ECA 79-82

Slightly belated: Merry Christmas!
Slightly ahead: Happy New Year!

1. Sorry for the delay in this week's post! I was a little caught up in the festivities XD
2. I'll need to write more so I have something to post after ECA is posted! XD
3. I also had comments on a few things I watched/ read over the holidays but it gets a bit ranty and long so I'll save that for a separate post!
4. ECA returns!

PREVIOUS SET (75-78)

79. Illogical

Elysia knew there was something wrong when they ran into Rhys’s group lurking around corner of the valley barricaded by a stone golem.

“Golems’re typically security.” Aldis offered. “Thing is, what’s it guarding? Whatever’s being held there—it’s illogical to tell everyone they’re guarding it with a golem.”

“The Somnia rift?” Anuna suspected immediately. “If they could keep us from getting to it…”

“What’s really illogical is why we didn’t get a professor to deal with this,” Elysia muttered.

But Arlin looked stumped about something else: “Why would they hinder us? Why did Rhys steal the scrolls? What’s her logic?”

80. A Place to Belong

“Got it.” Elysia had graphed elemental energy readings radiating from the area, and built a 3D model from her calculations. “It’s not the rift. It’s the portal Rhys made from the scrolls; a gateway to Somnia. We’ll close the rift from the other side.”

“But could we face them and the golem and still have energy for the other side?” Anuna pointed out. The group shifted uncertainly.

“No…we don’t have to!” Arlin’s eyes danced excitedly. “We can reach the portal from another direction: the cliffscape”

“Reach it how?” They followed Arlin, knowing she had throughly explored campus.

“From above.”

81. Only Human

Behind the group, Vesper apologized for being rude to Celestine. Instead of shooing him away or ignoring him this time though, Celestine replied, “No, I-I should apologize. I’m sorry for being overly sensitive and emotional. I’m taking things the wrong way.”

They would have gone on apologizing, but Celestine admitted, “I don’t like losing my temper, breaking down, raging,..” Anything but calm and polite. “It feels…like an arrow flying wide.”

“A miss. Imperfect score.”

Celestine nodded. 

“Imperfections are only human. Think of it as hitting the face instead of the bullseye. Not the best option, but sometimes unavoidable."

82. Advantage

Elysia, who was scouting ahead, ran into Rhys lurking around. 

“I have the advantage, you know.” Rhys told her seriously. “I know what your enemy is planning. Who he is.”

“Advantage isn’t a definite win,” Elysia pointed out. They circled each other once, before deciding not to fight…yet. “Why do this?”

“Because the inherent power some people have…it’s abnormal. Not every soul goes to Somnia. Without the Land of Dreams, everyone would have the same amount of conscious time. No extra study time or extra training while this body is resting. 

“I want to restore equality. No advantages.”

Comment Blurbs

79. Illogical

ECAAAV (lol referring to groups by their initials T_T)  runs into Rhys and her followers lurking around a corner of the valley with unusually high security. As the crew ponders thy this could be, Elysia lampshades the fact that they haven’t gone to a professor about this. Arlin wonders why Rhys is here and whether Rhys is really opposing them or also facing the golems.

This took forever to write and edit and I was stuck around here for most of the summer. I finally got it to more or less work. Had the group decided to face the golem head-on they would have realized that this was the fourth elemental monster/ attack on the campus. 

80. A Place to Belong

Using complicated math that I don’t actually understand (though I think this makes more or less some literary sense) Elysia figures out that the weird energy coming from the corner of the valley is a portal: the portal Rhys unlocked with the help of the scrolls she stole. This means that while ECA and crew could waste the energy and materials building another portal, they could also just use Rhys’s. Now all the exploration that Arlin loves to do comes up: she knows another way to reach the portal, and a fast way to it. 

81. Only Human

While their friends figure out what they’re doing and how to do it, Vesper and Celestine resolve their relationship problems: both apologize, acknowledging that they’ve both been idiotic, but they don’t turn it into an apologizing contest. Celestine brings up her obsession with seeming perfect all the time and Vesper helps her change her perspective on this obsession. 

The idea of hitting the face and not the bullseye comes from a situation I thought of a long time ago: life is like a giant multiple-choice test, except we don’t always see all the options offered for the question we’re working on. So in Celestine’s case, when she gets overly sensitive and grudging, she’s picked an answer, it just wasn’t the best one. Making those mistakes is sad, but it’s just part of what it means to be human and to struggle. 

82. Advantage

Elysia and Rhys run into each other. They decide to put off the fight and just talk a little. Rhys also reveals her ultimate mission: to even the playing field on people who are born with an exceptional amount of power and can train while they sleep. To this end she has recruited the help of someone on the dream-side of the portal. 

This is why in part 25 (Breaking Away) I said I wouldn’t defend Rhys: because her reasoning (however twisted) comes up now: Rhys’s pedestal is normality: she doesn’t like Fiana or Anuna because they admitted they were weird aside from their coloring: Fiana in her talking to moon rabbits and Anuna being an ancilla. 

NEXT SET (83-86)

ECA 75-78

Hello there!

Bird and Bunny. 

On the right is just something cute I found while cleaning out some files. I think this is from around this time last year XD

Life has been fine this week. Relaxing, if anything. I need to get in shape and get back to work on my creative projects!

After my experience with writing a story given a script (Spring Ball Trouble story) and reading Bakuman, I've decided to work on little "names" (aka storyboards) for stories in the future. I intend to figure out how to do this for prose by the end of winter break XD. If successful, it will contribute to the next story posted here on The River Windrose.

I hope everyone on winter break is having a relaxing time! I'll be back again next week with my comments on Bastion and Bakuman and the next four parts of ECA!

PREVIOUS SET (71-74)

75. Shadows

Rhys had stolen the scrolls to Somnia. They’d have to steal them back while Vesper distracted Rhys.

“You don’t have any… special gear?” Arlin disapproved of Murantagh’s idea. “Disguise?”

Aldis shrugged. “Don’t need’em. People don’t see a trace o’me ‘nyways.”

Under his guidance, they were three shadows that blended into the late afternoon.

Tagh dampened the door lock. They were in. They split up and searched the room with gloved hands. Aldis picked the chest lock. Scrolls found. Everything replaced. Then swiftly gone.

“T’was fun….G’night then.”

Arlin turned away, but her heart was racing. Being a shadow….was new.

76. Summer Haze

Vesper Universtiy was known for the month-long “excursion” at the end of the school year: Typically, the first fortnight was based on survival and the second on a disturber of the peace event. 

ECA split up to collect their sets of equipment and collect information from their clubs. 

Before meeting up, Celestine hid the pocketwatch under her field uniform. Arlin had been right; between finals and the excursion, there hadn’t been time to sink into the lazy haze of summer. She was glad they’d continued rigorous practice; they weren’t going to just be facing the school event this month.

77. Memories

Arlin was first at the meeting spot. While waiting, she imagined the girl from the visions on the other side of the gate. Memories? 

“But it’s not like that.” She reached her hand out and imagined the other girl mirroring her. “It’s like…you’re me.”

She could picture the two Murantagh’s mimicking each other. Not quite a mirror, but a resemblance.

“You’re… who I used to be.”

The same techniques, just different elements. 

“Not a past life…”

Both girls were still Arlin. Identity was unbreakable.

“Just another time.”

She accepted it. And as she did, the memories cleared within her, 

78. Change in the Weather

Three hours after the excursion commencement, Elysia, Celestine, Arlin, Anuna, Vesper, and Aldis met at the gate to pool supplies and information. Their alliance was special: they were using the open nature of the excursion to investigate the Somnia-university rift situation

 As the wind turned, leading them into the valley between the three campuses—elementary, intermediate and college levels—of Vesper Institute, Elysia thought her school seemed suddenly so foreign and vast. This was now not her academic refuge, but an arena of war against the stuff of dreams. She clasped her hands. “Signs… help me weather this change.”

Comment Blurbs

75. Shadows

While Vesper distracts Rhys offscreen, Arlin and Aldis set out to steal back the scrolls that contain Anuna’s portal back to Somnia. Going with Aldis was Tagh’s idea, but Arlin is going along. They search Rhys’s room, find the scrolls and leave.

It was really fun writing this concept of Arlin thieving after getting all upset at Aldis about it the entire story. It was hard to get everything into 100 words though, and I’m considering expanding this scene out into a microfiction at some point. Probably not anytime soon though, because I’m just so relieved at finally finishing ECA XD

76. Summer Haze

So for the last 15 posts the students of Vesper have technically been on a week-long summer haze where they’ve just been hanging out and relaxing. ECA has been keeping up with a few sparring matches, but they too have been relaxed. Now it is time for Vesper University’s famous “excursion” at the end of the school year. As their group splits up to collect equipment and information, Celestine takes a moment to be thankful she had friends that didn’t let her get lazy over that week, especially because they wouldn’t just be facing the excursion but also the crisis in Somnia. 

Ad Nauseum into the Excursion:

The Excursion is a month-long event held on the (very spacious) campus of Vesper Insititute. It is a two-part event, with the first half based on survival and the second on an event. 

The methods to survival are usually pretty clear-cut: most students stick to the three “cities” of the institute: the elementary, intermediate and college campuses. There they find a job and shelter of some sort, using their abilities as best they can. Others stake out on their own in the vast wild-lands that the Vesper family controls, seeking shelter with the bucolic folk or on their own in little shelters they design themselves. Some students always end up banding together to form little groups.

The second part of the month, once everyone’s method of sustainment is more or less established, is centered around an event of some sort. This may involve a very powerful monster harassing the valley or a dearth of some natural resource or a magical “plague” (people would not really die, but be suspended in a coma-state for the remainder of the month). One year a group of rogue students that had unintentionally dabbled too far into dark magic was the unplanned disturber of the peace. 

Every student is given a standard set of equipment at the beginning of the month: a complete field uniform (shirt, shorts, windbreaker, socks, shoes), a few rations, two bottles of water, a bar of soap, and a bracelet ID tag. There is also space in the pack for a blanket/bedroll, a weapon, and a few personal items.

Good grades over the past two semesters are rewarded with extra little things such as mana crystals, extra rations or bonus clothes, parts, weapons. Resumes are drafted ahead of the event and apply as it normally would in helping the students get these month-long jobs. Extra volunteer hours, club activities, and temple work are honored with extra information of events going on, resources or books/ knowledge of useful spells and skills; that is, alongside the relationships/ contacts established.

Poor grades or disciplinary records may lead to additional rules on the student or less starting material. For example, they may be missing a jacket or have no new shoes, no soap, or are banned from a city/ area because they had a poor behavioral record. Severe cases are punishable by spending the first few days (up to the entire first week) in a “prison” status.

The bracelet-tag attached to each student at the beginning monitors the student’s vitals. It displays health and energy bars to help gauge each student’s limits and enforces an invulnerability+ lockdown to prevent over-exertion. It also monitors the students locations, and keeps them in the campus vicinity. In case of an emergency, there is a teleport provided that links them directly back to the main campus control area. Students are not recommended to activate it (unless in an emergency) and abuse of it is punishable.

Academic competitions are held 6 times over the four weeks to allow for students to gain more resources using pure academic ability. 

Students are given free reign as to how they live during the month, providing they survive and in some way interact with the disturber of peace. There is a ranking compiled at the end as to who accumulated the most money/ other resource or had the greatest impact on the event, but there is no official “grade” given; the event is meant to be a learning experience :)

77. Memories

As Arlin waits for the rest of her friends to get to the meeting spot, she comes to terms with the girl in her visions being a past version of herself. 

This scene was fun to write too. I’ve always wanted to write a scene where Arliquen meets Arlinia. They’re quite different, but I was firm about keeping them the same character and now actually have a weird reason of sorts for it. But that’s a different story. 

78. Change in the Weather

As the group (consisting of ECA, Anuna, Vesper and Aldis) sets off into the valley, Elysia looks back. Although she’s been in the Vesper Institute system since elementary school, Elysia suddenly feels like the campus looks very foreign. She murmurs a prayer as the Excursion begins.

NEXT SET (79-82)

ECA 71-74

Hello! :D I return to the world of the cyber-life with another installment of ECA!

Life and School: Fall Quarter is done, for better or for worse! That means I'm on winter break! :D I'll be posting ECA stuff most of the break, unless I finish something else worth posting.

Towards the end of the quarter I wrote a personal statement for a research application. I did not know how to properly convey myself and at one point just wrote this:

I cut out the italics for the final draft. XD

Next quarter my school load promises to be hectic whether or not I get into the research position, but I will do my best to keep a buffer available!

Blog Redesign: Sometime this winter break I plan on redesigning the look of the blog. So if it looks drastically different one day, that's why XD Comment on it! Comment on ECA! Comment on anything! (Is the comment system too finicky? Tell me if I can make commenting easier!)

Also, I found out the search bar doesn't work. Instead, try appending a /search?q=searchword to the URL, replacing "searchword" with the search word. For multiple words, adding %20 between the search words should work, although a space might work just as well. It's not as pretty as the google one used to be, but at least it works! XD

NaNoWriMo:

Ta-dah! Despite school, I was able to make it to 50K on only relevant story material! Even better, as the chart shows, I was able to write at least a few hundred words every day! I hope to keep this up and write a little bit every day. It's a really fun feeling to just sit down and take 20 minutes or something and just write something that has nothing to do with academics or (as I was doing this past quarter) educational strategies and learning development. (Not that academic papers aren't cool. It's just, as someone who knows who she is put it, "[my] style is narrative style"--I like story writing more.

As for the NaNo story, I will be revising it, editing it, and doing a whole lot of work with it to polish it up into something worth posting or submitting or anything. I wasn't able to write an ending I liked this November, though I do have the beginning in gory detail and a good chunk of middle. So December through February will be working on tying that off and editing it for....something. lol

ECA recap: When I last updated ECA, Elysia, Celestine, Arlin, Anuna, and Aldis were gathered in ECA's dorm room. They were just hanging out, but then Vesper barged in to inform them that the cause of the elemental monster attacks on the campus were caused by an energy rift that linked Somnia, the Land of Dreams, to the mortal world. Celestine alone doesn't believe him and goes to the Room of Clocks, intending to confirm his theory. When she arrives though, all the clocks are shattered. Celestine glimpses an illusion of Epsilona before she vanishes. The Room of Clocks leaves Celestine with a small diamond pocketwatch and the last three lines of a poem written by the spirit of the sun.

Characters (alphabetical by first name):

Aldis Maur: (tech, magic (earth) class) Thief boy that has only recently started hanging out with ECA. Arlin's acquaintance and Vesper's roommate.
Anuna Erkygon: (magic (non-elemental) class) Red haired sorceress that taught Celestine a lot of dark-magic spells. Celestine's friend and Rhys's former roommate.
Arlinia Murantagh Yves: (summoning, magic (air) class) The bubbly and optimistic A-part of ECA. Her summon is a silver eastern-style dragon called Murantagh/ Tagh. She can also summon Ivarine Callias, the Spirit of the Sun and the Queen of Shadows, to her aid.
Celestine Syeniar Sesium: (weapon (bow), magic (energy) class) The timid and pensive C-part of ECA. In her dreams, she communicates with the pixie Epsilona.
Elysia Intana Kieran: (tech, weapon (sword), tech class) The serious and terse E-part of ECA. She possesses a legendary sword called Sye'niar.
Lyciar Erkygon: Anuna's father and a King of the Land of Dreams.
Rhys Vesper: (summoning, magic (elemental) class) Student council vice president and Arlin's self-proclaimed rival.
Dr. Vesper Aurigae Nox: Senior magic professor. He is famous for designing a powerful knockout jinx. This power has not yet been replicated by anyone else.*
Vesper Jinan Wisteria: (healing, magic (energy) class) Smart but arrogant. Celestine's friend, Elysia's rival, and Aldis's roommate.

*Funny story.
Was Dr. Nox always a guy? There’s a funny story to this. I was finished with the story for a few months, but in writing another story related to ECA, I had some reason to add Vesper Aurigae Nox into one of the background crew. I realized (again) that I have entirely too many characters to that are girls relative to guys. Upon mentioning this to my editor, she suggested I genderbend some of them. Randomly, the first person that came to mind was to genderbend Vesper Nox. It seemed to make sense; after all, Vesper Jinan Wisteria is a guy :P To Dr. Nox's credit, he got a massive boost in magic power along with his gender change. I don't think the actual source of the power boost is mentioned in the ECA story though. :P Whatever the reason, it took 11 minutes from the decision to go back and edit all mentioned of Vesper Aurigae Nox into a guy. T_T (Although if you see any still, please notify me and I'll fix it XD) So….transgender or always a male, whatever you like to think, I now have a male teacher character XD. 

This post is only 4 posts and in the middle of a transition stage, but I hope you enjoy it! There will be another post next week!

PREVIOUS SET (67-70)

71. The True You 

By the time Celestine finished explaining the Room of Clocks’s fate and the mysterious poem, she had also explained a little of herself: Epsilona, her dream visions, Anuna teaching her the clock-spells, quelling the fire attack, her childhood diagnosis. 

“All along…” Arlin mused, “you were…scared. You thought you were really…insane. But you want to do something about it.” 

“The clock spells,” Elysia changed the subject. “Dark magic, did you know?”

No response.

“I have…a confession as well.” Anuna took a breath. “I’m an ancilla from the Land of Dreams. I’m the daughter of the dying Queen.” 

72. Pretense

“I admit, I was…using Celestine for her potential to wield the magic I need.” Anuna was more defiant than apologetic. 

“W-why me though?” Celestine trembled pitifully.

“A hunch. Now I know why: pixie magic is powerful and malleable.”

“Aren’t Ancilla the most renowned sorcerers in legend?” Elysia questioned Anuna expressionlessly.

“When I left…the core of my abilities as an ancilla were locked. I was searching to break this lock and fix the Curtain of Lights..”

“Fine. And the scrolls?”

“My bridge back to Somnia.” Anuna was bitter. “Now gone; stolen.”

“Whom?”

“Student Council Vice President, Rhys Vesper.”

73. Patience

“Epsilona?”

Celestine paused, lowering the silver bow. The Land of Dreams was a place of consciousness in sleep, right? This was hers. She had started training with her imaginary friend in the dreamscape.

“Yes, Syeniar?” The purple pixie was seemed glad for a break. Even though in Celestine’s dreams she was very much fine, the shattering of the clocks had taken a toll on all the pixies. 

“You said we were…connected?”

“All pixies are.”

“When will I…be able to join you and the other pixies? To find who I am? If I am?”

“…Patience, Syeniar. Time will tell.”

74. Midnight

Elysia knelt at the pinnacle of the training bluff, imagining how Arlin felt from her visions. How Celestine felt her whole life, afraid of herself?

A shiver scuttled down her spine. But Arlin had two lives worth of memory and ability, and Celestine communed with pixies. Elysia was a plain orphaned swordswoman. Why was she was going on a heroic expedition?

Then a faint ray of light fell out of the darkness, wrapping around her legendary sword and changing her armor. Taurus. Whatever the reason, the Signs had chosen her. 

She knew her next step: Find the rift to Somnia. 

Comment Blurbs

71. The True You

Celestine relays what happened to the Room of Clocks to Arlin, Elysia, Aldis, Vesper and Anuna. Along the way she also ends up explaining a lot of what she hid about herself. Anuna also reveals her identity as an ancilla and thus the ancilla from the picture: a pink haired ancilla. 

This post should be more epic as well :(

72. Pretense

Anuna explains that she came from Somnia to find a way to fix the Curtain of Lights. She also explains that she was teaching Celestine because Celestine had a great amount of untapped power that Anuna could use to help Somnia. Although she is one of the legendary ancilla-sorceresses, Anuna’s powers were locked before she came and she doesn’t have access to them. She has figured out how to fix the Curtain and can go back to Somnia via the scrolls she’d lost/ hidden in the Room of Clocks, but sometime in the last 13 posts Rhys stole the scrolls. 

Back in part 27 (Lost and Found) Anuna mentioned that she had  the scrolls in the Room of Clocks. However, nothing in that post was explicitly “found”. Now it is revealed that at the time, Anuna had lost the scrolls but found someone that could help her get them back and also someone that could help her fix the Curtain. 

73. Patience

This post is technically an anachronism that can take place at almost any time. Celestine talks to Epsilona, who is thankfully safe in her dreams. From her conversation with Anuna about Somnia being a a place where people are conscious even as their bodies are asleep, Celestine decided that she may as well make use of her own dreamscape to train. Seeking acceptance, Celestine asks when she would be able to join Epsilona and the other pixies, if indeed Celestine is a pixie of sorts. Epsilona's only answer is the ambiguous promise that “Time will Tell”.

74. Midnight

Elysia wonders why she, Celestine and Arlin end up as the people that are helping Anuna solve this problem. Elysia’s argument is that there isn’t anything special about her: Arlin has her past life’s memory and ability and Celestine is a pixie, but Elysia is just an abandoned girl who happens to know how to use a sword. But in the midst of her pondering, a ray of light falls on her sword and immediately Elysia recognizes the work of her patron god and that, for whatever reason, she is to walk this path. She puts her doubts aside and focuses on her mission.

NEXT SET (75-78)

ECA 67-70

Hello! ECA returns!

I was a little ahead of the expected word count for NaNo for a few days....and then it just crashed and burned this Wednesday. But with luck the three-day weekend will give me enough time to study, catch up with sleep, and catch up with word counts. Yay word-sprint marathons!

I'm not sure if there'll be another post next week....Hopefully I remember, but if not, you'll know where I am in NaNo (via the little calendar) and know how desperate I am to catch up. If anything, there'll be a post over the Thanksgiving weekend!

As always, comments and critiques are loved!

PREVIOUS SET (61-66)

67. Boundaries
In the astronomy tower, Celestine and Vesper peered out at the sky, relaxing after a practice session. Cheerful humming floated through the room. Celestine peered through the telescope. “It’s like there’s an anomaly,” she noted. “Not out there, but from…us.”
Vesper laughed. “That’s ridiculous. You’re looking at other world in the sky.”
“What if it’s…another layer of existence, that’s overlapping here?”
“Like another dimension?” He laughed. “Relax, enjoy the silence and the sk.y.”
But it wasn’t quiet. Celestine screamed, cowering and denying madness. Before she completely broke that boundary of insanity and frustration, she bolted out, seeking silence. 

68. Unsettling Revelations 
Incessant knocking at the door. “But Celeste, I really think you should see this!”
“Go away! Continue, Anuna?”
“Celest—“
Celestine opened the door. “Are you deaf? Or just dumb?”
“Never could figure that one out,” Aldis murmured. Arlin doused him with a weak  water spell.
“Finally. I got readings last night after you left. It is another dimension.” Vesper intoned, holding out a data printout. “What’s more, the attacks on campus? They’re coming from a rift somewhere on the grounds. An energy leak from the dying Somnia to here. If it continues to widen…it won’t just be us fighting.” 

69. Shattered
Arlin thought the data legitimate. Even Elysia looked convinced. Celestine didn’t believe him.
She was going to talk to hersel—to Epsilona. She was going to consult the clocks. She knew enough clockwork spells now, and knew where to look to confirm Vesper’s data.
“Epsilona?” she thought as she entered the Room of Clocks.
No answer. Not even an echo.
“Epsilona!” she called aloud.
“Mhr…here…” a whimper came. Epsilona’s form flickered from her usual clock. She was a pitiful heap, wings down in broken pieces and the clock shattered. All of them. Another flicker and the pixie was gone. 

70. Bitter Silence
Celestine stared, horrified. She held out her hand and summoned anything magical around her. Nothing. Silence.
Then whisp-like fragments of the shattered clocks flew together above her hand to show her a glowing archway, a crimson-haired ancilla, and her dreamscape’s land of fog. Words emerged over the images:
Travel the trails to find the gate.
Redeem the princess of false schemes
Restore to life the land of dreams.
The moment she finished reading, the mirage turned into a whirlpool that drained onto her hand and formed a small round shape: A diamond pocketwatch, the last of the clocks.

Comment Blurbs:

67. Boundaries

Celestine and Vesper are hanging out in the Astronomy Tower that evening. Celestine casually notes that there seems to be something weird going on, but Vesper decides its ridiculous. Celestine agrees that it’s probably just silliness, but it’s Vesper’s next line that sets her off: he remarks to “enjoy the silence and the sky,” but from Celestine’s perspective, there was a clear cheerful tune playing in the room. Suddenly jolted into the insane mindset, she bolts out of room, trying to find that silence that she couldn’t hear. 

The last time we saw Vesper and Celestine together was 9 episodes ago in Heartfelt Apology. Sometime since then, it looks like they’ve gotten back on talking terms. Or maybe they just ran into each other here. Either way, whatever truce they had is now shaken again. 

68. Unsettling Revelations

After Celestine ran out in panic, Vesper misunderstood her and decides to do some readings monitoring magic-content and other complicated stuff from the Tower. He races immediately to ECA’s room, where Arlin, Elysia, Anuna and Aldis are hanging out. Vesper has determined (through remarkable genius and coincidence) that there is indeed another dimension: the land of dreams. There’s a rift that’s creating a leak of energy from Somnia to the mortal realm, like there was when the Angelic Gate was open (way back in the beginning of the tale, this was what Elysia and Celestine’s history project was about). Vesper is concerned that if they leave the rift alone for longer, it will spread, and it won’t just be the university students dealing with the monster attacks. 

69. Shattered

Although everyone else seems to think the data indicate Somnia leaking energy, Celestine doesn’t believe him and decides to consult the clocks and Epsilona, who is Celestine’s friend from her dreams. However, when she arrives, all the clocks in the Room of Clocks are broken and Epsilona’s form flickers before vanishing. 

I wanted to do something more epic for shattered, but this was the only thing that came to mind that fit. 

70. Bitter Silence

Celestine finds the silence she was looking for in Boundaries, but it’s a painful realization: all of the clocks in the Room of Clocks are broken, and there’s no trace of magic lingering in the once-magical room. Instead, by calling together any last remnants of magic, Celestine creates a small diamond pocketwatch. Along with the pocketwatch, the last message the clocks have to offer her is the prophecy first mentioned in Eternity (post 7) and three pictures: a portal, a pink-haired sorceress, and Celestine’s own foggy dreamscape. (See this!)

NEXT SET (71-74)

ECA 61-66

Herro! This ECA, checking back in!

Sorry for the lack of update last week. I completely forgot about posting XD It's been a very hectic few weeks leading up to NaNoWriMo, which began yesterday!

This is a gauge for Ashmac and me! We're both reaching 50K this year! >:D


There is also a word count widget (courtesy of the NaNo site) on the status bar that gives the total number of words written as well as a counter for how I've been doing every day.
Dark red= D:
Light red= :( (<1667)
Light green= :) (>1667)
Dark green= :D

Knowing this though, November is going to be a bit of an erratic month. If I forget an update, forgive me! I might post snippets of what I'm working on, but that's assuming I remember in the mess of school and life (I like to pretend I have one) and NaNoing!

But for now, ECA continues! This week's is the much-anticipated 6-entry post that reveals the culprit behind Arlin's flashbacks, so read on! :)


PREVIOUS SET (55-60)

61. Accuracy 

Dart in, dart out. Keep up the barrage. It didn’t matter if he hit or not, as long as his opponent couldn’t counter. Speed was Aldis’s game. It made sense. He was a thief. He had to be quick and nimble. Hit, gone.  

Holding him back with desperate non-elemental blocks, Celestine kept up her defense, widening the distance between them in the gaps. She wasn’t fast. She wasn’t strong. She wasn’t clever. But once she was too far for Aldis to reach her with his knives, she drew the bow from her back and fired. Accuracy was Celestine’s aim.  

-- 

62. Irregular Orbit 

Arlin leaned lightly against the rail, thinking and waiting for sunset. But today the clouds hung low and dense fog engulfed the river below the cliff. There was no way of her seeing the figure standing by the trees, arms crossed over his chest and expression unreadable; yet she felt it when he stirred. She stiffened awkwardly in response.  

“What happened? Why are you here?”  

“Relax. I’m just here to enjoy the view.” 

“Not much of a view toda—“ Eyes widening, she cut short and lurched forward as though an invisible force pulled her. Water rushed up—too high. “…Ivarine!” 

-- 

63. Cold Embrace 

“Arlin!”  

She heard her name faintly but barely understood. Her head swam, and the scenery danced before her eyes. Cold flooded through her. Something—someone— caught her as she crumpled. 

Earth swirled and rose around the person before her and an electric knife spun into view. Too late, her vision cleared sufficiently for her to see torrents of water arching up the cliff and ice crashing down at her.  

Arlin backstepped, summoning Murantagh to protect her, but a boulder shielded them both first. She looked up and saw Aldis, attacking the raging water monster before understanding:. This was another attack..   

-- 

64. Frost 

Slowly the ice thinned as their attacks hammered it. Finally, Tagh dived at it, magic streaming off his whiskers, and sent the water monster fleeing for its source. 

With it, the mist cleared, though the frosty darkness lingered. 

Aldis’s earth-energy whip shrunk into a knife again, but Arlin had only just de-summoned Tagh when now-familiar visions possessed her mind. 

She looked into a mirror, and saw the culprit of the memories…herself? A soft smile replaced her usual energetic grin and a sapphire, winged dragon perched where Tagh would, but the reflected girl was still, unmistakably, Arlin. 

-- 

65. A Moment in Time 

“It’s not always the same thing. They’re like memories; just scenes and fragments,” Arlin explained. “Moments in time. Snippets.” 

She pulled her characteristic white boots off. “And ice skating. The me in the visions ice skated everywhere. She had some kind of power specifically over ice so it worked. Ice skates. Ice bow. Water element.” 

Celestine patted Arlin’s shoulder comfortingly. “It’s ok. Maybe it’s just…a wrinkle in memory. Like a past life.” 

“I feel like I don’t make sense. But.. you guys understand me, right?” 

Celestine’s eyes were pools of pained empathy. 

Elysia frowned, thoughtful and troubled. “We understand.”  

-- 

66. Dangerous Territory 

“Ok. Come on then, Arlin. Hold out your hands for balance…don’t worry about falling. I’ll be right here.” Celestine skated out first, keeping close to where Arlin struggled, clutching the wall. On the stands, partially watching amusedly, Elysia was scrunched over a lore textbook, trying to think of an explanation for the attacks on campus and Arlin’s coinciding flashbacks. 

“It’s just like walking. Let yourself glide,” Celestine encouraged.  

 Arlin stepped out nervously and slipped almost immediately, but the better ice-skater was there in a flash, guiding her. 

“Ok. One step at a time…Right foot, left foot, right…”

Comment Blurbs: 

61. Accuracy

It’s their semester break, but ECA and their friends aren’t slacking off because they know the school tournament/ “excursion”/ adventure is coming up. More on that in about 11 posts. 

In this part, Aldis spars Celestine and we get a speed vs accuracy face off. I actually can’t decide which of these two would win in an actual fight. 

62. Irregular Orbit

 Arlin is relaxing/ meditating at her cliffscape spot when she notices that Aldis is there too. She is a little awkward, and thinks immediately that something has happened and he’s here to get her help or watch over her.  He assures her he’s just there to enjoy the view, but Arlin doesn’t believe it because it’s foggy and not much of a view. However, she doesn’t have time to grill him because for some reason the water in the valley lurches up to meet them at the top of the cliff. Not only that, but Arlin feels through her connection to Ivarine that the sun-orbit is a bit off. 

The orbit part actually has nothing really to do with anything except a bit of random drama. 

I think it’s worth pointing out that originally the cliffscape was Aldis’s spot to be alone, but then Arlin found it while running away from his following her to the gate. So Aldis just occasionally comes back to visit it and take photos (‘cause he’s a photographer). 

63. Cold Embrace

Like the time when he rescued her in Umbrella, Aldis leaps immediately to Arlin’s aid when she feels the sudden pull and panic from Ivarine’s orbit. For a moment Arlin is completely stricken: the warmth leaves her body and she is a pale weakling at the mercy of the water attack. Aldis though, defends her against the initial blow, and together they look to take out the water monster. 

This took a lot of cutting and revision to get it to 100 words; hopefully it still makes some inkling of sense!

64. Frost

Following the battle with the water/ ice monster, the mist surrounding the valley lifts and Arlin collapses from the sudden return of the visions and their sidekick migraines. This time though, Arlin finally sees the person who she’s been looking through in the visions: herself. She realizes that the visions aren’t from someone else, but somehow involve another version of herself. 

The Arlin in the memories will be referred in the comment blurbs from now on as Arliquen, which was Arlin’s (Arlinia’s) original name. Arliquen really is Arlin 1.0, the original character I created for a roleplay back around 2010. Both of them are white haired and optimistic with a draconic summon called Murantagh, but they are slightly different: 

Arlinia (2.0) - Hyper -Talkative -Stubborn  -Enjoys helping people, volunteering, exploring different disciplines  -Tagh is a silver, eastern-style dragon with blue and green accents -Uses a wand; no other weapon -Air-element focus -Mage class (would be a mage character) -Walks, but still has her white boots -Doesn’t know how to ice-skate -More or less mortal.

Arliquen (1.0) -Calm -Quiet -Easily swayed -Law-abiding but mischievous  -Enjoys helping people -Tagh is a blue, western-style dragon -Weapon is a short bow that splits into two short blades (ice-themed) -Water/ ice element focus -Healer class -Teemo’s passive* -Ice-skated everywhere. Had white shoe boots that would become skates on ice. -Elf

*Teemo’s passive in League of Legends is that he becomes invisible if he stays still without attacking for a few seconds. This was basically one of Arliquen’s abilities. It wasn’t copied though; I didn’t know about LoL then XD

65. A Moment in Time

Arlin reveals and explains her understanding of the visions she’s been getting to her roommates. The theme reminds me of A Wrinkle in Time, even though I never read it.

66. Dangerous Territory

After hearing about how Arliquen ice-skated everywhere but Arlinia doesn’t know how to skate, Celestine decides to teach Arlin how to skate. Celestine (the only one that speaks in this) and Arlin are on the rink; Elysia is sitting in the stands, half watching and half trying to understand why Arlin’s vision-attacks started when the attacks started on the campus. 

It was pretty interesting writing Celestine and Arlin in basically swapped positions: Celestine is usually the timid one and Arlin the confident one, but when it comes to ice-skating or archery, Celestine definitely holds her own better. 

Elysia is scrunched over a textbook because she is a weapons/ tech major that has never had to deal much with magic beyond how to make it work with technology. She knows her fundamentals, but compared to Arlin who majors in magic, she’s got nothing. However, Elysia is the one that gets all obsessed when doing research and decides to make her head hurt anyways.

NEXT SET (67-70)

Microfictions: An Irregular Orbit of Vengeance

Greetings!
This post is late because of physics. Please direct any blame to the nearest (mass x acceleration).

Actually, it's probably more due to me wanting to put up a non-ECA post to break things up a bit XD

Regardless of the reason for the tardiness of the post, the post is here now! This time is another two micro-fictions written to the same themes ECA was written for. Vengeance already came up in ECA, but Irregular Orbit is a little off into the future. Story first, followed by a little bit of commentary.

BUT FIRST:
Legend of Korra's hour-long Beginnings episode on the first avatar, Wan, was AMAZING. The development of Wan was incredible, and the fight scenes were epic. If you haven't watched it, WATCH. If you have, WATCH AGAIN :D 

Ok. Onto less epic things:

Vengeance 

        “This is for you,” I spat, stabbing for his heart. He blocked, and my knife found purchase in his arm—the same arm that had a year ago held me comfortingly, my last link to sanity, my anchor— 

        That’s right. Dead weight. He was nothing but dead weight. I slashed my other arm across, meaning to cut his beautiful—no, gluttonous stomach. But all it did was lacerate the other arm. He was shaking my shoulder now, and his mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear his words—his deep, gentle voice, a melody— 

        A cacophony, more like. I scream, drowning out all sound and thought and stab again, wildly. His blood, thick, red, full of strength, full of life-- 

        Full of death. My last strike had landed solidly against his neck. I’m slathered in blood—his blood. Already clouding, his eyes are etched with pain and shock. Hah. I laugh, disjointedly at first, but stronger until I’m a paroxysm of maniacal cackling. I laugh until tears stream from my eyes and I’m crying more than laughing.  

        I sob uncontrollably as I pick back up the knife that’d killed him. I thought his death would mend the broken pieces of my heart together again, but vengeance had just taken those pieces and ground them to sharp grains, each piercing my impetuous heart a thousandfold more than before. His death wouldn’t kill the one he’d rejected me for; it’d kill me. 

This was not submitted; I had only written up to "A cacophony" by the deadline and I didn't (and still don't) think it aligns very well with the theme. But it was a little different (and rather unsettling) writing something with so much implicit blood and death. It's definitely different than what I'm used to writing/ planning. 

When I started writing this microfiction, the narrator was supposed to break down crying before the guy is killed, and there was supposed to be a sappy scene in which the narrator discovers that vengeance was never the right path, accepts his rejection, and everything is happy. I think this one is a little more dramatic. XD

On that note, I've written more dark stuff recently than I thought I would, hehe.

On another note, Irregular Orbit is lighter in tone:

Irregular Orbit: 

        “Guys! I tested “mildly positive” for bipolar!” Epine beamed gleefully, skipping over to her friends, as though possibly having a psychological disorder was something joyous. 

        Cortis commented, his dark drooping eyes shifting slightly up in amusement. “Heh. Today’s that psychological test thing, isn’t it?” He yawned, returning to stare zombie-like at the problem sheet in front, gnawing his pencil eraser as though it were a brain.  

        Orexi blinked her large eyes at the entire exchange. Blink. Blinkblink. Blinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblink. “O-o-oh? T-that t-test was today-y? I missed I-it! Oh no!” She panicked a little, nervous about forgetting and nervous that whatever she said would be socially awkward. Epine spun around giggling; mid-spin she stopped to orbit around her friends, jumping towards excitement as though gravity for her was shifting. 

        “I wanted to s-see if I-I’ve overcome my P-PTSD,” Orexi whispered quietly. 

        “Eh. It’s meaningless, Orexi,” Cortis assured, crumbling his paper up in frustration. “Everything’s meaningless.” 

        Epine pouted at his negativity, but squealed and chased when Cortis threw the crumpled problem set past her ear.  

        “O-oh dear,” Orexi stuttered, watching Epine swerve back and forth for the ball. 

        “T-that wasn’t…as h-happy as y-you usually are.” 

        Cortis half-smiled. “Meh. I’d probably ace the depression test.” 

        “N-n-no! W-we’re just I-irregular people! We’re not…problems!”

There is supposed to be a last line, but it got cut off in the official submission so I left it out on here too. This is the missing line: 

“Yup!” Epine chimed, returning successful and disheveled. “Everyone’s on an irregular orbit through life!”

This one was submitted (and won! ^_^) I was challenged to reuse these guys in another microfiction, so they'll probably come up again! :) 

Some notes on nerdiness: 

• Epine from Epinephrine: the hyper one, because epinephrine seemingly gives a jump in strength/ energy. In an attempt to be more biologically correct, let's say that she's Epine from Norepinphrine, which is the neurotransmitter used in the sympathetic system. The duality between the sympathetic (PANICWE'REGONNADIE) and the parasymphathetic (chill, dudes. Let's relax and do some digestion) systems is the duality in Epine's personality.
• Cortis from Cortisol: or hydrocoritsone, if you prefer. The stress hormone. Cortis is so stressed he's depressed. Cortisol does increase in cases of depression as well.
• Orexi from Orexin: Orexin increases energy levels, and a lack of orexin causes sleepiness and hunger. Orexi's the least connected to her namesake, I think, because she's just nervous, which I got from the idea of increased energy. 

Parts of this are inspired from an actual conversation in physics that happened on Tuesday. The psychological test mentioned is an actual event at my school in honor of National Depression Screening Day. I did test mildly positive for bipolar, and I did skip into physics that day telling my friends that. Cortis's statements and description are half based on something emo a friend said, half-imagined. 

(Aha! So the problem sheet Cortis is so stressed about was physics! Makes sense.)

(This realization sounds like what I sounded about 24 hours ago when I squealed "Gravity force is a force! That's why it's on the force side of F=ma!")

Physics gets the last say this post, but be back next week for the 6-part long ECA post! 

ECA 55-60

Hi there! ECA is back!

Life--
Week 2/10 of Fall Quarter was tougher than expected, but it's the end of the week and I'm alive and kicking, so I'm pretty optimistic about things getting better. I haven't written anything in this week (D:) but I am diligently planning for NaNoWriMo, using something my mysterious Editor linked me to, NaNoPlanMo. I was going to do a simple rework of my 2012 NaNo, but I may be doing a complete plot-revising; as a writer, this is quite exciting! (:D)
--

Alice 19th--
To add to my manga collection, I finished Alice 19th as well! Its relatively short, and is a (somewhat magical girl like) shoujo manga. Protagonist Alice Seno is singled out by the magical bunny Nyozeko as the lotis master (magic user that uses positive emotions to clear the darkness from people's inner hearts) destined to defeat the negative emotions and power that lie within people's hearts, the maram.

Although the romance kind of made me roll my eyes, the story and the struggle between darkness and light is completely worth it. And aside from the cute outfit designs and the archery involved, I really loved the focus on the power of words; each of the lotus words can have different effects, depending on the interpretation. For example, V/Bimuku, which is usually used as "Release" as in to release from constraints, is also used to summon "wings", which is a pretty neat interpretation: release of constraints, release from the earth/ gravity. Or it could be used as "feather", associating it with the air element. Alice 19th! Check it out!
--

Between now and next week I hope to be able to have something short to show for next week's post (y'know, to change it up a bit from the ECA posts XD Regardless, the next ECA post (next week or later) is 6 posts! Please look forward to it!

PREVIOUS SET (50-54)

55. Separation 

Celestine glanced over her shoulder. Wings.  

Her clothes. Armor. Her shoes. Boots.  

She stroked her bow’s wooden frame and raised it. An arrow of energy melted into existence as she drew back the bowstring. 

The bow had been silver, decorated with foreign yet familiar letters. 

She sent the arrow through the moving bullseye. Again. Again. As many times as the proctor wanted. Dead center accuracy.  

But… did it really happen? The…transformation?  

“Miss Sesium! You’ve exceeded my expectations!” 

The fire had gone away, hadn’t it?  

“It seems you’ve overcome your insanity and retardation.” 

Or was she just delirious again?  

“Congratulations.”  

56. Everything for You 

“Anyone else sick of studying?” 

“Physically and figuratively,” Celestine fluttered the pages of her notes frustratedly. “One day Calculus is going to wake up with a removable discontinuity through its head and I’ll be the happy person who drew it there.” 

Her roommates hesitated before bursting into tears of laughter. 

“Was that a joke?”  

Celestine flushed, returning sheepishly to her notes. 

“Elysia? You plan on squeezing a theorem to death as well?” 

“I like derivatives. And this is tech.”  

“Again? Are you…struggling?” 

“Solid 98%” 

“Then…” 

“Highest grade gets an Athwart 6237 Inkspool laptop. Suddenly my other subjects can wait.”  

57. Slow Down 

“I don’t even know why he was there! That trail wasn’t very well marked! He. Touched. Me. And then later—the energy! What’s with that? And—” 

“Whoa, slow down, Arlin. What happened?” 

“I’m going crazy!” 

Celestine flinched at the word. “W-Who?” 

“Aldis Maur, the thief, the stalker, the strange—the git!”  

“Huh.” Elysia examined her friend. “Continue?” 

“I don’t know! He’s…wrong! Everything about him is wrong! How can—ugh!” 

Celestine trembled. “I-I’m confused…”  

“Finish your sentences. Calm down. Explain.” 

Arlin inhaled deeply. “I think my sense of right is wavering. Suddenly, I don’t think he’s so …. bad.” 

58. Heartfelt Apology 

ECA was cramming for their last finals when a knock came at the door.
“Celeste?” 

Celestine’s shy features morphed and scowled. “What do you want?” 

“Come with me?” 

“Go study.” 

“I’m done with finals. Celeste—about what I said—“ 

“3 weeks ago?” But she folded her arms and followed Vesper to the dorm courtyard, where sparks swirled around them and burst colorfully, spelling out the words they said.  

“Pretty. That’s it?” 

“I’m really sorry.” He hung his head. “I apologize for insulting you…forgive me? Please?” 

A moment. She shrugged expressionlessly. “I still have math to study for. Go away.” 

59. Challenged 

“I present a challenge to you. Think of it as a last final.”  

Celestine fidgeted. She’d just failed Calc. “O-okay.” 

“Remember the scrolls I told you about the first day?” 

“You said you’d lost them.” 

“Right. I thought we’d try to summon them from the Room’s Subconcious.”  

“Sure.”  

“Do you have a spell?” 

Nodding, Celestine pulled her sleeves up and picked a few large-faced clocks, good for their past summoning attempts. “I think so. If it’s possible to reclaim them….I’ll get them.” 

Smiling at her pupil, Anuna crossed to the other side to lend her own energy. 

60. Exhaustion 

With a thump, Celestine collapsed on her bed. Another thump indicated her bag landing on the ground.  

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you this exhausted,” Elysia came out of the bathroom, wrapping another strand of hair around the hairdryer-rod.  

“Mhrrm” came the reply. A few moments later Celestine was quietly asleep. 

Elysia chuckled quietly. She finished unpacking her equipment as the door opened to reveal the third member of ECA.  

“College year one—complete! School tourney in a week! So exiting!” 

“Not tired?” 

A weary nod and yawn answered her.  

“Sleep first then. We’ll talk in the morning.”

55. Separation

Celestine does amazing on her archery final. She keeps herself calm during it by imagining the illusions that she saw when she first met Epsilona. She thinks it may have happened again during the fire attack, but isn’t sure. She’s afraid she was just imagining things again. Meanwhile, the proctor, who apparently knew her for a while, tries to congratulate her, but only manages to remind her that she’s supposed to be insane and stupid. 

I actually really like this scene. The alternating of the proctor’s words and Celestine’s thought process worked out better than I had hoped, and I really like the irony of the “Congratulations” at the end. The separation is tied in with the disjointed interpretation that the proctor and Celestine see.

56. Everything for You

This was just a fun little entry, inspired by Rina in Mermaid Melody’s obsession with getting a flat-screen TV. Likewise, Elysia is obsessed about getting this particular laptop. 

For clarification: 

EIK: Anyone else sick of studying?

CSS: Physically and figuratively…..(removable discontinuity joke)

EIK: (Amist peals of laughter) Was that a joke?

AMY: Elysia? (Squeeze theorem joke)

EIK: I like derivatives. And this is tech. 

AMY: Again? Are you struggling?

EIK: Solid 98%.

AMY: Then… (y u steel studying o_O)

EIK: Highest grade gets an Athwart 6237 Inkspool laptop. (I’ma get that laptop.)

The jokes in the post belie when I wrote this: about two years ago, when I was first taking calculus. For your amusement, I still hate calculus just as much as Celestine does. 

57. Slow Down

Arlin is ranting about Aldis. She has always drawn a clear line between right and wrong but Aldis doesn’t really fit in either: he steals and he seems to stalk her. But now she knows that Aldis just steals to help Fiana and finds Arlin at her mediation spots when he’s concerned about her.

 For clarification, the dialogue with the exclamation marks are Arlin. Elysia is trying to calm Arlin down and Celestine is just confused. 

Basically: 

Arlin: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Elysia: ノ( ゜-゜ノ)

Celestine: o_O

58. Heartfelt Apology

Vesper tries to apologize to Celestine about accidentally implying that she’s unoriginal (from part 34, Shades of Grey). Unfortunately, Celestine still has her worst subject left to cram for and is in no mood to talk to him about something that happened three weeks (or 24 posts) ago.

The idea I was trying to create with the courtyard scene is probably a bit hard to imagine. Basically, there are little multicolor sparks of floating around. As people speak, these sparks spell out the spoken words.

In the last two posts both Arlin and Celestine’s ugly sides have come out: Arlin’s morality also makes her stuck up about the line between good and bad; Celestine is timid and sensitive, but when she knows she’s been slighted she’s unforgiving. There’ll have to be some development to resolve these!

59. Challenged

Anuna challenges Celestine to summon the scrolls Anuna lost back in Lost and Found (part 27) back from the Room of Clocks. Speech alternates between Anuna and Celestine. 

60. Exhaustion

After finishing finals, it is time to sleep. 

Celestine’s only line is “mhrrm” before she falls asleep. Understandably, since she just finished Anuna’s challenge. Arlin’s only line is “College year one—complete!….” Everything else is Elysia. Elysia’s line “Not tired?” is directed at Arlin, who comes in super-excited about being (mostly) finished with her first year of college and with the school “tournament” coming up in a week. 

NEXT SET (61-66)