A tale of souls and swords, eternally retold...

I have been doing gift CAS for many of my friends here, be it Kokoyoshi, Le Bello, El Pascuzzi, Darkrythm, Brucege, Rachel and probably others i don't recall right now (sorry :P)
Now i thought i'd do a last one for a long time supporter...the idea actually came from looking at the little thumbnail above her name, not a recreation per se, just a free interpretation (not knowing who is the character exactly).


















 
Omg, how awesome! :D That pumpkin hat is genius, the organic texturing on the skirt, the vine-like patterning on her shoes and blouse... And with the french name and everything, lol. You know how to make a girl happy XD You've carried the theme admirably and it's a brilliant Halloween themed creation :)
Not to mention, she's just so damn adorable! XD (Gotta love a chick in glasses, huh?)
Thanks Vil, I appreciate it ;)
 
So glad you liked her !
Even if i am A1 with the editor, still took me ages to get that silly pumpkin right :)
And yes i think she is adowaaable too :P
 
Got the most hilarious message when i tried to "like" your message, and you know what i think of "likes", i got a reminder message on top of the page saying : "are you sure you want to like this message"...i mean, are we being modded for talking alcoholic beverages lol ! Priceless !

Caipirinha, what is that made of ?

Beers, we have a lot of that in France, but that is gonna be a virtual one, i'll keep that at the back of my mind...
 
well... I'm sure I want to "like"... mainly about alcoholic beverages hehe

Caipirinha is just lemmons, sugar and "pinga" or "cachaça" (it's a sugar cane brandy - typical drink from here)...
it is also common to make it with vodka... but I prefer a lot of cachaça to get drunk faster

Caipirinha.jpg
 
Now i know Brucege is cooking a review, so i'll give him some space (hopefully he'll surpass himself and do a review of my whole collection, as will be posted soon after...)

But first, since i am trying to conclude for the 1000th time here, i would like to share with you what i have been doing on the novelist front, meaning refining and chiseling my Vanilla novel until i was 100% happy with it...

There are both additions and stylistic nuances, all hopefully contributing to making it a more engaging and DnD'esque read for all of you guys...

I'll post this in a separate post after i have posted my full collection after that one, and that will get me closer to the 100th page and getting a free Caipirinha from my good friend Rdmunhoz :)
 
THE WAND OF THE GRAY



A Vanilla short story by and with Vilarcane (Frostfall 2013)

The cell was as small as can get, reeking of all kind of miasmas and non-human residues, and terribly moist and cold. If only I had a good constitution, but my figure was as thin as that of a stick insect and my muscles were sore and cramped from the rugged and vermin-infested floor mat I had to lay on last night.

Sunrays were starting to bathe the room with an eerie gloom, reminding me I was supposed to be released at first light.

After all, I only set that discourteous hobgoblin’s goatee on fire in a moment of distraction.

The illustrious Ixagg, my mentor, once said,
“Wizards create magic the way a poet creates poems, with inborn talent honed by practice.”

I guess I needed practice…

My bad, as a novice illusionist without a coin, I had to try my luck in front of the most despicable and disrespectful audience ever, a bunch of scoundrels, cutthroats and loose women.

Humans are usually sympathetic, but hobs, imps, orcs and whatnot are pretty hard to impress, and it seemed like an army of those had set foot in this place of debauchery called the Prancing Griffin.

Reliving these painful memories of being hog-tied to a cart and brought to justice in the town hall by a mayor that was no other than the innkeeper himself, I regained composure and focused on what had brought me to this god-forsaken hornet’s nest in the first place.

The Wand of Ixagg the Gray !

An artifact of great power, made by a conjurer capable of creating and destroying worlds with the sheer strength of his animus, an item of unsurpassed beauty and sheer power.

“Ok, Vilarcane, chill, don’t get ahead of yourself” I mumbled.

Suffice to say I had never laid eyes on the thing, and the probability of me even getting close to it was probably one in a…wait!
What if luck was on my side for once, I mean, hadn’t I already weaseled my way into a castle using simple noise illusions to “retrieve” the scroll revealing its location.

Sure, it wasn’t that hard since every adventurer who’d come of age knew the secret of the desecrated shrine hidden in a cave, at the foot of a craggy cliff, right here, where the cross shows, in the woods up north.

“Piece of pie and pint of mead!” I said to myself, not utterly convinced.

Well, technically, none of the aforementioned adventurers had made it back, but as my mother used to say: “Thou shant worry, me son, destiny awaits thee!” And I wasn’t going to stop at technicalities.

Clearing my mind, I started making mental notes of the different artifacts and ingredients I needed to conjure the most basic defensive spells.

Oh that, and I would need a torch too : after all, last night had reminded me that casting a simple and supposedly harmless flare spell wasn’t supposed to set everything flammable ablaze !
Area of effect can be a tricky thing indeed…

Just as my mind wandered peacefully through the practical details of my forthcoming adventure, the innkeeper stormed into the cell and startled me with a grunt:

“Get lost, and never show your face around these parts again, you pathetic excuse of a mage”

I hung my head in disdain and headed towards the exit, gathering my meager belongings, powders, fluids, vials and roots, all helping to make a fool of myself next time I’d try to cast a spell I thought I’d learned proper.

Sometimes, at the Wizards of the Coast’s Academy, reading spell books for too long, I’d get completely confused between abjuration, transmutation, conjuration, divination, and all the other aspects of my craft, be it verbal, somatic or material in nature.

But that didn’t mean that with a bit of luck, with a nudge from destiny, I wouldn’t do wonders like Grandmaster Ixagg himself.

After a couple of hours, I had gathered enough strength, food and supplies to embark on my perilous journey to the Shrine…alone!

Well, there is a reason why adventurers travel in pack, each being a specific asset to the group: warriors grunt, charge, chop and slash, clerics excel at healing or bludgeoning with a morning star.
At the back of the party, mages amaze and set things ablaze, and bards cheer everyone up with a good ole ballad and a tale.

Well, believe it or not, I had never met anyone worth looting with, hum, or was it rather the contrary?

So here I was, plowing my way through the thick of the woods, only protected by my large brown hat, a lucky charm hanging from my neck, bat skelies dangling from my pouch like undead puppets.
With my half-naked feet already swollen and sore with blisters, I had to bear with all kinds of nasties creeping up my linen robes…

Twilight fell upon the uncanny forest as I eventually closed in on the cave’s entrance.

I giggled in anticipation, set camp hastingly and started a fire, only with twigs and brimstones this time around.
After last night, I found it safer to do it “ranger style”.

I tried hard to fall asleep, but echoes of the night kept me awake, as did the exciting prospect of laying hands on a powerful magic artifact that would be the vessel of greater knowledge.

Soon, I reckoned, people would bow before me, as I would revel in arcana like Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Nethermancy.

I would watch lesser and greater daemons alike grovel before me, and gain access to unlimited treasures…and pleasures, both earthly and otherworldly!

This is where it all started, a voice suddenly echoed through my head, soothing like a lullaby, a sweet and whimsical tune, seemingly from female origin…

Did I drink to much mead that night, did I smoke too much of that weed that street kid offered me the other day…no, the voice was clear as crystal and soft as a warm bed, and the words were nothing but a mere invitation to a place I was soon bound to visit :

“My dear friend, Oh powerful wizard Vilarcane, come to me in my humble stone estate, I have a collection of rare and beautiful artifacts I wish you to behold, come and be part of my life as well, come, hurry…I need you, I want you…”

The voice then vanished and I regained full consciousness…I felt a surge of feral attraction; I wanted to see and feel who had called upon me.

For the first time in my young life I felt desired, and desire, and for one moment I forgot about the wand, about power, about my own and selfish drive.

A blink of an eye later, remember that, I had a torch in my hand, my worn studded leather bag around the shoulder, and proceeded into the gloomy cave.

The silence was almost debilitating, and the interior of the cave was pitch black except for the flicker of the torch against the wet stone. Eerie was the first word that came to mind.

After what seemed aeons of walking aimlessly through the cave, the tunnel widened and opened into a vast circular room. I could make out remnants of sustaining arches and pillars and richly detailed stone statues scattered throughout the room.

Waving my torch up and down while progressing through what seemed to be a crumbling shrine of greyish granite, I froze in shock and awe as I laid eyes upon a dome of black obsidian, half buried into a pool of bluish ooze.

The shiny and perfectly regular marble of obsidian was already a sight to behold, but I gasped at the sheer sight of the object standing on top of it, thick strings of obsidian wrapped around it in the shape of a braid.

My teeth clenched, the nerve in my jaw pulsed, and my gaze narrowed : Yes ! Here it was…
…the legendary Wand of Ixagg the Gray, no doubt about it, I had learned the lore from my runic study of Unearthed Arcana, and it looked the part :
a tiny wand made of pure and immaculate crystal, like it had been carved directly into a block of ice.

By the fangs of the Mimic!, I couldn’t believe it, it was right here in front of me, and I only needed to figure out how to retrieve it from its natural jewel case…

I know this wasn’t the brightest thing to do, but my torch was already weakening and I wanted to go on exploring and find my mysterious female host, so here I went and grabbed the wand, trying to pull the obsidian braids away and loosen their grasp on the shaft of the magical item…

At that very moment I noticed something was slightly off, I mean, is obsidian supposed to be moist and gluey…

…and soft ?

And above all, is obsidian supposed to move of its own free will!!!

I lunged backwards and landed on my bottom as I watched the dome emerge from the pool of ooze, revealing a giant sphere which started hovering above me.

Then I thought my heart would stop, as I faced the most incredible creature I had ever laid eyes upon…

Floating before me, a bulbous body slowly unveiling a central, unblinking eye, and a large maw filled with dagger like teeth.

Then I suddenly realized what the braids holding the wand were made of, at their end I could see smaller eyes popping out, attached to wriggling stalks of the same black and shiny jelly, sprout from the top of the orb-like body towering above me.
With the tentacles flailing around wildly in anger, the wand fell straight into the ooze, floating above its sticky surface.

As I tried to regain my bearings and grabbed the now fading torch, hoping to turn back and run for my miserable life, that is when I heard a familiar feminine voice and stopped dead in my tracks.

“Come my dear, come and look at me, I am the Beholder, the Eye Tyrant, the Sphere of Many Eyes, the Overseer and thou shall seek your future in my oculus, come taste my embrace and I’ll even make some room for you in my private gallery…”

At this very moment, I came to realize why the statue I was leaning on for balance looked so pristine and perfect.

It did look like a dwarf all right, one of noble birth, with full and expensive gear, waving a master crafted double edged axe and a sturdy round shield, strapped in padded armor with all nook and crannies and from head to toe…

…but the expression of the statue’s face was nothing human or even elven artists could ever have reproduced with such subtlety, a mixture of anger and bewilderment, of one facing slow yet instant death, without the slightest hope of escape.

Then I noticed the big sweat drop on his cheek, or was it a tear…but one of stone, made of thousand shades of grey!

Flesh to Stone, a spell only master wizards could ever dream of casting, was like a cheap card trick to this super intelligent being of the Underdark, and I was about to be the new target practice and latest addition to its art collection. The mere prospect of my gruesome fate was already petrifying!

At least I would become significant to someone, I thought in an accent of dark humor and desperation.

Then I prayed to the only god I knew, crumpled and rolled towards the pool in a desperate attempt to reach for the tiny and only glimmer of hope I could hold onto: the Wand of the Gray !

Fully aware of my intent, the Beholder started to shimmer in a pulsating red and orange glow.
It knew the time for charming and wanton was over, and it was going to go full aggro on me.

I could already feel the heat building above my head as the beholders’ tentacles infused with pure power, ready to lay down powerful magical rays that would either obliterate me on the spot, or at least turn me into a coal statue.

In what seemed like an eternity in slow motion, I managed to pull the wand from the sticky ooze and, not knowing what to do, placed it right in front of me as if I held a Christian cross to turn a rabid vampire.

I knew it wouldn’t work, but at least, I had neither been frozen nor disintegrated by merely touching the Wand, which was kind of a relief. Ward magic had become a nasty habit among Arch sorcerers.

The Beholder was now entirely ablaze, looking like a sphere of molten lava with blood-soaked eyes, I braced for impact, and all of a sudden, the rays struck me with full prejudice.

I decided to close my eyes and let my life mentally scroll before me…kind of ironic, isn’t it?

A moment elapsed and…by the horns of Belial ! I was still feeling my heart pounding, and the voice had turned from bewitching to irritated…
then came the smell of burned flesh and the excruciating pain.

My hands felt like I was clenching at charred coal, but no, it was the wand I held tightly in my grasp !
The rays were miraculously converging right through the middle of it, attracted to the crystal shard like a beacon, their evil energy absorbed till it eventually dried out…
Struggling to contain the immense amount of dark mana, the wand had turned from blue to crimson, generating a radiant heat wave around it.

The beholder seemed slightly taken aback, seemingly focused on threat assessment

Confident in its reasoning, the grotesque creature was now lowering its bobbing spherical mass to my eye level to strike the final blow.

Curse Gzemnid!, he certainly thought to himself, a skinny apprentice able to dispell black magic, what a highly improbable occurrence !

One could tell from the shape-shifting of its pupil that it was going to be Flesh to Stone…
I couldn’t hold it any longer, my brain commanded me to throw the scorching wand away, and I tossed it right in front of me in a spasm.

I guess my nameless god had listened to my prayer, because the incandescent wand landed at the edge of the iridescent pool, I heard a whoosh!, then beheld a huge burst of flames rise as high up as a surrounding wall, engulfing the beholder in its wake.
Its voice almost instantly turned into shrieks soon followed by terrifying gurgles of pain and agony.

Superintelligent being, my …!
Anyways, that unknown thick and black substance seemed like a pretty decent energy source, I’d have to write this down in my memoirs for future generations of alchemists.

While I gazed at the charred remains of the beholder, now deflating in a hissing sound and putrid stench, with its countless sprouts spread on the floor like a bunch of faded flowers, I noticed the Wand, already cooling down after the fire had died out.

I bent over and grabbed the relic reverently, that thing had saved my life after all.

Looking at the statues around me, beyond the dead sack of jelly that once was a terrifying monster, I thought I recognized that of Ixagg the Gray himself, which in turn explained why the magic item had remained here : seemed the poor Wizard had let his guard down and been lured to its own demise !

From afar, he looked like a benevolent balding old man with a pony tail and a goatee, but I knew he had once possessed the true and immense power of genesis.

I proceeded to pay my respects…that is when I slipped on one of those goddamned sprout eyes on the floor…I felt my skull crack open as it connected with the base of a crumbled pillar.

My vision blurred, I could feel blood spilling from my nose, and I thought to myself : “…

That unnamed god we mentioned before :
…What the fuck DM !
My Vilarcane Wizzy Level 1 rolls 2 natural 20 in a row to grab the wand in time, have the miracle of Ixagg bestowed upon him and then burn that thing’s ass like a book of matches !…
I mean… 1 in a million ! Then I have to die like that !? Man, I was about to level up big time !!!”

All-mighty Dungeon Master :
“Well, seems there was a random event factoring in your luck and dexterity minuses…
you see, Beholder’s “Strike Fear” curse still being in effect, well…
… I just rolled it for you, and see for yourself, seems your beginner’s luck has run out !”
he chuckled in mischief, then lifted up the cardboard folding screen, revealing a twenty sided dice,
number 1 pointing at the sky…



Ixagg the Gray aka.Gary Gygaxx, was the acclaimed creator of the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by him and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997.D&D's publication is widely regarded as the foundation of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry.


 
Again, for those who'd have missed the first release, don't click on the spoiler tab before reading the rest of the story :)
Also, if you know of any good site to post this amateur novel and make me a world-reknowned artist (lol), let me know !
 
The emblem on his top hat resembles some railway insignia, so I believe he's a railway tycoon. The number one represents his alpha dog kinda mentality. His entire outfit reeks of affluent, cutthroat industrialist. The jacket, for example, is luxuriously detailed with the subtle florid pattern, sun-sticker buttons, and even a patch of black on the lapel to complete the custom-tailored kinda look. The base color is an obnoxious red, suggesting a highly ostentatious and aggressive personality. The waistcoat's max-sized, bump-mapped pattern emulates the chain of a watch fob tucked into his jacket, and the silver buttons are also bump-mapped for even more bling. The shirt, which also has silver buttons, has a very classy striped pattern on the placket. The leather gloves and jodhpurs suggest that he just returned from his morning ride, a distinctly aristocratic past-time. What really reveals his personality is his greying hair and deeply lined, piercing eyes. In contrast to his gaudy, flippant outfit, his face shows a life eroded by years of cutting backroom deals, driving out hapless competitors, and fighting anti-trust laws. This man is no tea-and-scones dandy; he's a self-made man with a bloody tale behind every dollar in his account. God knows he's entitled to kick back with a Cuban cigar every once in a while.

This creation takes a while to sink in, but man does it pack a punch when you sit down and think about it. You truly are the master storyteller of CaS. I love the pumpkin girl too, but I'll have to get to her and your short story later.
 
^ Brucege...
citizen_cane_zpse688625f.gif
Hey, Vil, if you wanna soft-publish, try out Kindle or Amazon. I know a friend who got published on Amazon and if you just want to get out there, it's not a bad idea.
Then there's Wattpad but I have no respect for Wattpad -_- Nice little novelette, I think it's wonderful ;)
 
brucege said:
The emblem on his top hat resembles some railway insignia, so I believe he's a railway tycoon. The number one represents his alpha dog kinda mentality. His entire outfit reeks of affluent, cutthroat industrialist. The jacket, for example, is luxuriously detailed with the subtle florid pattern, sun-sticker buttons, and even a patch of black on the lapel to complete the custom-tailored kinda look. The base color is an obnoxious red, suggesting a highly ostentatious and aggressive personality. The waistcoat's max-sized, bump-mapped pattern emulates the chain of a watch fob tucked into his jacket, and the silver buttons are also bump-mapped for even more bling. The shirt, which also has silver buttons, has a very classy striped pattern on the placket. The leather gloves and jodhpurs suggest that he just returned from his morning ride, a distinctly aristocratic past-time. What really reveals his personality is his greying hair and deeply lined, piercing eyes. In contrast to his gaudy, flippant outfit, his face shows a life eroded by years of cutting backroom deals, driving out hapless competitors, and fighting anti-trust laws. This man is no tea-and-scones dandy; he's a self-made man with a bloody tale behind every dollar in his account. God knows he's entitled to kick back with a Cuban cigar every once in a while.

This creation takes a while to sink in, but man does it pack a punch when you sit down and think about it. You truly are the master storyteller of CaS. I love the pumpkin girl too, but I'll have to get to her and your short story later.
Click to expand...

Brucege, i am speechless...this is exquisite !

I loved every word of it, because not only am i sure i think you did not forget any details (i will still check it out), but the choice of words, man, it is so precise and it just gives the eerie feeling you are some kind of psychic and you were into my mind as i organized mental notes for this CAS.

The big "1" on on the top hat, he is just number one of railway tycoons, number one in money making, center of the world, etc...you nailed it !!!

The idea was to make a modern CAS tycoon, make him extravagant, self-confident, arrogant and merciless self-made man starting with a top hat and a never seen before full beard build (this beard uses all kinds of tricks to achieve the most photorealistic looks, especially gradients)

I really can't wait to see your view on the novel (which, being french and all, is probably one of the things i am most proud of as of late) and Citrouille...

I can't think of any other thank you that adding 3 pictures i think you might have overseen, including a new one made specifically for you (closing in on the end you see :)

You can click on each of the pictures (see below) to zoom in (they are all HD)

Thanks a bunch,

Vil
 
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Hey, Vil, if you wanna soft-publish, try out Kindle or Amazon. I know a friend who got published on Amazon and if you just want to get out there, it's not a bad idea.
Then there's Wattpad but I have no respect for Wattpad -_- Nice little novelette, I think it's wonderful ;)
Click to expand...

Oh, ok, i didn't know i could submit this to amazon / kindle directly ? Will give it a go...
Funny enough, i got it on my own kindle and it looks (and reads :) great.
Also, on kindle, it is 20 pages long, standard font.
And thanks for the compliment.
 
Here we go, full CAS collection montage for Brucege (with a couple of friend's CAS thrown into the mix), last collage is new with the olympus gods and other freaks...zooms when clicked upon as mentioned...is that enough material for some kind of general statement on my complete CAS compendium, i dare think so :)...

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BUMP...Here we go, full CAS collection montage for Brucege (with a couple of friend's CAS thrown into the mix), last collage is new with the olympus gods and other freaks...zooms when clicked upon as mentioned...is that enough material for some kind of general statement on my complete CAS compendium, i dare think so :)...

ipjs.jpg


92el.jpg


29gz.jpg
 
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