Fair. He’s even had me work on rest-days.

Arzin: Ridiculous. Who would be at the bazaar on a rest-day?

Gehnn: He just likes to take what chances he can get, I guess.

Arzin: Hmph. Ridiculous.

If he’s not careful, he’ll get reported to the Guild. They’re tightening their hold on everyone these days.

Gehnn: Eh, he’ll figure out how to get around it.

Arzin: One of these days, though…..

But never mind that. How have you been faring, with all this extra work?

Gehnn: Well enough. I’ve gotten a little extra pay out of it.

Arzin: Good, good. And how’s Yul? Managed to stay out of trouble?

Gehnn: Do you even need to ask.

Arzin: Ha ha ha ha! I like that girl. She’s got spirit. And a strong fighting arm.

Gehnn: Yeah. Wish she’d keep it to herself, though.

We’re already under the wire as it is.

Arzin:….people asking questions?

Gehnn: No, just….can’t let ourselves stick out, you know? Can’t take chances.

Arzin: Hm.

Well, everyone here has something to hide. This whole city was built on second chances.

Gehnn: Some things don’t warrant second chances.

Arzin: Don’t you worry about it, Gehnn. I’m sure Yul will settle down. Or else be tossed out on her rear. Either way, you’ll be at peace.

Gehnn: (laughing) Guess so.

Clem: I’ve got the chair here, ma’am.

Gehnn: Oh, yeah! Thank you.

Arzin: That should stay sturdy. And I polished it, so you’ll be able to sit without getting splinters.

Gehnn: Thank you so much.

I’d better get back to Min.  He’s all alone at the stall right now.

Arzin: Of course, of course.

You just make sure to come back and visit!

Gehnn: I’ll see if I can make the time.

Arzin: Come at midnight, I don’t care. Just visit.

Gehnn: Sure thing. Thanks again.

Arzin: Any time, Gehnn. Just say the word.

(she leaves)

Arzin: (to himself) That girl has something on her mind.

Clem: Didn’t she say she was working long hours?

Arzin: No, something else.

Hm.

Oh, well. Back to work, boy! Can’t stand by ogling pretty girls all day!

Clem: Um….right, sir!

(scene: Gehnn is walking over the roofs, about to come to the market. She sits down, sighing.)

(looks up at sky. How pretty.)

(she notices a shape, high up. She squints. The shape looks like a blimp of some sort. She raises a hand to her eyes, trying to get a better look, but is then suddenly distracted by a shout.)

Min: GEHNN!

(Gehnn looks down.)

Gehnn: Um….hey there, Min!

Min: GET DOWN HERE!

Gehnn: Right, right. Sorry, sir. Be right down.

Min: I told you to go and get the chair!

Gehnn: I did get it. It’s right here.

Min: I meant….never mind. Let’s just get back to the stall.

Gehnn: Right, sir.

The Woodsman and the Wizard

So, sort of in the style of a Tolkienesque Grimm fairy tale ... something I am writing for my ENG 370 class.

The Old Wood was forbidden. It was not forbidden by law or decree of any sort, but by the common sense of the people of Worthmint. The Wood itself was not like the other forests, even the other forest which surrounded Worthmint and lined the road that passed through it—while the sun shown through the forest on the King’s side and the Lord of Worthmint often hunted in them, the Old Wood was dark, as though the sun could not penetrate into its canopy of leaves and its walls of thickets. It was a deep green which never lost its color, even in the direst of winters. One blisteringly hot summer, a fire had begun after a thunderstorm, and it burned a portion of the forest on the King’s side, leaving a visible line of blackened land and felled trees at the foot of the evergreen Wood.

At the edge of a farmer’s field, where a poor woodsman and his wife lived by agreement with the farmer, the line of tall pines that stood against the naked fields of Worthmint’s farmland served as a barrier on all the kingdom’s maps as the boundary between the King’s realm and the wilderness where the creatures of the old world still ruled. The sky above was dreadfully silent and deep grey-blue, just at the very onset of dawn. The trees were black against the dim light of the sky, their stillness unsettling. Even when a gust of wind from the west rustled the wheat of the field and creaked the timbers of the wooden fence surrounding the field, the forest seemed to swallow the wind, its branches and leaves unmoved. Then the silence was shattered.

A voice, high and inhuman, shrieked with delight. From the darkened homestead on the edge of the field leapt a pale, indistinct thing. It was the size of a small man, but moved too quickly to be seen clearly. It ran, laughing in horrible cackles, toward the forest. A tall man sprung from the door after him, half-dressed, crying,

“Fey-man! Thief! Coward!”

The pale man-kin hopped over the fence without a glance behind it and disappeared into the blackness of the Wood, its harsh giggles lingering. The man ran after him, but stopped at the fence. A shiver ran though his body as  he peered intot he depths.

A woman emerged from the house, more dressed than he, and cried after him,

“Aelfric! Come away from the Wood!”

“I must follow it!” Aelfric returned, “It’s ruined us if I don’t!”

“What has it done?” she said.

“It has taken my axe!” And with that he crawled over the fence and he, too, disappeared into the Wood.

After the pale fey ran Aelfric, roaring with the pain in his head from the last night’s drinking and stumbling in fatigued clumsiness. He wove between the trees as best he could, bush and thistle slapping his face and arms in the darkness around him. Beneath the canopy of the old wood in the predawn and all but choked in by thorny growth, he could see only a faint glimmer of light ahead like the tail of a comet marking his query’s progress ahead of him.

The forest seemed to have a will of its own, however, and the harder he ran after the faery, the more the bushes and thistles seemed to throw themselves into his path. He strove with the invisible thickets and vines that lashed and tugged at him from the darkness of the forest, but like a fly wrapped in spider’s silk, he soon found that his struggles only worsened his lot. Soon the silvery glimmer of the fey faded away, and all fell dark. He gave a shout of despair that was consumed by the thick air around him. He struggled, but the vines and thickets held him as tightly as rope. So there he lie, staring upward in despair, straining his eyes for a snatch of light through the vaulted leafy ceiling, but all was silent, cold, and black.

Then, much to his surprise, the silvery light returned, at first faintly, then stronger, until he saw he was in a grove of trees. Each tree trunk was thicker than his house, wrapped in vines and furry with moss, stretching too far upward to see even the branches of. Near the center of the grove he lay tangled in every manner of forest plant, roots, vines, bushes, thistles, and thickets, all clinging to him and wrapped around his arms, his hadns and feet, and his neck, and they seemed to writhe as through controlled by a mind. they moved in utter silence, not stirring one another’s leaves, but in perfect togetherness dragging him closer to the center of the grove, where the growth was densest and from which many stones thrust upward like jagged teeth.

The fey stood above him. He looked rather like a child, small, beardless, and slight, with pinched features and a wicked grin upon his face. He was naked and his flesh was bloodless and pallid. His white hair, tangled and knotty, fell heavily around his bony shoulders, from which hung long, thin arms down to his long, thin legs. He leaned over him and gazed into his eyes with his own white-within-white eyes, like a blind man’s. He parted his teeth and spoke,

“The manling has become caught! How have you become caught so quickly?” He held up Aelfric’s axe and looked it up and down. “the Wood remembers you, methinks, and the bite of your axe. But no!” he seemed to spasm, and went kicking the vines and branches which held Aelfric down. Each went slack and motionless as the fey struck it, and soon Aelfric freed himself. No sooner had he risen to his feet than he gave a cry and lunged toward the fey, who deftly stepped out of his way.

“No!” he giggled, “No, no, no! My game is with you, and the Wood shall not spoil it!” and he lighted off again, deeper into the wood.

“What game?” cried Aelfric, charging after him, “What game is this? Why do you toy with me and not someone else from the village?” He was too slow—the faerie was already so far ahead that Aelfric could only run in the direction of the light.

“You, you!” the fey’s voice floated back to him from the trees ahead, “It is you I want!”

“I think,” Aelfric wheezed, winded from running, “You will not be so pleased with me when I catch up with you!” Now as he ran, Aelfric tore away any vine or branch that caught on his clothing, and was lighter on his feet than before. His head was clearer, also, and his headache ebbed.

A deep, dim blue light began to fill the Wood as the sun’s early rays penetrated the fortress of leaves and branches overhead, and his eyes had adjusted better in the half-light of the fey far ahead of him. These trees stretched far above, and were unlike any he had before seen. Unlike those of the grove, these trees were gnarly, bent, with stretched bark showing beneath carpets of moss, like the belly of a fat man poking out from under his shirt. Some stood straight, like unbending giants, while others leaning to one side before laboriously reaching upward.

More Jadrus Script

For context, Gehnn has been sent out by her employer to collect a certain type of leaf. 

Rex is my favorite character to write/draw. I think it shows. 

(She walks out into the wilderness - show off the plantlife and greenery, with a tiny river flowing down a small channel. She stops to look at the pearly insects flying around it, and smiles.)

(she continues walking, looking around as she does so. She comes to a rugged set of rocky columns and such, riddled with small and large caves. She carefully makes her way over to a patch of spidery-looking bushes with thick leaves and red stems (sort of like poison oak). She sets down her basket, kneels down, and starts to cut.)

(she hears a noise behind her. She turns around, sees nothing there. She turns back to her clipping. She suddenly notices a glint through the bushes. Curious, she puts down her clippers and basket, and makes her way through the thicket.)

(she discovers the figure of a man, lying on the ground, wearing strange clothes and a mask that makes him look like an insect. He is bleeding from his leg, and he clutches a strange staff-like tool across his chest (hence the glint). She stares at him. The man suddenly turns his head towards her. Gehnn backs away, frightened. He sits up, reaching out a hand. She backs out of the bushes, and flees. She hears rustling behind her, and picks up her speed. She looks behind her, leaps over some brush, and then stumbles into a pack of sleeping skin-hounds. They wake up, and attempt to pounce her. She tries to run away, but is cornered.)

Gehnn: (thinking) Damn it! Damn it, damn it!

(The skin hound pounces, but suddenly flies away. The pack turns to see the man, leaning on his staff. They all go for him - Gehnn looks terrified. The man makes a strange gesture - the hounds are all swept up in some invisible tornado, and thrown everywhere. They all take off, wimpering.)

(Gehnn stares at him. The man stumbles forward, and falls to his knees. Gehnn rushes over to him. They look at each other, and then the man reaches out and touches Gehnn's forehead.)

(She suddenly has the image of kneeling in an empty space, her surroundings melting away. A soft whispering speaks in her ear. Gehnn looks confused, and then speaks, slowly.)

Gehnn: R....Rex? You are.....Rex?

Rex: Heh....Heh heh....

(She sees the eyes behind the mask's lenses - they are half-shut, exhausted. She stares at him, and then, slowly, reaches out to touch his face. He collapses.)

(Gehnn stares at him for a few more seconds. Then, she reaches down, and pulls him up, draping him over her back. She is surprisingly strong for her size. As an afterthought, she reaches down and picks up his staff, and with that, she takes off with him towards the city.)

(She comes to the gate, banging on it. It opens, and the guard comes out, looking concerned.)

Guard: What -

(she rushes past. The guard looks astounded. His partner comes out, staring after Gehnn.)

 (A few minutes later - The man is lying on a table, in Yul and Gehnn's room. They stare at him. Yul reaches out to touch his mask, looking wary.)

Yul: You found him? Outisde?

Gehnn: H-he.....was in the...bush.

Yul: A Rem. Outside of Asorame.

Never thought I'd see it.

Gehnn: His name is Rex.

Yul: What?

Gehnn: That's....that's what he...um....gave me. His name is Rex.

Yul: Gave you? What do you mean?

Gehnn: I don't...I don't know. H-he just....he t-touched my...head....and it was...in my brain. Just that. Rex.

(Yul backs away from the man)

Yul: We need to call the Captain.

Gehnn: What? No!

Yul: It's dangerous, Gehnn! I'm not gonna be in the same room as a mind-controlling Rem.

Gehnn: He's hurt! A-and sick! He just n-needs help!

Yul: What if this is all a ruse, Gehnn? What if, the minute he wakes up, he starts getting in our heads? Getting a hold of our thoughts, twisting them around?

Gehnn: He....he wouldn't.

Yul: Why? Did he give you that, too?

Gehnn: No, he....he saved my life. He.....h-he made a pack of skin hounds run away! I was g-gonna get ea....eaten!

Yul: What? How?

Gehnn: Um.....

Yul: I knew it. I knew it I knew it I knew GEHNN! This is bad! We're already under the wire as it is! What are we gonna do with a Rem?! A live Rem? What if he makes the city explode? What if he makes us kill people? Oh god oh god...

Gehnn: Y-you got....that out of stories....Yul.

Yul: He cowed a pack of skin hounds! How's THAT for a story?

Gehnn: Yul!

(Yul looks at her)

Gehnn: Please. He's....he's sick. And hurt. H-he needs help. And he's....alone.

I mean....we kn-know how that...well, y-you remember.

 (Yul looks at her. And then looks at the man. She closes her eyes, in a tight-like fashion, rubbing her nose, and then goes over to the man, looking down at his insect-like mask.)

Yul: If he burns the house down, Gehnn -

Gehnn: You always hated this place, anyway.

Yul: Dern straight.

All right...lessee....

(Hesitantly, she touches his face. He makes no move.)

Yul: D'you think.....there's, like...a face, under this?

Like, a human face?

Gehnn: (touches goggles) He has....e-eyes, I guess. Human-sized ones.

Yul: Well, that's....good. I guess.

(She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath. They both lean in, wearing intense expressions.)

Yul: I'm betting....he's not getting enough air. Through that mask.

Gehnn: Y-y'think s-so?

Yul: I just bet.

Gehnn: So we....sh-should maybe...maybe take it off, then?

Yul: I....I guess that would be the best thing to do.

(She hesitates, looks at Gehnn. Brow set, she then places both hands on the sides of the mask. She feels around trying to find a buckle.)

Yul: (annoyed) Is this thing melted to his face?

(She finds a slide on either side of his neck, under his collar)

Yul: Hm?

(She slides the switches. The mask suddenly hisses, causing them both to jump back. They stare, frightened, before realizing the mask has come loose. Cautiously, Gehnn approaches, and removes the mask.)

(She stares. Yul comes up and stares as well. There is a lot of staring in this chapter.)

Yul: Huh.

Gehnn: Huh.

(Viewing the man's face - it is quite human.)

Yul: (after a pause) How'd he get his sidies like that?

Gehnn: P-probably....magic?

Yul: Hm.

He's breathing now, anyways. And his leg is bleeding. I guess.

And his clothes are....filthy.

Gehnn: Are.....are you...s-saying...?

Yul: (bright red) This is what you do with hurt people! You gotta get 'em clean!

Gehnn: But-

Yul: Just go to Min and borrow some clothes.

(She turns back to the Rem. Sighs and rolls up her sleeves. In a manner of speaking.)

Yul: Let's get this over with.

Chapter 2: The Stranger

(Flashback – blue ink? Boy’s hands in water. Cuts his palm on a rock. His hands are enveloped by his mother’s. He looks up into a sweet smile and deep teal-black eyes. The face suddenly transforms into that of a little girl, who holds up a pendant, grinning. She places it around his neck. He looks down at the pendant, looks up again. The girl is replaced with a skin hound, who snarls. He opens his eyes, staring at the ceiling.)

(He looks over, seeing the open window. His brow furrows, and he sits up, looking out the window. A bird flies past. He jumps, frightened, banging his leg against the bed. Or wall. He winces. Curious, he pulls up his pant leg and sees that his calf is bandaged. He is very confused. He swings his legs over the bed, and tries standing up, wobbling a little. Successful, he smiles. He looks around the room, taking in everything. There is a black and white photo pinned to the wall (Yul and her family), a dresser, two messy pallets on the floor, a table, and a stove in a little niche. He is instantly drawn to the stove, feeling the heat with his hand. He looks up at the pipe, seeing it go through the ceiling. He looks through the grate, seeing the coals within.)

Rex: Hm.

(the door opens, Yul comes in. She turns to lock the door, and turns to the see Rex standing there. He stares at her, and then smiles awkwardly.)

Rex: Ah…..viat ae-

(Yul’s eyes get bigger)

Rex: Eh heh…..niat viat ae viridam (looking uncomfortable)

Aaahhh…..

(Gehnn comes in, her blacksmith apron over one arm. She sees Rex, and is startled.)

Gehnn: He’s awake!

Yul: (very distressed) Yeah! Yeah, he’s awake!

(Rex smiles broadly, seeing Gehnn. He points to her.)

Rex:  Duam turraem!

Gehnn:……what?

Yul: I think he’s talking to you.

Gehnn: I-I……what?

Rex: Ah…..

(he thinks for a minute, and then points at himself, and points to the window)

Gehnn: Um…..(pointing at herself questioningly)

Rex:  (nods)

Gehnn: A-are you….um….asking me....if I was just outside?

(Rex looks elated for a minute, and then performs a weary facepalm)

Gehnn: I d-don’t think we’re…… getting anywhere.

Yul: Does he look like he’s going to blow up the house?

(in the background, Rex notices his clothes folded by the stove. He rifles through them, pulling out a small book.)

Gehnn: Yul, d-does he…..look like….he is?

Yul: I don’t know what a Rem looks like when he’s about to blow something up.

Gehnn: A-and I do?

Yul: You’re the one who read his mind or whatever! Why wouldn’t you?

(There’s a growling sound. They all look at Rex. It’s his stomach. He looks suitably embarrassed.) 

More Blushby

She quickly took to her newly found masculine ways. It was most helpful, and relieved her of the stress that befell most young damsels. When another young woman slighted her for the tackiness of her garb, she simply struck her over the head with a large stick. Consequently, the young woman made no more attempts of mockery. When the young cowherd she fancied laughed at seeing her, a woman, attempt such manly feats as swordsmanship and archery, she knocked a sword in her bow and shot it straight underneath his arm, lodging the sword in the cow at his side. She soon found herself having to make the excuse that she was preparing for that terrible day, and every bit of violence was necessary to this preparation. Did the villagers want to be quivering under their tables while their homes burned around them? It did not take long, though, before she no longer had to make excuses to others, as people generally avoided her; nor to herself, because she began to be genuinely comfortable with it all.

So it came to be that one day as she was shaving her chin (her face was quite smooth, as becomes a lady, but she felt she had best get into the habit in case she should be mistaken for the frail damsels prone to require rescue) with her sword that Edmund Humblebottom, master of the most prosperous farm of the forest, came to beseech her hand in marriage on behalf of his nephew, Blushby. She knew little of the boy, who was kept out of sight of the villagers most days, but she could not deny that she was pleased to be approached by so manly a villager with a personal invite into his hairy family. And besides, she thought, she would no longer have to be so careful not to permanently damage the eligible young men of the village.

The marriage contract was drawn up, the date was set for a lovely manly day in the dead of winter, and a tasteful dwelling for the soon-to-be happy couple was built by Master Edmund Humblebottom. It was furnished with the finest furniture that could be found after he had raided all the local carpenters for their finest furniture for his own tasteful dwelling, all those years ago.

As for Blushby, it seemed that he had resigned himself to his fate, his heart broken and hopes dashed. He could no longer hope to marry a fair elven maid from the old Elvenwoods or go on his grand adventures. It no longer mattered that he could fire seven arrows at once, with twelve more knocked by the time the string twanged (which he admitted was impossible, but how could he be expected to vanquish the heart of an elven maiden within the realm of possibility?). All that mattered now would be that the farm is taken care of, that he would not go hungry, and that the farm would be defended on the off chance that the evil king should ever want to hunt down him, specifically. It was as though no one gave the faintest care for his own hopes and dreams. His life was over, written for him to the final page; the only excitement left would be to turn the pages over the years. He wandered as though a ghost in the house, saying nothing and being ignored in return, staring with the most morose of eyes at Uncle Edmund. Unfortunately, Uncle Edmund had only eyes for his crops and his quite tasteful furniture.

Blushby sighed, and thought, Uncle Edmund may be able to arrange a room with excellent taste and bedeck it with the most beautiful furnishings and decorations, but for all that, he knows nothing of the furniture in the darkened room of my heart.