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Introduction: Dear readers, My name is TNTOS. I'm a fanfic writer and have written and posted over 40 epics, comedies, and short stories over a seven year period on this website. Some were great, some weren't, but nonetheless each has helped me grow as a writer and I wouldn't be where I am today without them. Among my early works was a trilogy of epics known as the Shika Trilogy, consisting of The Tales of Shika Nui, Tapestry of Evil, and An Unlikely Alliance. Originally posted over a two year period, the Shika Trilogy chronicled the adventures of a Toa team composed of six former thieves on or near the island of Shika Nui (hence the title of the trilogy). It was never a particular popular trilogy, but it was my first ever completed trilogy and laid the foundation for my larger Shikaverse, the universe in which all my fanfiction (sans comedies) is set. Unfortunately, all three epics of the Shika Trilogy were lost when the BZP Archives were taken down earlier this year. I did not repost them, mostly because I did not believe they are a good representation of my ability as a writer (and they still aren't, by the way). Besides, if I ever wanted to reread them, I had them saved on files on an external hard drive, so nostalgia was not a good reason for reposting them, either. Recently, however, I have received a few requests from my readers to repost the Shika Trilogy, especially from readers who have not read it but want to. In addition, I am almost finished writing In the End, the epic that will be the finale to the Shikaverse as a whole. That epic does rely on a lot of ideas, concepts, and characters introduced in the Shika Trilogy, which most people would not understand without first reading the Shika Trilogy. With the arrival of the New Year, I decided that now would be a good time to repost the entire Shika Trilogy here in the Epics forum. Not only that, but I would repost all three epics in one topic so you can conveniently read the entire trilogy in one place (hence the use of "omnibus" in the title of this topic). I also believe the trilogy is more enjoyable when read as a whole, rather than read individually. Please note that the Shika Trilogy is NOT an example of my current ability as a writer. It is a reflection of who I was as a writer back in my younger days, when I was first learning how to write well. Whatever problems you notice, I am already aware of, so you don't need to write a comprehensive review pointing out every tiny error I have made. (If you want an example of my current ability as a writer, I suggest reading Dimension Hoppers or another of my most recent epics in my library.) I am reposting this solely to make the Shikaverse more understandable for people who haven't read it, although if you have some comments to make you are welcome to share them here in the review topic. Read the omnibus itself here. -TNTOS-
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Hello and welcome all to the review topic of my latest epic, Dawn of the New Century. You can read the epic itself here. Dawn is the first of a planned duology of epics of my Bionicle fanfiction universe, also known as the Shikaverse. This duology will be the finale of the Shikaverse, for it will resolve and answer many unresolved and unanswered plot points and questions from my past stories. As a result, when I sat down to write Dawn, I faced the task of trying to make it understandable to someone who has never read any of my past works while balancing it with a good story that can stand on its own. Frankly, though, whenever I had to decide whether to include an explanation or not, I generally chose to exclude it because I felt a good story is generally preferable to good exposition, however important that exposition might be. Having said that, I will be posting "Notes on the Shikaverse" within this review topic, which will give concise explanations for characters, ideas, terms, and locations that appear in this epic but are not explained or not explained well enough. Notes will only be provided for old characters, ideas, terms, and locations. New characters, ideas, terms, and locations introduced in Dawn will not be explained in the notes, as they should hopefully be explored and explained well enough within the story itself (though there will be a few exceptions). Notes are divided by the chapters in which past characters, ideas, terms, and locations are mentioned. - Notes on the Shikaverse: Chapter I: Kafor. Kafor is a Skakdi who has been on the run from the Dark Hunters for years, as she knows an important secret about the Shadowed One. She is a Seer, which means she occasionally has vague or obscure visions of the future, although why she has this ability has yet to be explained. First appeared in epic Dimension Hoppers: The Other Tale. Barc. Barc is a Roffican who runs and owns the bar called the Tarakava's Fist. He is the only person Kafor truly trusts, which basically makes him her only friend. First appeared in epic Dimension Hoppers: The Other Tale. Rofficans. "Roffican" is the name I have given to the species to which the Dark Hunter Krekka belonged to. In the official Bionicle story, they are usually called "bruisers," but as that is obviously not a species name, I had to make one up for the species. I first use the term in the epic Dimension Hoppers. Gadarians. The species name for the Glatorian. The Glatorian species has no official name in the canon, but for the purposes of this epic I had to make one up. I first use it in this epic. Chapter III: Kra-Matoran. A tribe of Matoran of Shadow created by the Great Spirit Mata Nui 150,000 years ago, toward the beginning of the old universe. Originally benign, the Kra-Matoran became greedy and tried to conquer the Matoran universe, but were defeated by the Order of Mata Nui and a Toa team called the Toa Avha. The entire tribe, save for a single villager, was banished to a pocket dimension called Wyoko, the entrance of which is barred by a Door that is locked by a Toa seal created by the Toa Avha. First appeared in Tapestry of Evil. Toa Akuna. A Toa of Lightning and one of the two surviving members of the Toa Shika. First appeared in The Tales of Shika Nui. Toa Kiriah. Toa Kiriah is a Toa of Psionics and guardian of the Time Stone, an ancient object that is important to the peoples of Tanjo Nui. First appeared in Dimension Hoppers. Time Stone. An object created by the Almighty Ones (see below) to record the history of a universe. First appeared in Dimension Hoppers. Almighty Ones. The Almighty Ones were once the Great Beings of an alternate universe, but were transformed into powerful entities after exposing themselves to energized protodermis. They are very mysterious and enigmatic and are not comfortable directly talking to other beings. They created the Time Stone (see above). First appeared in Dimension Hoppers. Jetrupi. A mysterious Gadarian and agent of the Almighty Ones. First appeared in Glatorian Chronicles #8: The Stranger. Dimension-hopping. The term used to describe travel between universes. First used in Dimension Hoppers. Chapter IV: Toa Niham. Toa of the Green. Originally from the island of Shika Nui prior to Teridax's death. First appeared in Dimension Hoppers. Turaga Kicho. Turaga of Earth. Former member and deputy leader of the Toa Tanjo. First appeared in Dimension Hoppers: The Other Tale. Toa Laomos. Toa of Gravity and former member of the Toa Tanjo. First appeared in Dimension Hoppers: The Other Tale. Chapter VIII: Toa Avha. One of the first Toa teams. Help defeat the Kra-Matoran Empire 150,000 years ago and helped in the rebuilding of society that took place afterward. Nearly all members are either dead or retired and old now. First mentioned in Tapestry of Evil. Chapter X: Toa Chimoy. One of the two surviving members of the Toa Shika and a Toa of Iron. First appeared in The Tales of Shika Nui. Toa Nonzra. Toa of Sonics and dead member of the Toa Shika. First appeared in The Tales of Shika Nui. The Ghost King. A legendary figure said to reside on the island of World's End at the very end of the old universe. First appeared in The Ghost King's Tragedy. Chapter XVII: Toa Oggakia (also known as Oggak). The only Toa of Shadow outside of Wyoko. Was originally the Chronicler of the Kra-Matoran tribe, but betrayed her people during the Kra-Matoran War 150,000 years ago. Is in a relationship with Toa Jokao (see below). First appeared in The Recruitment of Axonn. Toa Jokao. Toa of Fire who as a Matoran led the Matoran resistance against the Dark Hunters on Shika Nui 50,000 years ago. Is currently in a relationship with Toa Oggakia. First appeared in The Tales of Shika Nui. Shika Nui. An island from the old universe, located west of Stelt. Was ruled by the Dark Hunters for 25,000 years. First appeared in The Tales of Shika Nui. Shadow travel. The ability to travel through a shadow-like dimension in order to travel long distances quickly. It is similar to teleporting, although it has a longer distance and can only be used by shadow beings or beings with a close affinity toward shadow. First used in Tapestry of Evil. Chapter XIX: New Odina. Prior to the Core War, was a fortress belonging to the Element Lord of Ice, Xocion. First appeared in Glatorian Chronicles #9: Reluctant Allies. Chapter XXIII: Toa Nasis. Toa of Iron and former leader of the Toa Tanjo. First appeared in Dimension Hoppers. Chapter XXIX: The Almighty Ones' warehouse. A large warehouse containing everything the Almighty Ones ever made. First appeared in Dimension Hoppers. Reviews, comments, criticisms, etc are all welcome . -TNTOS-
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- Shikaverse
- The Shika Trilogy
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Hey guys. I just posted the epilogue to An Unlikely Alliance in the Shika Trilogy Omnibus topic a few minutes ago, That means that the entire Shika Trilogy has been reposted, which means anyone who was putting off reading it until it was all up can read it now. Yay! Unfortunately, I am feeling really sick right now, with only enough strength to post AUA's epilogue. Unfortunately, that means I've decided to put off In the End's release date a week. That means, instead of being posted today, In the End's official release date is now Monday, April 7th, 2014. I severely apologize to anyone who was looking forward to reading the prologue today, but right now I am in no mood to mess with the links and writing up a summary for the library and posting and other issues I usually deal with when posting a new epic. There's a good chance I'll mess up if I post it now, when I'm sick and tired, so I've decided to do it when I'm feeling better, which should hopefully be by next week. Again, I really sorry. I was looking forward to posting In the End today, too, and I know this announcement was extremely last minute, but frankly I didn't plan to get sick and I don't trust myself to get everything right when I'm feeling this way. Barely even trust myself to write up this blog post, actually. So just to be sure everyone knows, I will post In the End on Monday, April 7th, 2014, exactly one week from today. No later and no sooner than that. My apologies, -TNTOS-
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Introduction: Dear readers, My name is TNTOS. I'm a fanfic writer and have written and posted over 40 epics, comedies, and short stories over a seven year period on this website. Some were great, some weren't, but nonetheless each has helped me grow as a writer and I wouldn't be where I am today without them. Among my early works was a trilogy of epics known as the Shika Trilogy, consisting of The Tales of Shika Nui, Tapestry of Evil, and An Unlikely Alliance. Originally posted over a two year period, the Shika Trilogy chronicled the adventures of a Toa team composed of six former thieves on or near the island of Shika Nui (hence the title of the trilogy). It was never a particular popular trilogy, but it was my first ever completed trilogy and laid the foundation for my larger Shikaverse, the universe in which all my fanfiction (sans comedies) is set. Unfortunately, all three epics of the Shika Trilogy were lost when the BZP Archives were taken down earlier this year. I did not repost them, mostly because I did not believe they are a good representation of my ability as a writer (and they still aren't, by the way). Besides, if I ever wanted to reread them, I had them saved on files on an external hard drive, so nostalgia was not a good reason for reposting them, either. Recently, however, I have received a few requests from my readers to repost the Shika Trilogy, especially from readers who have not read it but want to. In addition, I am almost finished writing In the End, the epic that will be the finale to the Shikaverse as a whole. That epic does rely on a lot of ideas, concepts, and characters introduced in the Shika Trilogy, which most people would not understand without first reading the Shika Trilogy. With the arrival of the New Year, I decided that now would be a good time to repost the entire Shika Trilogy here in the Epics forum. Not only that, but I would repost all three epics in one topic so you can conveniently read the entire trilogy in one place (hence the use of "omnibus" in the title of this topic). I also believe the trilogy is more enjoyable when read as a whole, rather than read individually. Please note that the Shika Trilogy is NOT an example of my current ability as a writer. It is a reflection of who I was as a writer back in my younger days, when I was first learning how to write well. Whatever problems you notice, I am already aware of, so you don't need to write a comprehensive review pointing out every tiny error I have made. (If you want an example of my current ability as a writer, I suggest reading Dimension Hoppers or another recent epic in my library.) I am reposting this solely to make the Shikaverse more understandable for people who haven't read it, although if you have some comments to make you are welcome to share them in the review topic (link at the bottom of the post). Table of Contents: Book One: The Tales of Shika Nui Prologue Chapter 1: We Are.....Toa? Chapter 2: Dark Hunters! Chapter 3: Jokao Chapter 4: Revelations Chapter 5: All Out Battle! Chapter 6: Infiltration Chapter 7: Escape From The Fortress Chapter 8: Into The Mountains Chapter 9: The Mountains Chapter 10: Turaga Joha? Chapter 11: Not A Hero Anymore Chapter 12: The Secret Village of Shadow Chapter 13: Dragon in the Dark Chapter 14: The Return of Barilo Chapter 15: Chaos! Chapter 16: What Is Behind The Door? Epilogue Book Two: Tapestry of Evil Book Three: An Unlikely Alliance Now with that out of the way, let's kick off this omnibus with: Book One: The Tales of Shika Nui Prologue 25,000 years ago A huge battle ship sailed quietly through the sea of Shika Nui. Aboard the ship was a band of thieves, murderers, would-be tyrants and other lunatics, who were all hungry for battle and conquest. They were Dark Hunters. Under order of their leader, a dark and frightening being known only as the Shadowed One, they were sent to take control of this island, for it had a secret that they all were sure would suit the Dark Hunters cause well. A Dark Hunter, named Triglax, was standing at the wheel, steering the boat toward their destination. He was considered obnoxious by some and that might be true, though he'd never admit it, mainly because of his ego. What do any of them know about me anyway? Triglax thought as he steered the gigantic boat toward the mysterious island of Shika Nui. There is a good reason the Shadowed One chose me to lead this operation, because I am the most qualified to lead, of course. He was being sent, along with at least a dozen other well armed Dark Hunters, to take over this island they were heading. They would land there and kill the local Toa team and the Turaga who lead the island, thus giving them complete control over the entire island of Shika Nui. If all went well, then by nightfall, the island would be Dark Hunter property. And when we strike, Triglax thought, a smile creeping on his face. They won't know what hit them. Review Topic
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- The Shika Trilogy
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Looking Back: Top Four Favorite Stories from the Shikaverse
TNTOS posted a blog entry in blogs_blog_1200
(NOTE: For those who don't know what this is series of blog posts is, please check out the introduction here.) Continuing the "Looking Back" series, today I will talk about my top four favorite stories from the Shikaverse. Four may seem like an odd number (although it's actually an even number*), but that's because I wanted to talk only about the stories that I actually, genuinely enjoyed writing or thought were good, rather than picking out enough stories to fit an arbitrary number like five or ten. I just happen to have four favorite stories from the Shikaverse. Anyway, let's begin this list with: #1: Dimension Hoppers Out of all of the fanfics I posted on BZP, Dimension Hopppers is the one I am most proud of. Its experimental nature -- two first person narrators, -- was a big challenge for me and I am happy to say that it worked splendidly. In fact, it worked out so well that I haven't tried that again, for fear that I will either repeat myself or fail to do it right again (although I have not ruled out doing another story with two first person narrators in a future story entirely). Three of my favorite characters from the Shikaverse -- Isarot, Kiriah, and Darranas -- were introduced in this fic. There were a lot of cool settings in this story as well, such as the Almighty Ones' warehouse, World's End, and Ehlek's ship. It also expanded the Shikaverse significantly, giving more characters, locations, and ideas that have heavily influenced later fics (such as The Ghost King's Tragedy and the Dawn Duology, for example). #2: An Unlikely Alliance** This is one of my favorites because it's the first epic I wrote that I think was actually good. It's not nearly as good as Dimension Hoppers, to be sure, but I did enjoy writing it and it really was a big turning point for my ability as a writer. It's the epic where I first developed what I call the Three Draft Formula, a formula I still use for epics and novels to this day. Another reason I like this fic is because it serves as a good ending to the Shika Trilogy, resolving a lot of plot points from the past two epics and answering a lot of unanswered questions. It proves I can end a trilogy satisfactorily and without leaving any important questions or plot points dangling needlessly. Yeah, AUA is not my best epic, but the lessons I learned from it will be highly useful if I ever write another trilogy at some point in the future. #3: Glatorian Chronicles #9: Reluctant Allies I consider this short epic to be the best short epic I've written. The two protagonists, Ackar and Kiina, are well-developed and distinct. The plot is very focused and doesn't go off into any random tangents (except possibly for the frozen village scene, which maybe could have been cut without harming the story's plot). Xocion, the Element Lord of Ice and primary antagonist of the story, was a fun character to write for. Shame I didn't get to do much with him. I would like to write a short story or something about him, but as I am getting close to done with the Shikaverse, that seems highly unlikely unless I get an idea that I absolutely MUST write no matter what. #4: Paranoia Out of all of the Shikaverse stories, Paranoia was the only true horror story and the only horror story I've ever really written. Despite that, it received a lot of good reviews when I first posted it. I even reused its setting -- an alternate universe where Brutaka takes over the universe using the Mask of Life -- in Dimension Hoppers I enjoyed it so much. This short story cannot be found on BZP anymore, due to the deletion of the Archives. I still have it saved on an external flash drive, but I don't think I am going to repost it. As much as I liked it, there is a reason it's number four on this list and not number one. I've thought about rewriting it, though, if only because I think I could do the idea better now that I've come so far as a writer. - That's it. Next post in the series will be about the Shikaverse's themes. You know, stuff pretentious literary types like me like to talk about . *Yeah, I made a math joke. Yeah, it kind of stands out. Yeah, I probably shouldn't be drawing attention to it with this note. Yeah, I know starting every sentence with "Yeah" is getting annoying. Yeah, I'll cut it out. **Like Paranoia, An Unlikely Alliance cannot currently be found on BZP due to the deletion of the Archives. However, you will soon be able to read it once I repost it in "The Shika Trilogy Omnibus" in the Epics forum, which can be found here. -TNTOS- -
As of this morning, I posted the epilogue of my latest comedy, My Little BIONICLE: Friendship is Explosive. At 15 chapters, it is officially complete, so I'd say this is the perfect time to read it, especially if you are a Bionicle or MLP fan. In other news, I recently started reposting the Shika Trilogy in an omnibus format here in the Epics forum with a five chapter a week schedule. It's the perfect opportunity to snark at my old writing, so I'd take it if I were most of you . Regarding In the End, I have not yet started editing the third draft. I have a bunch of other projects at the moment that are a bit more pressing. I will keep y'all posted on this leading up to its release. I am going to be doing more blog posts in the Looking Back series, although again I am not sure how many. The next one will be about my favorite stories from the Shikaverse, although I won't say what they are just yet or when I will post it. I intend to get that blog post out before the end of the month, so stayed tuned for that. That's all for now, so see ya, -TNTOS-
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Looking Back: Top 10 Favorite Characters from the Shikaverse, Part 2
TNTOS posted a blog entry in blogs_blog_1200
(NOTE: For those who don't know what these series of blog posts are, read the introduction here.) Continued from this blog post. #6: Toa Oggakia First appearance: The Recruitment of Axonn (cameo) Quote: Nailed it . . . Ive been lying and deceiving everyone, even Jokao, all this time. Almost everything I have said is a lie; every single bit of it. I have lied about my past, my connection with the Tuikas, and many, many other things that you dont even know about. And if I tell you or anyone else the t-truth . . . Everyone will hate me. B-but if I say nothing at all. . . . ("An Unlikely Alliance," Chapter 18: Truths & Falsehoods) As her quote indicates, Toa Oggakia always had trouble trusting others. This is primarily due to how she was raised. She spent a good chunk of her life on Daxia in seclusion from the rest of the world. When you factor in the Order's policy of strict secrecy, it's no wonder she never learned how to trust or open up to others. Even when she did get real friends who loved and trusted her, she still kept secrets from them. She learned to become less secretive, of course, but she still has this habit of keeping secrets from her friends even when they would benefit from knowing those secrets. In all likelihood, she will probably be this way for the rest of her life, although she can always get better While I believe she's one of the more fleshed out characters from the Shikaverse, I do wish I could have explored her guilt a bit more. It's subtle, but if you pay careful attention to her dialogue in An Unlikely Alliance, you can tell that she still feels guilty about betraying her people 100,000 years ago. Even though she was justified in betraying the Kra-Matoran tribe, Oggak still considers herself one of them and so continues to feel guilty about betraying them, although it's not as severe as it once was. Like Kiriah, I liked her so much that I decided to use her in more epics. She was a main character in The Ghost King's Tragedy and played a small role in Dawn of the New Century. She will also make an appearance in In the End, where her final fate will be revealed. #7 Toa Teivel First appearance: Tapestry of Evil Quote: "Freedom is a fickle thing. You never appreciate it when you have it, and when it is taken away from you it becomes almost an obsession to have just a taste of freedom. That is how I feel now; I, along with every other blasted inhabitant of this land, wish to be free to roam the universe once more, as I did 100,000 years ago." ("Tapestry of Evil," Chapter 1: Shodios) Out of all the characters on this list, Toa Teivel is the one I wished I could have explored the most. He was the most mysterious of the Shodios, the Shikaverse's all-Toa of Shadow Toa team, and the evilest as well. He didn't start out evil. He was originally good. I honestly would have loved to explore exactly how he went from being a generally good Toa to a cold, calculating villain who cared little for the welfare of others. I do have an idea for a prequel epic focusing on the rise and fall of the Kra-Matoran Empire, in which he surely must have played an important role, but with In the End coming, I highly doubt I will ever write it. One thing I am certain about, however, is that he, out of all of the Shodios, really wanted to be free. He despised Wyoko with every fiber of his being. He believed it was the right of the Kra-Matoran tribe to rule the Matoran universe. Wyoko is basically an external manifestation of his failure to lead his people to victory. #8: Toa Darranas First appearance: Dimension Hoppers Quote: Yes, although thief is a term I do not prefer to use. I would call myself a hero, a crusader of righteousness and light who was chosen by destiny to purge the multiverse of evil. Any sane person can see that. ("Dimension Hoppers," Chapter 16: Questions Answered, Questions Raised) Here's one of the few characters in the Shika Trilogy whom I feel justified in calling evil. Out of all the antagonists and villains in the Shikaverse, I'd say Toa Darranas was easily the most dangerous, in part because of the scope of his plans, but also because he was absolutely convinced that he was the good guy, no matter how many evil things he did. Other villains, like Makuta Hajax and Toa Teivel, were at least capable of recognizing that some of their actions were not wise or moral. Darranas, on the other hand, was so convinced of his own righteousness and perfection that he thought that anything he did was good. Unlike some of the villains on this list, I don't believe Darranas could be redeemed. Redemption is only possible when you believe you need it. Darranas did not believe that he needed to be redeemed from anything. That is also what made him so interesting. Darranas's black and white view of the world meant he did not believe anything was off limits if it brought him closer to his overall goal. Whereas Kiriah and to (to a slightly lesser extent) Isarot dealt frequently with their own self-doubt and uncertainties, Darranas never doubted his own righteousness for even a second. He was probably one of the scarier characters for me to write because I understand how alluring the certainty that a black-and-white view of the world brings, even if I wholeheartedly reject it. Darranas didn't start out this crazy, but even before he turned, he always had a tendency to view his enemies as unrepentent villains who deserved whatever they got. I think it's too easy for someone with that personality to cross the line from justice-seeker to revenging crusader. Though Darranas spoke often about punishing villains, in the end, I think he became just as bad as the people he fought, if not worse. And that is always sad. #9 Raider First appearance: An Unlikely Alliance Quotes: "I may very well have to take this island all by myself. Oh well . . . I did it once. I could so easily do it again." ("An Unlikely Alliance," Chapter 21: Target Locked) Raider was a Dark Hunter, one of the best and oldest. His personality was professional and efficient. He did not allow himself to be distracted by emotion or petty quarrels, at least while working. All he cared about doing was getting the job done, whether its putting down a possible Dark Hunter rebellion or investigating the theft of an object that the Shadowed One had his eyes on. His personality, I believe, led him to become a sniper. While he can hold his own in a fight, he is absolutely deadly with a sniper. Looking back, I probably should have named him Sniper or something. I tried to justify his codename in An Unlikely Alliance, but the explanation always seemed a little too incredulous to me (he raided whole islands by himself? Really?). I guess Raider is a pretty cool name, though. What I like best about Raider, however, is the role he played in An Unlikely Alliance. To me, he was that kind of character whose mere appearance is enough to jack up the tension in a scene. He didn't succeed in killing any of the protagonists, but every time he appeared I was never sure who he would kill (or try to kill, at least) next. Unpredictable characters like Raider are awesome to read and write about. I can confirm that he will appear in In the End. I felt like I needed to bring him back one last time before the Shikaverse's end, considering that several of my other favorite characters have all appeared in the Dawn Duology so far. #10 Kafor First appearance: Dimension Hoppers: The Other Tale Quote: Do you wonder why I live here? Its because the Dark Hunters never come around here. I am safe as long as I keep quiet." ("Dimension Hoppers: The Other Tale," Chapter Four) Kafor is an interesting example of a character. While writing Dimension Hoppers, I knew she was going to play a large role in Dawn of the New Century. So I introduced her early on in Dimension Hoppers: The Other Tale, primarily to foreshadow Dawn with her future-seeing ability. She is definitely one of the more cowardly characters I've written, although she would probably describe herself as shrewd. Due to the fact that the Dark Hunters have been on her tail for many years, she has a hard time trusting anyone except her sole friend, a bartender named Barc. Looking back, I wish I could have figured out exactly how the two of them became such good friends in the first place. Maybe I will figure it out in In the End, though that seems unlikely to me. Due to living most of her life on the run, Kafor has always had a difficult time thinking longterm. She thinks as far ahead as is necessary to protect her life from the Dark Hunters. This is one aspect of her personality that I tried to explore in Dawn and will hopefully bring to a satisfying conclusion in In the End. In the Dawn Duology, she now faces the possibility of a Dark Hunter-free future, the implications of which she is just starting to grasp. I like writing her dialogue. She's extremely sarcastic, which annoys pretty much everyone else. Even better, she doesn't see a reason to apologize for her sarcasm, either. When most of the people around you are stupid or hate you, why should you treat them considerately? Of course I cannot say what her final fate will be. You'll have to read In the End to find out that. I have a couple of announcements about the Shikaverse I'd like to make. First, I just finished the third draft of In the End. All that I need to do now is go through and do the usual three rounds of editing that I do with every epic. I still cannot give a release date any more specific than early/mid 2014, though. Second, because some readers have requested it and because it is currently no longer available on BZP, I will be reposting the entire Shika Trilogy right here on the BZP forums. Instead of doing three separate topics for each epic, however, I will be posting the entire trilogy in one topic, which will be called "The Shika Trilogy Omnibus." Expect to see the omnibus in the Epics forum on Wednesday, January 1st, 2014. See y'all later, -TNTOS- -
Looking Back: Top 10 Favorite Characters from the Shikaverse, Part 1
TNTOS posted a blog entry in blogs_blog_1200
(NOTE: For those who don't know what this is, you can read the introduction here.) To kick off this series of Looking Back posts, I will start off with my top ten favorite characters from the Shikaverse. Due to the length of this post, it will be split into two parts, with the first five characters in this post and the last five in another. Also, there be spoilers ahead. If you don't want my stories spoiled, then I suggest not reading this, at least until you've read my works. I chose to start with characters because the Shikaverse was written without any outlining or extensive planning. Therefore, it was crucial I had strong characters capable of carrying the stories they starred in from beginning to end. They range in variety from heroic Toa to evil Makuta and everything in between. I hope that by the end of this two-part post that you, my readers, will understand why I like the characters on this list so much. With that out of the way, let's start the list with: #1: Toa Barilo First appearance: The Tales of Shika Nui Quotes: "You know, Nastan, you and Nonzra always used to argue, but it was friendly arguments. I, however, think you're holding the team down with your morals, so I figure I ought to get rid of you now." ("The Tales of Shika Nui," Chapter 11: Not A Hero Anymore) "Okay, Nastan, I admit, I did try to kill you under my own free will. I didnt do it just because I was going insane (though for the record I was slightly out of my mind at the time). I did it because I was angry, I had the power, and I was willing to do it, too. But now. I have seen my mistake and I ask you for your forgiveness. Please, Nastan, find it somewhere in your heart to forgive your fellow Toa for wronging you. Please." ("Tapestry of Evil," Chapter 20: Wanderer's Mission) "This is the only way to stop him. I have realized this. I dont care if I die in the process; so long as you take him out, Im fine. Just hit me with everything you got now and no holding back!" ("An Unlikely Alliance," Chapter 29: A Hero's Sacrifice) Out of all the characters I wrote in the Shika Trilogy, Toa Barilo, Toa of Gravity and deputy leader of the Toa Shika, probably got the most character development out of them all. Over the span of the trilogy, he went from being a self-centered thief to redemption-seeker to unashamed hero, which can be observed in the three quotes I chose above. What makes Barilo a remarkable character, in my opinion, is that his development was not planned at all. When I first stared the Shika Trilogy, I had no idea Barilo would become so central to the story. In my opinion, I believe his character developed the way it did because of his interactions with another character from the Shika Trilogy: Toa Nastan (who is not on this list). Nastan was your typical do-gooder Toa who often held the rest of the team to high standards, which initially annoyed Barilo. They got along so badly that Barilo even tried to kill Nastan at one point. Though the two were ultimately reconciled after that, that act haunted Barilo afterward and was probably what caused him to begin his journey from selfish thief to humble hero. In the end, I consider Barilo to be the true hero of the Shika Trilogy. While there were certainly other heroic characters in the trilogy, it was Barilo who ultimately saved the day in the end, despite his rough beginnings as a selfish thief who cared for no one other than himself and his small group of friends. #2: Makuta Hajax First appearance: The Tales of Shika Nui Quote: "One day, I would like to visit Destral and give my brothers a surprise welcome . . . after I have gotten an army big enough to crush that island into little more than fine powder, of course." ("An Unlikely Alliance," Chapter 18: Truths & Falsehoods) Makuta Hajax, Makuta of Shika Nui, was an interesting character. He was a Makuta who hated other Makuta. Technically, he only hated Teridax, who he saw as desecrating the name of the Brotherhood of Makuta, but his feelings toward his brothers and sisters who served Teridax were negative all around. Like Barilo, Hajax got his share of character development. Originally, he wanted to overthrow Teridax and turn the Brotherhood back into a force for good. His methods were often questionable, but at heart he did have good intentions. So you could plausibly consider him a hero of sorts. Unlike Barilo, however, Hajax became worse as time went on. He eventually came to the conclusion that he not only needed to take over the Brotherhood, but that he had to rule the universe itself, too. His reasoning was that Mata Nui was in no shape to rule anymore and that he probably wasn't all that good of a ruler anyway if he had been defeated so easily by Teridax. In order to accomplish this goal, he often manipulated the Toa Shika. In particular, he focused on Barilo, whose vices made him more susceptible to Hajax's machinations than the others were. He was so successful at playing with Barilo that he even ended up possessing the Toa's body, a move that advanced Hajax's plans more than anything else. Due to the scope of his plans and his close relationship with Barilo, I would call Hajax the true villain of the Shika Trilogy. In some ways, he was a tragic villain. He started out with noble intentions, but they eventually led him to becoming the very thing he had fought against (like another character on this list, in fact). #3: Toa Kiriah First appearance: Dimension Hoppers Quote: "Oh, I forgot about that. Um, sorry." ("Dimension Hoppers," Chapter 13: The Expedition Begins) Kiriah is awkward, overly apologetic, forgetful, and quite clumsy. Because of that, she is one of my favorite characters to write for, though she only makes number three on this list. I loved writing for her in Dimension Hoppers so much that she went on to play a major role in The Ghost King's Tragedy and, more recently, Dawn of the New Century. She will also appear in In the End, as you may have guessed. She had an interesting history as a character. She wasn't even in the first draft of Dimension Hoppers. I only added her in the second draft because Greg confirmed Psionics as a Toa element and I thought it would be cool to have a Toa of Psionics character in one of my fanfics. In addition, Isarot was boring by himself, so I thought throwing in a second protagonist would spice things up, which was a good move on my part, if I may say so. One reason I like her so much is because she is partly based off myself. In particular, I gave her my absentmindedness. She is the only character in the Shikaverse who comes closest to being my self-insert, though she's different enough from me that I think most people who read about her wouldn't guess that I had based her off myself unless I told them. I cannot yet give a final verdict on her character as a whole, however, because I have not yet finished In the End. I hope to give her a good ending, though, whatever it might ultimately be. #4: Isarot First appearance: Dimension Hoppers Quote: "We promised to protect the Time Stone with our lives, even if it was stolen by some dimension-hopping thief. Even if our sanity was in danger of being destroyed, we would have no excuse for letting some thief get away with it without even trying to retrieve it." ("Dimension Hoppers," Chapter 1: A Decision is Made) If you asked me which of the Three Virtues best describes Isarot, without hesitation I would at the second virtue: Duty. Isarot was consumed by duty. Duty to the Time Stone, duty to his people, duty to his Baiji (elder, for those of you who don't speak Tagiki), and duty to his best friend. As a result, he was probably one of the best guardians of the Time Stone ever, considering how seriously he took his guardianship. Yet I'd hardly call Isarot a mindless protector. He had a strong sense of right and wrong and utterly despised dishonest people. He would always try to keep other people around him honest. His honesty would even compel him to call out his superiors when he thought they were lying, something he might never do under other circumstances. Although Isarot was a loyal and honest friend, he was by no means perfect. He could be highly judgmental and unforgiving towards people he didn't like or trust. His desire to put the safety of the Time Stone above all else meant that the only real friend he had was Kiriah. (It is interesting to note that, despite their wildly differing personalities and tastes, both Isarot and Kiriah generally felt out of place among members of their respective species.) He was not always patient with dumb or slow-witted people, either. In general, I think Isarot is one of those people who, in real life, you would either love or hate. He was not particularly cuddly and lovable, but he was extremely loyal to those who he considered friends. He never cared about universal popularity. He only cared about doing what he thought was right. #5: Masqouth First appearance: Dawn of the New Century Quote: "I just cant believe it. The Kra-Matoran are free and people will die and I will be just like my parents. It's amazing." ("Dawn of the New Century," Chapter XXVIII) Masqouth is a fun character to write, probably because he's different from other antagonists I've written. Other antagonists, like Hajax and Darranas, were cold, calculating, cruel, and cynical. They may have had some redeeming virtues, but in the end they lived their lives causing more harm than good and so are easy to hate. Masqouth, on the other hand, is warm, spontaneous, fun, and idealistic. He is rather childish and naïve and rarely feels hatred for his enemies. Unlike other antagonists, Masqouth is hard to hate, which is what I think makes him an interesting character. His biggest flaw is probably his naivety. He easily trusts other people to the point where they can manipulate him, often without him ever being the wiser. He often jumps to conclusions and acts hastily, much like a child. His understanding of good and evil is extremely simplistic. He honestly does not see anything wrong with manipulating tensions between species to start a world war (although that does not excuse what he did). Like Kiriah, his final fate will be revealed in In the End. Out of all the characters in the Dawn Duology, his is the character arc I most wish to give closure to. The next part will probably come before the end of the year (EDIT: Read Part 2 here!). I will also make a special announcement about the Shikeverse in that post, so keep an eye on this blog for that, too. -TNTOS- -
As most of my readers know, I am in the process of writing a sequel to my most recent epic, Dawn of the New Century. It is currently titled In the End and will be released early or mid 2014. It will also be my final epic in the Shikaverse and my final epic on BZP in general. For those of you who don't know, the Shikaverse is my Bionicle fanfiction universe. Nearly every epic and short story I have written and posted on BZP is set in the Shikaverse, starting from my earliest works all the way to my newest. I've been writing in the Shikaverse for a little over five years, I believe, which is a pretty long time when you think about it. Only my comedies do not take place within the Shikaverse, although I did write a comedy parodying one of my Shikaverse works once. The name "Shikaverse" comes from the name of the very first story set in that universe, my first epic called The Tales of Shika Nui (which you can't read on BZP anymore due to the deletion of the Archives). The island of Shika Nui is a defining feature of the Shikaverse, even though it does not appear in every story. As a result, I can think of no other name more appropriate for that universe than the Shikaverse. When I started writing The Tales of Shika Nui, I had no idea that it would grow into this sprawling, complicated, and (I'll be honest) sometimes contradictory universe. I have had no other collaborators to help me keep the facts straight or write my stories. Aside from showing a few of my works to friends and family for feedback before posting, the entire Shikaverse has been written, edited, and posted by me. So I take full responsibility for every word I have written: the good, the bad, and the just plain strange. And I honestly would not have it any other way. As much as I love the Shikaverse, I've known for some time now that I can't write in it forever. In order to pursue my dream of being a professional writer, I have to stop writing fanfiction. While I am currently juggling fanfiction and original fiction, I know that only one will get me published, only one will make me money, only one will help me build my platform, and only one will help me grow in ways that the other cannot. And that one is original fiction. Because I knew this, I am determined to end the Shikaverse on my own terms. I will not simply abandon it to rot in the darkest corners of BZP. I love it too much to simply abandon it. I have to give it a good ending. More than anything else, I need a sense of closure, which I cannot get if I do not write and finish the Dawn Duology. I planned Dawn specifically with this in mind. I had hoped for Dawn itself to be the Shikaverse's ending, but the story ended up being too big for a single epic, so I have made it into a duology. I was aware that could happen, as I tend to write organically, but it does make ending the thing a bit more complicated than I had thought it would be. I am convinced it won't become a trilogy, however, so don't worry about that . I have no idea if anyone else really cares about the Shikaverse. My works have never been very popular. I have certainly built a reputation here (I think?), but I don't consider myself one of the big time BZP writers like, say, GaliGee, for example. As I said above, I am writing this to give myself a sense of closure more than anything. If there are any readers who have been following my works from the beginning, then they, too, shall receive closure. Over the next few months, leading up to In the End's release, I will be talking more about the Shikaverse. I will be talking about favorite characters, favorite stories, favorite moments, and lessons I have learned from the Shikaverse. It won't be all sunshine and rainbows, though. I will probably also talk about my least favorite moments, stories I wish I could have rewritten, characters I felt I should have developed more, and even stories I regret writing at all (all writers have works they regret writing and I am no different). Consider this post an introduction to a series of posts about the Shikaverse. There will be no regular schedule. I will try to get it all posted before the release of In the End, but there is no guarantee for that. I have no planned number of posts to put up, although if I had to guess I'd say it will consist of seven or eight. But again, no guarantees. I doubt this will appeal to many people and I don't expect a lot of people to follow this little series of blog posts. Certainly I would be happy if people read and commented on this series, but ultimately I am writing this for my own benefit and enjoyment. If anyone else enjoys it, well, that's a bonus. Posts in the "Looking Back" series: Looking Back: Top 10 Favorite Characters from the Shikaverse, Part 1 Looking Back Top 10 Favorite Characters from the Shikaverse, Part 2 Looking Back: Top Four Favorite Stories from the Shikaverse That's all for now, so see ya, -TNTOS-
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As of today, I have begun reposting BIONICLE: The Legend Reloaded, which you can find here. I intend to post one chapter a day until the entire thing has been reposted. That will take a little over a month, seeing as the entire comedy is 34 chapters long. I've been thinking of reposting the Shika Trilogy sometime, too, even though all three of the epics are not quite as good as my current work. Still, the Shika Trilogy is foundational to the Shikaverse and is the only trilogy of epics I have ever completed. So you can probably expect to see them sometime, but when, I am not sure. You see, I am thinking of adding commentary to the Shika Trilogy, some of it humorous, some of it explanatory. Sort of like a "special edition" version of the Shika Trilogy, where you can see some of the thought process that went behind a lot of the decisions I made while writing the trilogy. I would like to add the commentary without disrupting the flow of the stories, however, so I am still figuring that out. I have an idea of how to fix that problem, but whether it will work or not remains to be seen. -TNTOS-
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Table of Contents: Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Chapter XI Chapter XII Chapter XIII Chapter XIV Chapter XV Chapter XVI Chapter XVII Chapter XVIII Chapter XIX Chapter XX Chapter XXI Chapter XXII Chapter XXIII Chapter XXIV Chapter XXV Chapter XXVI Chapter XXVII Chapter XXVIII Chapter XXIX Chapter I A tall figure in white, billowing robes walked onto the stage. To Kafor, he looked like a savior, walking slowly and deliberately with his hands together, as if in prayer to the Great Beings. The spotlights fixed on him, their light reflecting off his spotless robes, enhanced his savior-like mystique even from Kafor’s current location, a small, obscure bar in the slums of New Atero. When the figure reached the end of the stage, thousands of Skakdi -- all of whom had gathered in the Great Spirit Stadium to listen to him -- cheered and screamed his name. Kafor was quite glad she was watching this event on the telescreen in the quiet, nearly-empty bar called the Tarakava’s Fist, for she doubted she would have been able to tolerate such loudness and merriment if she were actually there in person. The figure raised his hands high, as if reaching for the sun, with a benevolent smile on his face that reminded Kafor of others before him, beings that had inspired hope in the oppressed Skakdi with their warmth and idealism. Such beings had, in the past, attempted to lead the Skakdi to a greater future, but they never got very far due in large part to the might of New Atero, so Kafor rarely paid them much attention. The camera’s focus shifted, now showing a Le-Matoran news reporter standing just outside the crowd. He was speaking loudly, attempting to be heard over the boisterous shouting and chanting of the throng. “I’m Gosfa from Channel Nine News and I’m reporting here live from the Great Spirit Stadium in Zisar, New Zakaz,” said Gosfa, speaking directly to the camera. “The controversial speaker, Masqouth, is about to deliver his first speech to the Skakdi people in Zisar. We’re providing the entire speech commercial free thanks to our sponsors, Ignika Industries, ‘making your life better every day.’” Gosfa tried looking over the Skakdi, but as he was a rather short Matoran, that proved impossible. So he said, “Well, I’m not going to be able to see it, I guess, but that’s what we brought multiple cameras for. I think he’s about to start.” The reporter was right. The Skakdi had ceased their chanting and cheering and were now watching Masqouth, who looked over them all with a kind, almost parental gaze. “People of New Zakaz,” said Masqouth, spreading his arms, “thank you for allowing me to sojourn in your grand city. Though I’ve been here for two days only, yet I’ve been shown such kindness and respect that I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay it. I am honestly surprised, for before I came here I was warned of the viciousness and cruelty of the Skakdi. It appears that I was misled, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, I cannot say.” Of course he couldn’t. Not on a live broadcast. It was common knowledge that the New Atero government did not like Masqouth. His last speech in New Roxtus had ended with Skrall Imperialists causing a massive citywide riot that ended only after the Nuva Guard came in and killed or arrested those that had started it. There were probably Nuva Guards in the stadium right now. The cameras simply did not show them. “Yes,” said Masqouth, lowering his hands, “the Skakdi people have always been on the receiving end of destiny. Back in the beginning, many, many thousands of eons ago, you people were once prosperous and powerful, at peace with your neighbors, who respected your might and never said one false or untrue word about you. You were among the most technologically advanced people in the old universe, even in some cases surpassing Metru Nui and Xia in terms of tech level. That is why that time is known as the Golden Age of Zakaz, for they say that during that era, riches were plenty and no one lacked anything. Even the poorest Skakdi still had many of the luxuries and necessities their brethren had. It was truly a beautiful time.” The crowd cheered at this. Kafor sipped from her drink and continued watching. “But then all that changed one day,” said Masqouth, his hands balled into fists. “A Makuta named Spiriah arrived on the shores of your island. He promised to make the Skakdi into a better and stronger species, one that didn’t have to rely on the whims of their neighbors for necessary exports. He promised that the Brotherhood of Makuta -- that hated, wicked organization that is now the very symbol of evil -- would stand behind a Skakdi Empire, ruled by the elders of Zakaz.” At the mention of Spiriah, all of the Skakdi began booing and hissing. Kafor felt much the same way. In her opinion, Spiriah was even worse than Irnakk, for at least Irnakk was honest about wanting to kill everyone. “Yet you all know what Spiriah’s promises turned out to be,” said Masqouth, gesturing at the crowd. “They turned out to be lies. The Brotherhood didn’t want to help the Skakdi become a force to be reckoned with in the old universe. They wanted an invincible army of soldiers for their own wicked ends, but they didn’t even get that. When Spiriah gave your ancestors this power, they got into arguments about who would rule the Skakdi Empire. These arguments might have remained simple arguments had a Skakdi named Reidak not destroyed an entire city of his enemies, triggering an island-wide civil war that raged until the end of the old universe.” Again, more booing and hissing, this time directed at Reidak. Kafor had never known Reidak personally, although from what she knew of him, his demolishing a city was not at all unexpected. Masqouth raised his hands again and the booing and hissing ceased. Then he continued, saying, “After that, the most significant event in Skakdi history was when six Skakdi, ex-Dark Hunters who branded themselves Piraka, went to the island of Voya Nui in search of the fabled Mask of Life, which they believed would give them the power to help their people rise from the never-ending war that had engulfed Zakaz. “Yet they were opposed, first by the Toa Nuva, whom they defeated, and later by the Toa Inika, whom they failed to defeat. Despite the Pirakas’ noble intentions, Mata Nui sided with the Toa, as he always does, and the Piraka died, thus seemingly banishing all Skakdi to an eternity of warfare and strife.” This time, there were no boos and hisses, but Kafor could easily tell that the Skakdi were riled up. The mere mention of the Toa Inika was enough to enrage them. That the Skakdi were not howling in rage told her just how angry they were. “And afterward, life seemed to get even worse for the Skakdi,” said Masqouth. “Makuta Teridax took over the old universe and forced the Skakdi people to be his slaves. He ordered them to commit evil acts against the other inhabitants of the universe, such as attacking the city of Metru Nui and slaughtering anyone who dared stand against Teridax’s vile will. Not only that, but he forced them to be members of the army he sent to conquer Bara Magna. Truly, that was the Skakdi people’s darkest hour. “But, seemingly out of nowhere, hope came in the form of a golden-skinned being, who history now calls the Dream Maker. The Dream Maker used his fantastic powers to lead the Skakdi people out of the ruins of the old universe and to a new home on the shores of Aqua Magna. He even tamed the Toa Mahri, previously known as the Toa Inika, thus assuring the Skakdi that he could conquer any foe, no matter how powerful or legendary. Because of his benevolence, today the Dream Maker appears in Skakdi legend as the heroic counterpart to the vile Irnakk. Truly, he was a hero of heroes.” At the mention of the Dream Maker, the crowd whooped and went wild. Even Kafor cracked a small smile at the mention of the Dream Maker, a being whom she had never met personally but had heard much about. “Where do I begin describing the Dream Maker’s awe-inspiring powers, might, and wisdom?” said Masqouth, putting one hand on his chest. “Yet this hero, in spite of his strength and wisdom, was slain a few years later by the malicious Great Being known as Velika. Without the Dream Maker to guide them, the Skakdi became disorganized and so were easily subdued by the New Atero Republic that had sprung up in the death of Teridax, a republic that still rules the Skakdi to this very day.” At that, some of the Skakdi started shouting obscenities and curses; others, merely yelling incoherently, although their meaning was well understood. For once, Kafor found herself wishing she was back among her people in order to join them in cursing the Republic. “The hypocrisies of New Atero are many,” said Masqouth, spreading his arms. “Though it calls itself a republic of equality and peace, not every species is allowed to make decisions in the governing of this corrupt sword. Where are the Skakdi ambassadors? Why are the Skrall also denied any representation? If this were truly a democratic state, why are the Skakdi and Skrall alike denied the rights supposedly granted to all living beings by the Great Beings? Who orchestrated this injustice, which has existed since the very beginning of the New Atero’s domination of Spherus Magna?” Behind Masqouth, a giant screen suddenly flickered on. A gigantic image of the Mask of Life stood behind Masqouth. It was the symbol found on the New Atero flag, but Kafor knew Masqouth had a deeper point to make here other than pointing out the obvious. “The Great Spirit Mata Nui,” said Masqouth, gesturing at the image behind him. “It was he who led the Gadarians and Agori to crush the Skrall, a people that had done nothing wrong except wishing to survive. It was he who, after slaying Teridax, gave the Toa and Gadarians and others permission to subdue those who had served Teridax, a euphemism for the Skrall and Skakdi. His apathy or perhaps misanthropy toward the Skakdi can be seen in that he did not bother to undue the injustices the Brotherhood of Makuta had performed on the Skakdi, even though Mata Nui had spent his whole life fighting the Brotherhood’s leader. And then he disappeared without a trace, allowing others to fix the mistakes he’d made instead of doing it himself!” Now the crowd was really riled up. One Skakdi even shouted, “To Karzahni with Mata Nui!” while another shouted, “Down with New Atero! Down with New Atero!” Kafor expected the crowd to break out into a riot at any moment, which would give the Nuva Guards an excuse to move in and start arresting people. “Yes!” said Masqouth, raising his hands high, as if trying to touch the sky. “Do not praise such a tyrant, such a coward, who has never helped the Skakdi. In his eyes, you are nothing . . . and in the eyes of his followers, you are even less than that. “But I say to you, people of Zisar -- no, people of the world -- that though we are slain, we will not stand for this. The poet Zarsk once said that, though the Skakdi may be beaten down by destiny time and again, a force that is beyond destiny awaits us. A new century for the Skakdi, Zarsk said, would dawn, which would overthrow the chains of destiny and lead the Skakdi people to a newer, better, and much brighter future! And, my friends, I dare say that this new century is upon us!” The crowd was in something like a frenzy now, although the cameras were focused squarely on Masqouth. That didn’t stop the crowd from chanting “The new century! The new century! The new century” over and over again, chanting it with such passion that even Kafor, cynical as she was, started to feel a little hopeful. “It is wonderful to see such strength and bravery in the face of adversity,” said Masqouth, putting both hands over his heart. “It warms my heart to see that the Skakdi people still hope for a better future, for them and their descendents. Truly, the new century burns in us all, demanding to become a reality rather than remain a prophecy. To the new century!” “To the new century!” the crowd roared. The crowd cheered and chanted for several more minutes before Masqouth -- who had watched them with the loving gaze of a parent -- clapped his hands, creating a loud noise that drowned out even the crowd’s chanting. When it passed, everything was silent, for the Skakdi were eager to listen to Masqouth’s words. “Now,” said Masqouth, again spreading his hands, “bring to me your sick and your wounded. Allow me to heal them with my gentle touch so they may enter the new century whole and healthy. I am but the humble servant of the weak and the downtrodden. Remember to come one at a time so I may give a word of hope to each sick person who needs it.” Surprisingly, the crowd, despite their uncontrollable excitement, began organizing themselves into lines that went from the stadium entrance to the stage where Masqouth stood. The first Skakdi up was a blue one who walked with a bad limp; in fact, had it not been for her friends, the Skakdi might never have gotten up there at all. Masqouth placed his hands on her shoulders and, one bright flash of light later, the blue Skakdi walked away good as new. The sight of the healed limper made the crowd buzz with excitement, but they kept their spots in the line and slowly began making their way up to the stage. Then the telescreen changed, showing two Agori newscasters discussing Masqouth’s speech. Kafor lost interest in their discussion and looked at the bartender, a Roffican named Barc. His eyes were still focused on the telescreen hanging in the corner, absentmindedly wiping his hands with a dirty rag. “That Masqouth guy sure does know how to get an audience all riled up,” said Barc. “What do you think, Kafor?” Kafor shook her head. “I don’t know. He speaks good words, but there’ve been other guys like him before, promising the Skakdi hope and change. They usually get crushed by New Atero and then everyone goes back to their normal lives before some other moron starts the cycle again.” “I dunno,” said Barc, looking down at her. “He really seems like something special. Came out of nowhere, can heal people, talks about the new century for the Skakdi and all that . . . maybe he’s gonna be different.” “Doesn’t matter to me one way or the other,” said Kafor as she sipped from her drink. “Even if he somehow succeeds in liberating the Skakdi, that’s not going to help me one bit, not unless the Shadowed One magically decides to forgive me, anyway.” “True,” said Barc with a shrug. “Aren’t you happy for your people, though? I mean, he kind of reminds me of the great Roffican philosopher, Tinak. You know, the guy who won better working conditions for Rofficans a couple hundred years back? That’s who Masqouth reminds me of.” Kafor glanced at the telescreen again. The voices of the two Agori newscasters could still be heard off-screen, but the cameras were on Masqouth again, filming him from a couple of different angles as he repeated his hands-on miracles. “He looks familiar to me for some reason,” said Kafor, running one finger around the rim of her cup. “I thought that when I first saw him on the telescreen when he spoke to the Skrall and I still think that right now.” “Maybe he just reminds you of someone you knew,” said Barc. “Have you ever known a miracle-worker wearing white robes before?” Kafor chuckled. “No, I haven’t. Then again . . . I may have seen him in a vision.” “A vision?” said Barc, scratching his chin. “A recent one?” Kafor frowned. “No, not a recent one. It was a long, long time ago, before everyone left the old universe. I think I remember seeing him in it.” “What was he doing in the vision?” said Barc as he slapped the dirty rag onto the counter. “Talking about the new century?” Kafor shook her head. “No. Actually . . . I was fighting him. Me and someone else, but I’m not sure why we were doing it or who my partner in the battle was.” Barc scratched the back of his head and threw a quick glance at the telescreen, which still showed Masqouth. “Fighting him? Uh, your dreams are supposed to be symbolic, right?” “Sometimes they are,” said Kafor, propping her chin in both hands. “Other times, they’re not. Take my vision of the Great Cataclysm, for instance. I had a vision of a giant earthquake shaking the old universe, and that is exactly what happened.” “But why would you fight Masqouth?” said Barc. “He doesn’t seem like a bad guy to me. A little idealistic, maybe naïve, sure, but bad? Can’t see it.” “Frankly, I’m not sure, either,” said Kafor. “My visions are never clear. All I can do is wait until the day it happens, whenever that will be.” “’Time marches on and it’s all we can do to keep up with it,’” Barc quoted. “Right?” Kafor looked at him in disbelief. “I didn’t know you read Zarsk. In fact, I didn’t know you read at all.” “I try to get a little in here and there,” said Barc, shrugging his wide shoulders. “Have had a lot of free time recently, since things have been so quiet around here.” “I see,” said Kafor. “Well, I-“ Her words were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing. Glancing over her shoulder, Kafor saw a hooded Skrall enter. He walked straight up to the counter and sat on one of the stools, placing one hand on the counter, while the other was on the hilt of his sword. Barc -- who hadn’t had a single customer all day, save for Kafor -- eagerly drew himself up in front of the Skrall and said, “What can I get you?” The Skrall didn’t make eye contact with Barc, keeping his eyes focused on the wooden counter that he sat at. He merely said, “Strong arang juice and a bowl of Thornax stew.” “Arang juice and Thornax stew,” repeated Barc. “Got it.” “Just hurry up,” said the Skrall. “I have places to be. Important places.” “Of course, of course,” said Barc. “Be a minute.” Barc went into the kitchen area behind the bar, leaving Kafor alone with the Skrall, who didn’t even seem to notice Kafor’s presence. He had unsheathed a dagger and was lightly running the tip back and forth across the counter. Kafor didn’t tell him to stop; after all, Barc’s counter had seen much worse in its time, including the memorable occasion when a particularly angry Vortixx mercenary stabbed his sword into it in an attempt to skewer Barc’s hand. A little knife wouldn’t hurt it. Returning her attention to the telescreen, Kafor saw that the news was replaying footage from Masqouth’s speech in New Roxtus. The newscasters were comparing Masqouth’s speech in Zisar with his speech in New Roxtus, noting similarities and differences between the two speeches. “He’s a fraud,” said the Skrall behind her. “Don’t even see why people bother with him.” Kafor looked back at the hooded Skrall, who was also watching the telescreen. His hood obscured his expression, but his balled fists told Kafor the whole story. “You aren’t Masqouth’s biggest fan, I take it?” said Kafor. “No,” said the Skrall, shaking his head. “He will just go down the same road as the last revolutionary leaders. I don’t see why my people are getting their hopes up.” “I agree,” said Kafor. “One of these days, he’s going to end up dead and New Atero is going to pretend it was an accident. Rather silly how one being can get everyone so hyped up for nothing, isn’t it?” The Skrall nodded curtly, but said nothing in reply. He just returned his attention to the dagger, which he was still running across the counter. As Kafor was getting bored sitting there in silence, she looked at the Skrall’s sheathed sword and said, “That’s strange. I thought it was illegal for citizens to carry weapons in New Atero.” “I’m not from around here,” said the Skrall, still without looking at her. “Even if I was, screw New Atero. They’re not worth listening to.” “I guess you’re afraid of being jumped by Matoran or something?” said Kafor. “I admit, they can be rather vicious little beasts when they want to, but it’s really the Toa-“ “I know who I have to look out for, Skakdi,” said the Skrall. “I’ve been doing this a long time. Don’t treat me like an imbecile, unless you’re willing to back that up with a fight.” “Hey,” said Kafor, annoyed. “I was just jok-“ Again, Kafor was interrupted by the door opening and closing. Wondering who it was now, Kafor looked over her shoulder and saw a Toa of Air had entered. Kafor’s eyes widened because she recognized the Toa and had also not been prepared for the Toa’s beauty. It was Toa Litho, the most famous non-Dark Hunter bounty hunter in the world. There was no mistaking that emerald and silver armor, nor the air-blaster gun she carried in her holster. Having seen Litho's picture all over the news recently, Kafor had no trouble recognizing her at all. The Skrall had also looked to see who it was, but had just as quickly looked back at the counter. He ran his knife up and down the counter-top even faster now, although why, Kafor didn’t know. Something about Litho seemed to make the Skrall nervous. Maybe he had a large bounty, although that seemed unlikely, for Kafor could think of only one Skrall with that kind of bounty on his head and he would have to be a complete moron to be anywhere near this bar. The Toa of Air took a seat at the counter in between Kafor and the Skrall. She didn’t look at either of them. Instead, she waited until Barc emerged from the kitchen carrying a bowl of Thornax stew, which smelled horrible to Kafor. She wondered how the Skrall could eat such filth. For that matter, she wondered why it was one of Barc’s specialties. As soon as the Skrall got his meal, he began eating it quickly and noisily, like he had no table manners whatsoever. Kafor was glad she wasn’t sitting next to him otherwise she would have been covered in stew, although Litho didn’t seem to notice the bits and pieces of stew that were occasionally flung onto her armor. Then Barc noticed Litho and said, “My, my. Looks like we’ve got a little celebrity here today. What may I do you for?” “Oh, nothing, really,” said Litho. “I came by to see if there were any criminals in here who needed to be brought to justice. That’s all.” “Well,” said Barc, folding his arms, “you’re out of luck. There ain’t no bounties worth getting around here. My humble little bar isn’t big enough to attract that kind of folk.” Litho smiled and leaned forward on the counter. “Then who is this guy?” She gestured at the Skrall with her head, causing the Skrall -- who had by now eaten half of his stew – to freeze, holding his empty spoon in midair, as though he’d been caught in some kind of crime. “This guy?” said Barc, glancing at the Skrall. “He’s just a Skrall. Why should I know him?” “Just a Skrall, hmm?” said Litho. “I wonder why he’s wearing a hood, then.” Before Kafor could ask where Litho was going with this, the Skrall threw the half-empty bowl of stew into her face. The surprise attack sent Litho falling backwards into Kafor, sending Toa and Skakdi falling to the floor in a tangle of confused limbs. Kafor just managed to see the Skrall jump from his seat and race to the door, while Barc looked on, completely dumbfounded. “Get off of me,” Litho snapped, pushing Kafor off her. “I’ve got to catch that Skrall.” Litho rose to her feet and stared at the door, which the Skrall had by now almost reached. Her mask flared briefly and a thick stone wall appeared in front of the door, causing the Skrall to skid to a halt just a few feet from the now-blocked exit. “How’d you do that?” said Kafor, looking up at Litho in surprise. Litho gestured at her mask without looking at Kafor. “Mask of Stone. It’s amazing, I know.” Kafor rolled her eyes, which Litho didn’t appear to notice. She aimed her air-blaster at the Skrall, who had now turned around to face the bounty hunter. He unsheathed his sword and brought out his buzz-saw shield as he took a battle stance. “Now, now, Night,” said Litho in a mocking voice. “Be a nice boy and let me take you to justice.” “No,” said the Skrall through gritted teeth. “I don’t play nice and I don’t let airhead bounty hunters arrest me.” Kafor blinked. “Night? I’ve heard that name before. But where . . .” “I’ll tell you who he is,” said Litho. “He’s one of the most infamous Dark Hunters around. He’s committed enough crimes to earn a ten thousand widget bounty on his head. So I’m going to take him down and get that bounty.” “You may try,” said Night. “But I doubt you’ll succeed.” Litho laughed. “I’ve never failed to bring in a bounty before. What makes you think that you are going to be the exception?” “Because I’m not like previous bounties, Litho,” said Night as he dashed at her. “Because I don’t grant mercy to my enemies.” Review Topic
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Yesterday I posted the Toa Chimoy short story I have mentioned before. Read it here. Enjoy . (Yes, I am aware that this blog entry is about a day late, but that's because I was tired by the time I was done posting it, so I didn't feel like making a blog entry about it the same day I posted it.) -TNTOS-
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Hello, short story readers! Today I am posting a short story I have been working on for some time now, since the middle of October, I believe. Whilst I did put it aside to work on my NaNoWriMo novel in November, I've spent the last ten days fixing it up for the public. I tried to make it as good as I could, so I hope y'all enjoy it .For some background, the setting and most of the characters in this SS originally appeared in my old epic trilogy, the Shika Trilogy. This story takes place shortly after the events of the Shika Trilogy, although the bulk of it is basically a flashback to before the Shika Trilogy. I tried to write this story in a way that people who haven't read the Shika Trilogy could understand it, but if you wish to read the entire trilogy, please click the link to my library in my sig.Now enough of that. It's time to move onto the SS itself:What I Should Have SaidToa Chimoy, Toa of Iron, awoke abruptly. He lay in bed, his heart racing before he realized that it had simply been a dream. There was no dark Toa standing above his friend, ready to deal the killing blow; no screams of terror as the sword was driven through his friend's stomach, tearing through his guts; and there was no blood, either, although Chimoy noticed that his body was drenched in sweat.Sitting up in bed, Chimoy threw the blankets off his body and put his face in his hands. It seemed like no matter what he did, the nightmare kept recurring over and over again. This was not a mere nightmare, however. Rather, it was a memory of the past, a memory that had lodged itself so firmly in Chimoy's brain that there was nothing he could do to dislodge it, even though he wanted to very much.He considered telling the others about this nightmare. Oggak in particular would probably be able to help him stop dreaming about it, due to her Mask of Dreams. In fact, several times Chimoy had considered going to her and asking her for help in easing his minds troubles.But he resisted that idea. Chimoy did not want to tell anyone else about this nightmare. Pride had nothing to do with it, for Chimoy recognized the value of teamwork and knew that by himself he didn't always have the power or strength to deal with every problem he encountered. That, he could accept.What he could not accept was the others knowing his secret. He considered it far too personal to simply reveal it to his friends. He couldn't even tell Akuna, who was probably his closest friend, or Turaga Joha, who Chimoy was sure would not laugh at him or treat him disrespectfully for his feelings.This is something I need to come to terms with myself, Chimoy thought. It has nothing to do with anyone but me . . . me and him.The very thought of him sent feelings of longing mixed with sadness through Chimoy's body. It also triggered the very memory Chimoy had been trying so hard to repress, but now he decided to simply let it free. He had never been able to repress even his least favorite memories before and, as he had had no luck in repressing this particular memory so far, he decided not to bother.Chimoy remembered how, a few weeks ago, he and the other Toa Shika had entered a dark realm underneath their home island, called Wyoko, a realm filled to the brim with evil beings that had been banished there long ago. He remembered how he and his team had, after a series of harrowing adventures, managed to escape Wyoko and lock its Door with a Toa seal, thus preventing the villains in that realm from ever escaping.Yet the Toa Shika had not escaped without loss. Toa Nonzra, Toa of Sonics and Chimoy's dearest friend, had been killed by one of the evil Toa that had been the rulers of Wyoko. Though he'd lived long enough to help the other Toa Shika lock the Door, Nonzra had died shortly thereafter due to his fatal wounds.Chimoy knew that that was the memory replaying in his dreams every night. He was watching Nonzra's death, watching as the evil Toa Teivel stabbed his friend, watching as Nonzra died just outside the Door. He saw Toa Addis, the late leader of the Toa Shika, take Nonzra's Kanohi off the corpse, for at the time it was the only thing they could take with them back home.Of course, now Nonzra's body had been given a proper burial, but Chimoy remembered his feelings at the time. The idea that they'd just have to leave Nonzra's corpse at the mercy of the Dark Hunters had agonized the Toa of Iron, adding to the pain he had already experienced at Nonzra's death. Things had looked better when theyd learned that the Dark Hunters had been eliminated, but they'd had to deal with another threat shortly thereafter, meaning Chimoy hadn't been given time to mourn Nonzra's death as soon as he would have liked.Yet a lack of mourning of Nonzra's death wasn't the problem. When the new threat, the Tuikas, had been defeated, Chimoy and Akuna had both mourned Nonzra in addition to Addis, Nastan, and Barilo, other members of the team who'd died during the struggle against the Tuikas. They'd even held a quadruple funeral for their teammates, which had eased the pain somewhat.The memory still plays, though, Chimoy thought. Why?Of course, that was a rhetorical question. Chimoy knew very well why he still experienced the memory, but he didn't want to dwell on it. He'd never gotten the courage to do it when Nonzra was alive, so he didn't quite see the point in doing it when Nonzra was dead.Chimoy lay back down in bed. He had trouble going back to sleep, however, mostly because the memory kept replaying in his head. So he decided he would remember a nicer time, a time before Nonzra's death. Remembering good times always helped Chimoy sleep, so he decided he would remember the day he first met Nonzra, which was also the day Chimoy had been invited to join the team of Matoran that would eventually become the Toa Shika.-Five-hundred years ago . . .Chimoy dunked his head in the water trough and pulled it out. He shook his head, accidentally spraying his fellow slaves with water, but they didn't mind. After a hard day of working in the proto mines, getting hot and dirty and tired, any water at all was a welcome relief.Then Chimoy scooped some water in his hands and drank it. The cool liquid felt good on his parched throat and he tried to drink as much as he could, knowing that the Dark Hunter overseer, a cruel slaver codenamed Whiplash, had given them only half an hour to eat and drink before they had to return to the mines. The last Matoran back would get whipped, something Chimoy had been told the first day he started working here, which was why he was usually one of the first out.The other Matoran were chattering away, seemingly talking about the weather, but Chimoy recognize their speech as code. They were really complaining about the Dark Hunters, using simple code phrases like 'scorching sun' and 'hope it cools down' to talk about Whiplash and her cruelty. It was the only way they could talk about their overseer's evils without the risk of being punished or killed, for the Dark Hunters did not know about their coded language.Just as Chimoy finished drinking his water, the door slammed open and a Dark Hunter entered the room. Immediately, all of the fifty or so slaves stopped eating and drinking and stood at attention as the tall, skinny Dark Hunter peered down on them all.Chimoy didn't recognize this Dark Hunter, for there were only a handful of Dark Hunters overseeing the mines and this one didn't look like any of them. The Dark Hunter's most striking feature was his face, which resembled a Mask of Strength, although it clearly wasn't."Which one of you dirty little midgets is Chimoy?" said the Dark Hunter. "Give him up quickly and I won't be forced to beat each of you little dwarves to make a point."Someone behind Chimoy immediately shoved him forward, causing Chimoy to stumble and fall to his hands and knees. He quickly got back to his feet, however, and stood at attention as the Dark Hunter focused his gaze on Chimoy."Are you Chimoy?" said the Dark Hunter.Chimoy gulped. "Yes, sir, I am.""Hold out your hands," the Dark Hunter said. "Now."Chimoy held out both hands, wondering if the Hunter was going to chop them off.Without warning, the Dark Hunter cuffed Chimoy's wrists with energy cuffs. Then the Dark Hunter attached an energy chain to it, holding the end in his hand like a leash."All right, little Matoran," said the Dark Hunter, now addressing the entire room. "Whiplash told me you've got only fifteen minutes until your break is over. So you'd better get finished quickly, 'cause the last person back is going to be spending the night in the mines."The Dark Hunter laughed as he left the room, yanking Chimoy behind him as he went. Chimoy stumbled but quickly regained his balance and started following the Dark Hunter. He wondered what he was being taken away for. Was he going to be sent to another slave community on the island? Or maybe even shipped off Shika Nui to another Dark Hunter fortress? Or maybe he was just going to be punished for no reason other than to satisfy Whiplashs bloodlust.Asking this Hunter would be useless. The Dark Hunters hated it whenever Matoran slaves asked them anything. As Chimoy didn't want to come across as impudent, he kept his mouth shut and followed as best as he could with both of his hands cuffed.The Dark Hunter led Chimoy past the storage shed, proto trucks, and slaves' quarters before Chimoy realized that the Dark Hunter was taking him to Whiplash's house. He could see the large, well-kept manor not far away, standing on a hill overseeing the mining community. Chimoy had never been inside Whiplash's house before, as only a handful of slaves acting as personal servants were ever allowed in.Am I going to work there now? Chimoy thought.That didn't seem likely. Slaves who went to work for Whiplash were washed and cleaned before they were allowed to work in her house, for Whiplash hated dirt on her possessions. As Chimoy was still covered in the grime from the mines, he could only assume he was being brought here for a different purpose.What that purpose was, Chimoy did not know. All he could tell was that he was in some kind of trouble; otherwise, why would the Dark Hunter have cuffed him?He thinks I'm going to make a break for it, Chimoy thought. But why? He hasn't even told me what I'm going to be punished for.Panic at the thought of being whipped flooded Chimoys mind, causing to him to mentally retrace his day. He could think of nothing that he'd done today that would earn him a whipping, nor could he think of any crime he might have committed even inadvertently over the past week of which the penalty was a whipping.Right now, I wish I was a Toa, Chimoy thought. Or, rather, I wish Toa Joha was here. He'd be able to save me from Whiplash.When they finally reached Whiplash's house, Chimoy was just about ready to confess to whatever crime they might charge him with even if he didn't do it. The suspense was so nerve-wracking that Chimoy almost asked the Dark Hunter to end his life now, but he held his tongue and waited for the worst.The Dark Hunter and Chimoy strode down the path connecting the house to the main road. On either side of the path were beautiful flowers of a variety of colors and designs, part of Whiplash's private garden. Chimoy knew that the punishment for picking a flower from Whiplash's garden was forty lashes and then a week spent in the mines alone.I didn't pick any flowers, Chimoy thought. I don't even like flowers that much. They can't pin someone elses flower-picking on me.When they reached the door, the Dark Hunter grabbed the bronze knocker -- which looked like a curled whip -- and knocked on the door."Whiplash, it's me, Julok!" said the Dark Hunter loudly. "I got the Matoran you asked for!"Oh, great, Chimoy thought, trembling. She specifically asked for me. That is not a good sign.The door opened, but it was not opened by Whiplash. Rather, it was by one of her servants, a Le-Matoran whom Chimoy recognized as Arvon."Let me in," said Julok, pushing Arvon aside and dragging Chimoy behind him. "I want to know where Whiplash is.""But sir!" said Arvon. "That slave is dirt-"Julok glared at Arvon, causing the Le-Matoran seemingly to shrink. "Do you think I give a dang about that? Whiplash can cry about a little dirt all she wants. Now where is she?"Arvon gulped. "Well, er, Miss Whiplash is, er, in the east wing, in the lounge."Julok growled. "I see."The tone of Julok's voice frightened Chimoy. He glanced over his shoulder to see if maybe Arvon could enlighten him about what Whiplash might want him for, but Arvon seemed to have disappeared, for he was nowhere to be seen.Upon entering the east wing, it didn't take Chimoy and Julok long to find the door to the lounge, which was an ornate wooden door that was spotless. Chimoy had never been inside the lounge before, but his curiosity about what it might be like inside was replaced with fear when he remembered that he was in trouble.Julok knocked hard on the door and a feminine voice on the other side said, "Come in," causing Julok to open the door and drag Chimoy through.Whiplash's lounge was, to say the least, amazing. It was perhaps the largest room in a house Chimoy had ever been in. Large windows on the other end of the room illuminated the spotlessly white walls, the sofas and chairs were decorated with horns, and a large statue of some tailed figure wearing a crown dominated the whole scene. A chandelier replete with lightstones hung from the ceiling. It was almost too much for Chimoy to take in at once.That was when Chimoy remembered whose house he was in. Glancing at the other end of the room, he saw Whiplash reclining on one of her sofas, a sleek whip in hand, her feet resting on the floor behind a coffee table."I see you found him," said Whiplash as she lazily rolled and unrolled her whip. "Thank you, Jul-"Whiplash's crimson eyes narrowed on Chimoy. For a moment, she seemed too shocked to speak.Then she glared at Julok and snapped, "And why didn't you clean him before bringing him inside? He's getting dirt all over the floor."Chimoy glanced down at the shiny marble floor of the living room. It didn't look dirty to him, but on the other hand, there were rumors among the slaves that Whiplash had microscopic vision, which perhaps explained her irrational hatred of dirt."You didn't say clean him before bringing him in," Julok replied. "All you told me to do was find Chimoy the Fe-Matoran, bring him here, and then let you interrogate him.""Cleaning him should go without saying," said Whiplash, pulling her feet onto the couch. "I know Icetraz just sent you down here yesterday, but I specifically remember telling you that any Matoran miners I summon to my house must be washed off thoroughly before coming inside. Are you that dull or just spiteful?""Just spiteful," Julok said. "If I had my way, I wouldn't be helping you put down Matoran rebellions. I'd be fighting Toa or stealing treasure from heavily guarded fortresses on distant islands. I might even be an assassin.""Quit your complaining," Whiplash said. Then Whiplash squinted and said, "Oh, great. You're also filthy. I forgot that bathing is a foreign concept to you guys at Icetraz's fortress.""It's not necessary," Julok said. "We Dark Hunters do our best whether clean or dirty. Luxury is just making you soft, Whiplash.""Oh, luxury, you say?" said Whiplash, cracking her whip and causing Chimoy to cringe. "I wouldn't call overseeing a bunch of dirty Matoran working in dirty mines 'luxury,' Julok. They're perpetually dirty.""Gee, I wonder why," Julok said, scratching his chin. "It can't possibly be because they work underground in the mines all day every day, can it?"Whiplash glared at Julok and then shook her head. "We're getting off topic here. I'm going to talk to this Matoran and he's going to tell me everything he knows."Here, Chimoy decided to speak up. "Er, ma'am? What do you want to know from me?"Whiplash sat up in her sofa, but still didn't allow her feet to touch the floor. "It's simple. I was recently given reliable information that an insurrection is being planned among the slaves of the mines. The informant told me that you were the leader of this rebellion, Chimoy.""That's not true," said Chimoy, shaking his head. "Ma'am, I would never, ever think of even joining a rebellion. Whoever told you that lied to you, ma'am."Julok cackled behind Chimoy, causing the Matoran to look up at him in alarm."That's a good one," said Julok with a chuckle. "Even I know how much you slaves hate Whiplash. I don't blame you. If I had to work under her all day and all night . . . oh, that'd be real torture, all right.""Julok, please do me the honor of shutting your mouth," Whiplash said, causing Chimoy to look back at her. "Or I'll shut it myself."Julok went silent, but Chimoy figured it was less because he feared Whiplash and more because he wanted to see how she would punish Chimoy."Now Chimoy," said Whiplash as she cracked her whip again. "My informant doesn't lie to me. I specifically chose him, out of all you dirty little slaves, because he is loyal to me. When he offers me proof that someone is planning a rebellion, I have no reason to disbelieve him.""Ma'am, I don't know who your informant is, but he's wrong," said Chimoy, trying to keep his voice steady. "I'm not brav- I mean, foolish enough to rebel against you."Digging into a bag sitting next to her, Whiplash said, "Oh? Then what's this?"She tossed a stone tablet at Chimoy. The Fe-Matoran awkwardly caught the tablet between cuffed hands and looked at it. Being illiterate, Chimoy didnt know what this tablet said. The only thing he recognized was his own name written at the bottom of the tablet, for that was the only word he knew how to read."I don't . . ." Chimoy said, his eyes still on the tablet. "I don't know what this says.""Don't play dumb with me," said Whiplash. "That's a detailed account of your plans to lead the other slaves in rebellion against me."Chimoy looked back up at Whiplash, who appeared smug. "I . . . I can't even write my own name, ma'am. This has to be a fake.""It's real," Whiplash said. "Unfortunately, the plans do not include the names of every slave who was going to be a part of the rebellion. So how's about you tell me your coconspirators' names? I will take an extra lash off your sentence of forty lashes for every name you drop."Chimoy bit his lower lip. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but there's no rebellion. I don't know of anyone in the mines who is even thinking of overthrowing you."Sighing, Whiplash said, "If you won't talk, Chimoy, then I will make you talk. Julok, take the slave out to the whipping post."Panicking at the mention of the whipping post, Chimoy actually tried to run, but Julok yanked the energy chain, causing Chimoy to fall flat on his back onto the hard marble floor."Julok!" said Whiplash with a gasp. "He's getting dirt all over the floor now!""Sorry," said Julok, although he didn't sound like he meant it.Without helping Chimoy up, Julok dragged the Fe-Matoran out of the room. As the Dark Hunter did so, Chimoy distinctly heard Whiplash's panicky voice calling for Arvon to get a bucket and mop to clean up the mess Chimoy had made. He also heard Whiplash calling Julok a variety of rude names, but Chimoy paid little attention to that. He was too concerned with his own fate to care about what other people were calling each other.-The whipping post was a wooden stake driven into the ground, set on a slightly elevated hill located not far from the entrance to the mines. Ordinarily, Whiplash would gather all of the slaves to watch her punish one of their own, but as Chimoy's whipping was taking place at about the same time the slaves were returning to work, that didn't seem necessary. After all, they would see Chimoy's punishment on their way to work, which meant they needn't waste any time watching the whipping that could be better spent working in the mines.Chimoy's hands were tied to the post. The whipping post was old and splintered, but it still held up strong and hadn't been replaced in years. This was to allow the splinters to be driven through the slaves' wrists during the whipping, adding to the pain of the punishment.Chimoy was set facing the entrance to the mines. A few slaves were walking by, but they didn't slow down to watch. Instead, they sped up and entered the mines. They obviously did not want to see what was about to happen to Chimoy.Having never been whipped before, Chimoy wasn't sure how it would feel. He had seen the scars that other slaves bore on their backs from past whippings, but most of them didn't like talking about the time they were whipped, nor did Chimoy ever ask. It just seemed like an experience too horrible to repeat.Five minutes later, Whiplash appeared. She was riding a Kikanalo, her steed, which, like her house, was always kept in pristine condition. Arvon was with her, but he was walking behind the Kikanalo rather than on it, carrying what looked like a rolled up red carpet.Arvon immediately walked ahead of the Kikanalo until he reached the whipping post. Then, without talking to Chimoy, he started rolling the carpet around and around the post, once asking Chimoy to lift his feet to make room for it, until the red rug surrounded the entire area around the whipping post. Then Arvon carefully stepped off the carpet as Whiplashs Kikanalo stopped at the edge.Whiplash carefully dismounted her steed. Walking along the mat, Whiplash unrolled her whip and cracked it once, twice, three times, each time worse to Chimoy's audio receptors than the roar of an angry rock lion.By now, dozens of slaves were on their way to the mines. Some looked at Chimoy, but the vast majority, like the slaves from earlier, did not even acknowledge that a whipping was taking place. Chimoy wished they would, but understood why they didn't.Standing just outside the carpet circle was Julok. Although he himself was not going to partake of the whipping, the Dark Hunter apparently wanted to watch, as if it were part of some perverse form of entertainment designed specifically for him. It didnt help that he was grinning."Slaves!" Whiplash called out to the slaves as they passed. "Here is another demonstration of what happens to slaves who plan rebellion against their masters!"Without warning, Chimoy felt something hard and burning slam into his back. The impact of the blow was so intense that Chimoy almost fell to his knees, but he managed to keep his footing. The pain dulled quickly, but that first blow had been so exhausting that Chimoy could barely stand."This is what happens to slaves who defy us!" Whiplash said.Another blow, this time with even more force than the last one. Chimoy fell to his knees and tried to stand up, but it was now impossible, for he was in too much pain to stand."To all of you slaves," said Whiplash, "if you do not wish to see your brother slave die, then step forward and give us your rebellious names!"Blinking the tears of pain out of his eyes, Chimoy looked at the other slaves. None of them seemed likely to stand up for Chimoy, especially because there was no rebellion being planned. It was then that Chimoy realized this whipping would have to end in his death. There was no other option."No one wants to stand up for their friend?" said Whiplash in mock surprise. "How despicable. Very well, then. One more time."Whiplash cracked her whip as Chimoy closed his eyes and braced for the pain, but a voice Chimoy didn't recognize called out, "Wait! Stop whipping him!"Opening his eyes, Chimoy looked and saw a De-Matoran standing just outside the whipping post circle, holding one hand up. Chimoy didn't recognize the handsome De-Matoran; in fact, based on the De-Matoran's relatively clean armor, he looked like a newcomer."And who are you?" said Whiplash. "What's your name?"The De-Matoran stepped forward and said, "My name is Nonzra. I'm the one who planned the rebellion. Not Chimoy.""Nonzra . . ." Whiplash repeated thoughtfully. "I don't seem to remember having a Nonzra working in the mines.""That's because I'm new here," said Nonzra. "They sent me from Ironos to work in the mines because I'm so easy to get along with."Nonzra's sarcasm apparently didn't go unnoticed by Whiplash, who said harshly, "Do you have your letter of transfer from the governor of Ironos, then?""Yes, ma'am," said Nonzra, drawing a stone tablet out of his bag. "Right here. Signed by Governor Ferkis himself.""Check it out," Whiplash said to Julok.Julok went over, took the letter from Nonzra, and glanced at it before saying, "The newcomer's right. This is Ferkis's signature."Most of the slaves had stopped now to watch the proceedings. Many of them looked just as confused as Chimoy felt."Very well," said Whiplash. "If you, Nonzra, are the true originator of this plan, then why is Chimoy's name on the plans?""I put it there upon his request, of course," said Nonzra, rolling his eyes. "You should know, ma'am, that most slaves can't read or write. He told me he consented to the plans and wanted me to write his name so we'd remember. That turned out to be a real smart move, as you can clearly tell."Whiplash glanced down at Chimoy and asked, "Is this true?"It wasn't, but Chimoy nodded fervently anyway. He was in too much pain from the whippings to speak."Hey," said Julok, looking at Nonzra suspiciously. "If you're new, how'd you get Chimoy to agree to a rebellion before you even got here?"Nonzra smiled sardonically and said, "Gee, I really wish I could tell you, sir, but frankly that's a matter best kept between me and Chimoy."Julok raised his fist and said, "You little piece of filth. I'm going to bash your mask into your face and-""I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Nonzra, still smiling. "Did you read the entire letter of transfer? Governor Ferkis quite clearly states what happens to anyone who decides to punish his slave unduly."Grumbling the foulest curses, Julok glanced down at the letter again. His eyes widened, and when he looked back at Nonzra, his teeth were clenched."So obviously," said Nonzra, folding his arms behind his back, "you don't want to bash my mask into my face. I mean, it would probably be very interesting if you did, of course, but you'd then have to explain to Governor Ferkis why you did it.""You've got too much spirit, slave," said Julok. "I see why Ferkis sent you here.""Yes, I've been told as much," said Nonzra cheerfully. "So, now that we have that out of the way, when do I begin work?"Whiplash nodded at Julok, who immediately cuffed Nonzra."You're not working anywhere, Nonzra," said Whiplash as she curled her whip. "Now that we know who the real mastermind behind the rebellion is, were going to take you and Chimoy and lock you both up until tomorrow.""If I may ask, Miss Whip, what are you going to do to me and Chimoy tomorrow?" Nonzra asked, seemingly undisturbed by the energy cuffs locked around his wrists."It's Whiplash, slave," Whiplash said. "And tomorrow, you will meet the fate that all rebels eventually meet, which is death."Whiplash then tossed her curled whip toward Arvon, who hastily caught it as she said, "Clean my whip, Arvon, and make sure you get every speck of blood off it."Blood? Chimoy thought. He hadn't felt her draw any blood, but now that he thought about it, his back still burned in pain as something hot and liquid ran down it."Julok, take Chimoy and Nonzra to the Box," said Whiplash as she walked back to her Kikanalo. "I will be taking a long, warm bath in my house. Anyone who disturbs me unless it is an emergency shall be executed without hesitation."Whiplash climbed back onto her Kikanalo, which immediately started walking back to the house on the hill. Chimoy watched her go, feeling grateful that he hadn't had to be whipped more than three times.Then Julok untied Chimoy's wrists from the whipping post and took him and Nonzra away. As they walked, Chimoy glanced at Nonzra, who smiled at him briefly before his expression returned to blankness. All Chimoy knew was that he was thankful for Nonzra, although he didn't know why Nonzra had saved him, for he had never known the De-Matoran or even known about him until today.-Chimoy and Nonzra were placed inside 'the Box,' a small, square wooden building that had only one window, which was blocked by several iron bars. It was located just outside the community, right in the view of a nearby guard tower, which would make escape very difficult if the guard was watching it.This was the first time Chimoy had ever been inside the Box, but he had heard plenty about it from the other slaves. Disobedient or rebellious slaves were usually placed inside the Box for long periods of time, anywhere from four weeks to two months. They were allowed no visitors and were not allowed to leave the Box until their time was up. This enforced solitude was usually enough to break a rebels spirit, so the Box was always spoken of with dread by the rest of the slaves.The Box itself was a cramped building. The walls, stained with what Chimoy hoped wasn't blood, were rotted, but sturdy enough to make knocking them down or making a hole through them impossible. The floor had no paneling to cover up its dirt foundation and there were no lightstones to provide illumination. It stank of dampness and death, which Chimoy had expected, knowing the Boxs reputation.Yet somehow this place, despite its grim, dark appearance, seemed better to him than Whiplash's house. Perhaps it was because the mysterious Nonzra was with him or maybe it was because there wasn't an obsessively hygienic Dark Hunter living inside it.Before Julok left, he demanded to know if Chimoy or Nonzra had any hidden tools on them which they might use to escape. Chimoy truthfully answered with no, while Nonzra also said no, although Julok didn't believe him, so he dragged Nonzra to the side and searched the De-Matoran until he discovered that Nonzra had a lock-pick on him."Planning to use this to escape, eh?" said Julok as he pocketed the lock-pick. "Yeah, nice try."Then Julok put them both inside the Box and locked it. A second later, they heard him walking away until the sounds of Julok's footsteps were no longer within earshot.When Julok was gone, Chimoy sat down on the dirt floor and felt his back. Something sticky met his fingers. When he lifted his hand up in front of his face, he saw blood on the tips of his fingers.The pain in his back caused Chimoy to double over and groan. He wondered if he would even survive until the morning, for the pain was harsh and the bleeding felt like a river flowing down his back.Nonzra knelt down next to him and said, "Hey, I think I can help you.""How?" Chimoy groaned. "Are you a doctor?""No," said Nonzra, shaking his head. "But I do have some bandages on me that might stem the flow."Nonzra left briefly, and then returned with some bandages in hand. He quickly wrapped them around Chimoy's torso and back, effectively stemming the flow of blood. Chimoy's back still hurt, but at least it was no longer bleeding."Thanks," said Chimoy. "But where did you get the bandages from? I thought Julok took all of your things.""I convinced him that I couldn't escape with bandages," Nonzra replied. "I noticed he's a very reasonable guy."Chimoy chuckled at that, but then asked, "So who are you? Are you really a slave from Ironos?""Of course not," said Nonzra as he stood up and walked over to the door. "Well, I used to be a slave, obviously, but I'm not anymore. In fact, I haven't been a slave for several years now. Freedom's great, if a bit dangerous.""Youre free?" Chimoy asked curiously. "I didn't know it was possible for a slave to be free on Shika Nui.""It isn't," Nonzra replied as he felt along the door. "I escaped and have been on the run ever since.""By yourself?" said Chimoy incredulously. "But the entire island is controlled by the Dark Hunters. How have you managed to avoid being recaptured all this time?""Not by myself, no," said Nonzra, shaking his head. "I'm with a group of freed slaves. We don't really have a name for our group, but we are thieves who generally steal from the Dark Hunters to meet our needs, and then some.""Wait," said Chimoy, scratching the top of his head. "I think I've heard about some Matoran thieves that live in the forest. Always thought they were just rumors, though.""We're real," Nonzra said. Then he glanced over his shoulder at Chimoy and smiled. "Or do you think I'm a ghost?"Chimoy laughed at that, but then said seriously, "Well, what are you doing here? Why'd you lie to save me like that?"Nonzra stopped jiggling the doorknob, but didn't turn around to face Chimoy. "Well, I was supposed to steal something from Whiplash's house. But I couldn't handle seeing an obviously innocent Matoran being beaten to death in public, so I decided to save you.""Why were you carrying a letter of transfer if you're not a slave anymore?" Chimoy asked. "And how'd you know I was innocent?""In case I was spotted," Nonzra replied. "I forged Ferkis's handwriting and made a fake letter of transfer so that, if I ever found myself in a situation like this, I'd have something to show the Dark Hunters. As to how I knew you were innocent . . . well, I asked a couple of other slaves that were watching the whipping and they confirmed it.""Thank you," said Chimoy. "But . . . we're going to be executed tomorrow. Didn't that occur to you?""It did," said Nonzra, turning around with a smile. "But we'll escape at midnight, so Whiplash won't have to get her whip dirty again.""How? Didn't Julok take your lock-pick from you?"'Chimoy, I technically don't need a lock-pick," said Nonzra, shaking his head. "It's a nice little toy, but honestly, I've been doing this thief thing long enough to know all the tricks of the trade. I've already figured a way out, but as the sun is still up, I'm not going to do it yet. We'll be spotted too easily if we try to escape now.""So we just wait until night, then?""Pretty much."Nonzra sat down beside the door and his head immediately dropped to his chest. Within seconds the De-Matoran was fast asleep, snoring softly as he did so.Chimoy looked at Nonzra interestedly. He's so brave to step in and save me like that. Not to mention he's rather handsome, too.The Fe-Matoran shook his head. What am I thinking? Nonzra is probably not interested in me. He's probably resting so he'll have energy for tonight. I ought to do the same.Chimoy sat against the opposite wall, but still stared at Nonzra despite himself. It was impossible not to, for Nonzra had such an athletic frame for being so short, and seemed so strong too. Were the situation a little different, Chimoy might have thought about sitting next to Nonzra, but as it was he chose to sit on the other side of the room. Maybe later he would try to learn more about his new friend.-Chimoy awoke abruptly as someone shook him. Blinking and yawning, Chimoy looked up and saw Nonzra standing above him. This caused Chimoy to start slightly, though more out of embarrassment than fear."Good, you're awake," said Nonzra. "I reckon it's about midnight. We can probably escape without anybody noticing."Chimoy nodded, but then realized something. "There's a guard tower nearby. It might notice us.""Unlikely," said Nonzra. "They'd have to focus a search light on the Box to see it. As long as we do it quietly and carefully, we should be able to escape without being seen or heard."Chimoy shrugged, stood up, and followed Nonzra to the door, which wasn't hard to find in the darkness.Whatever techniques Nonzra used to open the door, it was impossible to tell due to the shadows. Within seconds, however, the lock clicked and Nonzra murmured, "Yes!""Okay, Chimoy," said Nonzra, turning to face him. "We can't just go barging out. We're going to need to leave as quietly and inconspicuously as possible. I'll go first and you follow."Chimoy nodded again as Nonzra slowly creaked open the door. Then Nonzra slipped through and, after waiting a second, Chimoy followed, closing the door quietly behind him as he did so.The night was indeed dark, almost pitch black save for the stars in the night sky and the lights from the huts around the mine. The guard tower light was also on, but it was not aimed toward the Box. Instead, it was fixed on the road leading out of the mine and into the forest, which Chimoy thought might make it harder to escape."Okay," said Nonzra quietly. "Where is Whiplash's house?"Chimoy looked at Nonzra in confusion. "Why do you want to know where her house is?""Because I'm supposed to steal something from it," Nonzra replied, as if it were obvious. "Didn't I already tell you that?""Now hold on a sec," said Chimoy as he glanced in the direction of Whiplash's house. "You didn't say anything about breaking into Whiplash's house. All you said was that we would escape from the Box. That's it.""And we will escape once I steal what I want from Whiplash," Nonzra said. "So sorry I forgot to mention that to you.""Well, I suppose you can do what you want, but I'm leaving," said Chimoy, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "You can get captured, but don't expect me to stick around and get captured, too.""Might want to rethink that," said Nonzra."Why?" said Chimoy. "You saved my life, yes, but that doesn't mean I'm going to risk it again like this.""Yeah, you really might want to rethink that," said Nonzra with a chuckle. "Think about it. You won't be able to survive on your own in the wilderness, what with prowling Rahi looking for an easy meal, Dark Hunters searching for escapees, no easy source of food or water, and very little light to guide your way. Even if you survive, it won't be long before the Dark Hunters here realize you've escaped and send someone after you."As much as Chimoy wanted to tell Nonzra that he was wrong, the Fe-Matoran knew his friend spoke the truth. "Well, then are you suggesting I come with you?""Ordinarily, I wouldn't bring along an unskilled civilian like you," said Nonzra. "But seeing as these are rather unusual circumstances, yes, I am suggesting you come with me. We escape together or are captured together. That's how I see it."Chimoy bit his lower lip. "All right. We'll go to Whiplash's house together. I'll lead, seeing as I know where it is and you don't.""That's the spirit," said Nonzra with a low chuckle.The two Matoran slowly made their way through the darkness. Every now and then they'd stop and listen for any sounds of patrolling guards, for Chimoy dreaded running into Julok, who no doubt was looking for an excuse to kill both of them, especially Nonzra. They did not hear anything, which told Chimoy that the guards were either asleep themselves or had confined their patrol routes to inside the communitys perimeter.Every now and then Chimoy would hit something solid with his foot, but thankfully it always turned out to be a rock. It startled him several times, though, because he feared it was perhaps the foot of a guard or even some kind of dangerous Rahi, like a night eater.Finally, the two Matoran reached the top of the hill where Whiplash's house was. They briefly debated whether to go in through the front door or not, but, although it appeared unguarded, they decided against it. It might draw unwanted attention to their efforts if they came in through the front. Chimoy remembered hearing about a back door for Whiplash's servants, so Chimoy led Nonzra around the back of the house. The back was dark and at first they couldn't find the back door, but eventually, by feeling along the wall, they found it. It was locked, but Nonzra did the same thing he did back in the Box and soon the door was unlocked.After first looking around to make sure no one was watching, Chimoy and Nonzra slipped through the small, Matoran-sized entrance and closed the door behind them. Nonzra didn't lock it; probably intended to use it as a getaway, just in case things didn't work out.The passage they'd ended up in was small and narrow, although the two Matoran were able to stand up in it without any trouble. As neither Matoran was familiar with the house, the two walked side by side, keeping their eyes and audio receptors open for any signs of trouble. The passage was too dark to see clearly in, so they mostly relied on their audio receptors and sense of touch to find their way around.Thankfully, they didn't run into any of the servants and soon found another door at the end of the passage. This one, oddly enough, wasn't locked, which worried Chimoy until Nonzra suggested that the servants may have simply forgotten to lock it for the night.Whatever the case, the unlocked door worked to their advantage. They went through it and found themselves standing in the entrance hall. At least, Chimoy assumed that was where they were, for it was too dark to clearly tell what room they were in. They were standing underneath a staircase that wound up to the next floor."What are you trying to steal, anyway?" Chimoy whispered to Nonzra."It's called the Jar of Light," said Nonzra, his voice as low as Chimoy's. "Supposedly, it's an ancient artifact from the Tren Krom Peninsula, said to have been built by the Nynrah ghosts. Heard some rumors that the Dark Hunters got their hands on it and gave it to Whiplash for safekeeping. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"Chimoy thought about that for a moment. "No. Why do you want the Jar of Light?""Because it's valuable," Nonzra replied. "Besides, we don't want the Dark Hunters having any more weapons than they already have. Our group isn't much, but we sting like a Nui Rama and vanish like a ghost. That's what Addis, our leader, always says.""I see," said Chimoy. "Well, I don't know where Whiplash might keep the Jar of Light, if she has it, because I've only been in this house once. We'll have to search the whole place for it.""Not necessarily," said Nonzra, shaking his head. "All we need to do is find Whiplash's safe. It's a common practice among Dark Hunter slaveholders to hide their most valuable objects in safes, mostly because they distrust their slaves.""Well, we don't know where that is, either, now do we?" said Chimoy impatiently. "We might still have to search the whole house for the safe.""Again, not necessarily," said Nonzra. Depending on Whiplash's creativity we might have to, but if she's anything like most slaveholders, she probably has her safe in the living. Don't know why they put it there, exactly, but based on past thefts the safe has always been in the living room. So let's check that room first.""What do we do if we run into any servants?" Chimoy asked, although he was mostly thinking of Julok."I know a thing or two about fighting," Nonzra said as he and Chimoy walked down the hall. "We'll be fine."I hope so, Chimoy thought as he followed Nonzra.Finding the living room was the easy part. It was just down the hallway to their left, although due to the darkness it had been difficult for Nonzra to read the label on the door that identified the room as the living room. Chimoy squinted in the darkness as they entered the chamber, but couldn't see a thing. He closed the door to the living room on their way in so they wouldn't accidentally be interrupted by anyone.Of course, that just made the room darker. Chimoy was about to ask Nonzra how they were going to find the safe without lights when, without warning, a dozen lightstones in the ceiling turned on, illuminating the entire room and temporarily blinding the two Matoran.Chimoy blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the bright light. He rubbed his fists into his eyes while wondering, Who turned on the lights?When his vision finally adjusted, Chimoy looked around and noticed a Le-Matoran standing behind a coffee table. The Le-Matoran held only a small pistol in his right hand, though considering both Chimoy and Nonzra were unarmed it gave him a distinct advantage over the two of them in combat.It took Chimoy a moment to recognize the Le-Matoran."Arvon?" said Chimoy in surprise. "What are you doing up this late?""I knew you would try to break into here," said Arvon grimly. "I tried to warn Miss Whiplash, but she wouldn't listen. She told me you two would never escape from the Box and if you did this house would be the last place you'd come to. Looks like I was . . . I was . . ."The word he was looking for was probably 'right,' but Chimoy understood Arvons hesitation. Whiplash had made it clear that any slaves that believed themselves to be right and her wrong were bad slaves in need of a whipping. Even now, with no Dark Hunters around, the Le-Matoran seemed to have a hard time saying the word."I thought you didn't like working for Whiplash," said Chimoy. "The other slaves always told me that you were unhappy being Whiplash's personal servant. So why are you trying to defend her home against us?""The other slaves are wrong," said Arvon, who was shaking slightly. "I like serving Miss Whiplash. The other slaves just told you that because they're jealous of the fact that I dont have to sleep in the dirt every day. Just like how I'm jealous of you, Chimoy, which is why I framed you in the first place.""You what?" said Chimoy, his eyes wide. "You mean you were the one who set me up?""Of course," said Arvon, nodding. "I wanted you dead, Chimoy. I knew you didn't have the guts to openly defy Miss Whiplash, so I forged the plans under your name, which I knew would earn you an execution or a whipping, although in the end those are just two different words for the same thing.""But why did you frame me?" said Chimoy. "What'd I do that made you want me dead?"At first, Arvon just stood there, shaking harder, before he said, "Because, Chimoy, you had friends and I did not. You were on good terms with the rest of the slaves, while I was treated like a traitor. I could not bear to be so unhappy anymore, so I decided to strike a blow at the other slaves by having you, who is liked by nearly all, executed.""You are a traitor," said Chimoy, folding his arms. "A traitor and a coward. You never did anything to undermine Whiplash. No one wants to be friends with someone who loyally serves the enemy.""Shut up!" said Arvon, waving his gun. "It doesn't matter now. I'll blow both your brains out, which will cause so much sadness among the other slaves. Then I will be able to live happily, knowing that my enemies are every bit as miserable as I am.""Okay, calm down," said Nonzra, holding up his hands. "You don't want to shoot anyone. Put the gun down and-""Never!" said Arvon, although he didn't shoot. "I know you, Nonzra. I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a member of that band of thieves that has been giving the Dark Hunters grief since the Great Cataclysm. I didn't tell Miss Whiplash that because I knew I couldn't prove it, but I knew that you were here for a reason because your kind doesn't infiltrate slave communities unless they have something your group wants.""You recognized me?" said Nonzra. "How flattering. Do you want my autograph or would a handshake do?""St-Stop mocking me!" said Arvon, his gun shaking in his hand. "Anyway, I hid out in this living room because I knew you'd come here in search of valuables belonging to Miss Whiplash. I wasn't about to let a dirty thief steal anything from my mistress.""You're an example to us all, Arvon," Nonzra said, shaking his head. "Look, buddy, how's about-""I am not your 'buddy,'" Arvon growled. "And if you try anything, I'll shoot. Or I'll flip this switch-" he gestured at a switch on the wall, "-which will not only summon the other servants but probably Miss Whiplash herself. If you wish to live a little while longer, then I suggest-"Without letting Arvon finish, Nonzra moved in and flipped over the coffee table at the Le-Matoran. Arvon shot the table in alarm, but that didn't stop it from falling on top of him with a crash. At that exact moment, however, dozens of loud bells started ringing throughout the house, which Chimoy realized must have been the alarm system Arvon had been threatening them with. He also realized that the other servants must have heard the sound of the crashing table and must have activated the alarm themselves."Quick, we've got to get out of here!" said Nonzra, grabbing Chimoy's hand and dragging the Fe-Matoran out of the room."Don't you still want the Jar of Light, though?" said Chimoy as Nonzra opened the door."I or one of the others can come back and get it later," said Nonzra. "For now, we gotta run."The hallway was still very dark, but it was no longer silent. The cacophony of sounds hurt Chimoy's head, but that didn't slowed him down as he followed Nonzra under the staircase, where the servant's entrance was. The De-Matoran threw open the door and dashed through it, with Chimoy bringing up the rear.As they ran down the narrow hall, Chimoy glanced over his shoulder, but it was too dark to see anything and he couldn't hear anyone behind them. Still, Chimoy knew they wouldn't be safe until they were far away from the house.The two Matoran burst through the servant's entrance and immediately dashed down the hill behind Whiplash's house. They stumbled through the darkness, but didn't slow down until they reached the forest. Even then, they kept running for a long time after, not slowing down at all until they found a hollow tree to hide in, which they jumped into without hesitation.It was at this moment that, as they were sitting in the tree's hollow, Chimoy realized that he and Nonzra were still holding hands. And he liked it.Nonzra seemed to notice that, too, for he let go of Chimoy's hand and said, "Sorry for dragging you along like that.""It's not a problem," said Chimoy, almost too quickly. "I mean, we had to get out of there pretty fast, didn't we?""Yeah," said Nonzra, nodding. "I guess they now know that we've escaped. What does that cow do when slaves escape from her, anyway?""She usually sends out a warning to the surrounding villages to keep an eye out for the runner," Chimoy replied. "I imagine she'll do the same for me.""Then I guess we're going to have to avoid civilization for a while," said Nonzra with a sigh. "I'm used to it, though, considering I'm a wanted criminal and all. We can just use the route I used to get here to go back home.""Go back home?" Chimoy said. "What do you mean?""I mean going back to my base," said Nonzra, rolling his eyes. "You know, the place where I and the others live when we're not out stealing things from the big bad Dark Hunters? It's located in a rather obscure part of the island, so I imagine we'll be safe from the Hunters there."Chimoy nodded. "Looks like I don't have any choice but to go with you, then.""You don't have to go with me if you don't want to," said Nonzra with a shrug. "It's definitely easier to live the life of a free person if you have friends, though.""I don't think I'd last long in the wilderness by myself," said Chimoy. "So I guess I'll join your little band of thieves. Don't have anywhere else to go.""Gonna have to talk to Addis about that, though," said Nonzra. "I bet he'll accept you, because he's a nice guy. Still, I can't wait to see the looks on everyone else's faces when I come back not with the Jar of Light but a Matoran. That'll be hilarious."Chimoy chuckled. "So what do we do now?""Sleep," Nonzra said, lying against the walls of the hollow. "Tomorrow we'll figure out where we are and then start the journey home. That should take us about a day or two, depending on where we are.""Assuming the Dark Hunters don't catch us first, that is," said Chimoy."They won't," Nonzra said. "They're really not that smart if you know how to avoid them. We'll be just fine, so good night."With that, Nonzra went off to sleep. Chimoy looked down at his hand, the one Nonzra had been holding. He really had enjoyed holding Nonzra's hand, which made him wonder if Nonzra had felt the same way or not.Regardless of whether he did or didn't, I think I'm going to enjoy working with him just the same, Chimoy thought as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.-Present day . . .Though Chimoy was tired and he knew he needed the sleep, still the Toa of Iron found himself standing just outside the village of Koro Nui, in the small graveyard located on the edge of the proto forest. The stars were out tonight, like on that night long ago when he and Nonzra had escaped from the clutches of Whiplash and her servant Arvon. Even with the stars out, it would have been too dark for Chimoy to see Nonzra's grave, located next to the grave of Toa Addis, the late leader of the Toa Shika, had not Chimoy brought the Jar of Light with him.The Jar of Light, from what Chimoy had gathered, had been transported to the Dark Hunters' main fortress after Nonzra and Chimoy's attempted theft so many years ago. As Koro Nui was currently located inside the abandoned fortress, Chimoy had found the Jar within the Dark Hunters' vaults. He had brought it out with a sense of irony about the situation, for it was only after Nonzra's death that Chimoy had been able to find it.Though Nonzra had been buried for only a couple of weeks now, the tombstone was already beginning to look faded. Chimoy had vowed to keep the graves of his former teammates in good condition, but with all of the work that rebuilding Shika Nui required, he barely had time to fulfill this duty. Akuna helped him and so did some of the Matoran, but as they were as busy as he was, even they didnt have enough time to help as much as they wanted to.Chimoy placed one hand on top of Nonzra's tombstone. How he wished he had told Nonzra his true feelings for him before the Toa of Sonics' death; how he wished he could have saved Nonzra's life in return for the time Nonzra had saved Chimoy's life so many years ago.I wish I had a Mask of Time, Chimoy thought. Then I could go back in time and say what I should have said but never had the courage to say.Chimoy took a deep breath and said to the tombstone, "Nonzra, I don't know if your spirit can hear me right now, but there's something Id like to get off my chest. Something I've been meaning to say ever since we first met, but something I've never had the courage to say because of my cowardice."Of course, the tombstone didn't respond."Since the day I joined our band of thieves, you and I had always been good friends," Chimoy said, emotion choking his words a little. "We went on a lot of jobs together and always looked out for each other. When we became Toa, our friendship didn't change. In fact, I'd say it got stronger as we worked together to become true heroes and defend the entire universe from evil."Chimoy paused for a moment, wondering what Nonzra might say if he was still alive, before continuing, "But there was something I never got to tell you, Nonzra. Something that I always kept to myself even in our most honest, open moments. Even now, when you're dead and there's no one around to listen, I'm still afraid to say it. But I must because if I never do, I'll never move on and never be at peace."Chimoy closed his eyes and dragged the words he was meaning to say to his tongue. He opened his mouth once, but nothing came out. He tried it again, but still nothing came out. Frustrated, Chimoy opened his mouth a third time and said these words, the very words he had been meaning to say to Nonzra for all of these years:"I love you, Nonzra, and I wish I would have said so sooner."Comments, criticisms, etc. are all welcome .-TNTOS-
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Today I posted the tenth and final chapter of The Ghost King's Tragedy. So that means this whole mess is finally over ( ). Due to the spoilerific nature of the last chapter, I will not be quoting an excerpt from it. You may read the entirety of Chapter Ten here. Next week on this blog I will post a What Could Have Been entry. Like with past WCHB entries, I will discuss old or scrapped ideas that didn't make it to the final draft. I will also explain a few things that were not explained in the epic itself (basically trivia, for those interested). So it's finally over. See y'all later, -TNTOS-
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Table of Contents: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter One Sitting on his throne, the Ghost King of World’s End looked down on his kneeling Ghosts. Not a single Ghost spoke or moved. The years of living under the Ghost King’s strict rule had quite disciplined the Ghosts. They moved or spoke only when the Ghost King ordered them to, not before. And anyone who did speak out of turn . . . well, the Ghost King had specific punishments in store for those who did not respect his authority. The Ghosts all wore identical pale white armor, which shone dimly in the light of the bluish torches mounted on the walls. They had long monkey-like tails wrapped around their waists, short, sharp claws, and little tri-crowns of horns on their heads. Their appearance reminded the Ghost King of his own appearance. He, too, was pale white, but even paler than they. Like the Ghosts, he had three horns on his head, but his were longer and sharper than theirs. He was far taller and bulkier than they, too, and his eyes were green as opposed to yellow. The Ghost King raised his sword and said, “All stand.” The Ghosts rose as one. Each Ghost slammed their fists together in the traditional salute, which created a loud echo in the stone chamber that quickly faded at a gesture from the Ghost King. “Now, my Ghosts,” said the Ghost King, looking over them all dispassionately. “For years, our island of World’s End has been ignored by the outside world. Our island has remained nothing more than a legend to outsiders, which is why we have been at peace for so many years.” None of the Ghosts said anything, but the Ghost King, through his telepathy, heard thoughts such as And that has nothing to do with us from one disgruntled Ghost, a sentiment that was shared by the others. That was good. The Ghost King despised arrogance, for it often led to rebellion. By making it clear they were not responsible for this peace, the Ghosts could not become prideful, or so the Ghost King believed. “Now my Ghosts,” the Ghost King continued, “through my supernatural intuition and link to the spirits, I have discovered that four invaders have arrived on this island. What’s more, they were sent by my mortal enemy to kill me.” Again, the Ghosts’ discipline kept them from reacting. The Ghost King went over their minds again and heard thoughts such as Impossible! from one Ghost and What could this mean? from another, although their bodies betrayed no reactions to the news. “Allow me to repeat that,” the Ghost King said. He held up his left hand and began counting off his fingers. “Not one, nor two, nay, not just three, but four invaders, sent here to kill me. My enemy is too cowardly to show his face to me, but it is no coincidence that these invaders appear on my island at the same time that my enemy’s power has risen to unforeseen heights.” The Ghost King again scanned their thoughts and heard one Ghost thinking What can we do against the Ghost King's enemy?, words which described the others' feelings quite well. Nor did the Ghost King see fit to comfort them. Fear was the primary tool with which he controlled the Ghosts. He made sure they were always afraid, so they would never think of overthrowing him. “Tira, Balon, Virof,” said the Ghost King, beckoning toward the three Ghosts standing at the front. “Come here.” The three Ghost Lieutenants walked up to the Ghost King’s throne. They stopped at the step just below the Ghost King’s feet and kneeled. The Ghost King looked at his Lieutenants. Tira was thin and had a long scar running down her right cheek. Balon was muscular and had a knife strapped to his chest. Virof was taller than the last two, with longer claws than the others’. Though perhaps not all three Lieutenants were equal in their loyalty to him, the Ghost King did not doubt that they would do whatever he ordered them to do. “I give you orders to lead the Ghosts to eliminate these invaders,” the Ghost King said, tapping each Lieutenant on the shoulder with his sword as he spoke. “Do not return until you can bring me their heads in a bag. They are at Skull Beach.” “We shall not fail you, Your Highness,” said Tira. “Then go!” the Ghost King ordered, pointing at the door with his sword. “Leave and do whatever it takes to save your king!” The Lieutenants nodded. A second later, all of the Ghosts had teleported out of the room. The Ghost King sat alone on his throne as memories flooded through his mind, memories of his enemy and of a time long ago, when things were not quite as grim as they were today. My old enemy, the Ghost King thought. You really think you’ve gotten me this time. You will be surprised. Review Topic
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It's Wednesday again, which means it's time for another chapter of The Ghost King's Tragedy. It's Chapter Five, so we're now at the halfway point, so yay and stuff. Here's an excerpt: Read the rest of Chapter Five here. Also, I am happy to announce that yesterday I finished writing BIONICLE: The Legend Imploded, the final comedy in my parody trilogy. I will need to edit it, however, so don't expect to see it anytime soon. I will say, however, that I think it is probably the best and funniest comedy in the entire trilogy and I hope the rest of y'all will agree once I post it. I've also started work on a new short story, starring Toa Chimoy from the Shika Trilogy. All I will say about it at this point is that it deals with, at least to some extent, how Chimoy joined the Toa Shika when they were a simple band of Matoran thieves, before they became Toa. There is much more to it than that, but that's all I'm going to reveal for now. -TNTOS-
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Hello and welcome to the review topic of my most recent short epic, The Ghost King's Tragedy, which you can read here.The epic, once I have finished posting it, will be ten chapters long. I will post one chapter a week every Wednesday, so make sure to check back every Wednesday for the next chapter in this story.Character bios:Name: The Ghost KingSpecies: UnknownGender: MalePersonality: Paranoid and fearful, to the point of insanity. Extremely distrustful of strangersWeapon: SwordPowers: The true extent of his powers are unknown, although it is known that he can control sound, read minds, and become immaterialName: AkunaSpecies: ToaGender: FemalePersonality: Practical and to the point, though can be stubborn and recklessWeapon: Dagger-tipped staffPowers: Can control lightning (is a Toa of Lightning)Mask Power: Kanohi Ruru, Mask of Night VisionFirst appearance: The Tales of Shika Nui (epic)Name: KiriahSpecies: ToaGender: FemalePersonality: Fairly absentminded and a bit slow-witted, but is loyal to her friends and sticks to her job no matter whatWeapon: Crescent bladePowers: Has psionic powers (is a Toa of Psionics)Mask Power: Mask of HealingFirst appearance: Dimension Hoppers (epic)Name: Oggakia (known as Oggak)Species: ToaGender: FemalePersonality: Intelligent and thoughtful, but can be cold towards others and doesn't always work well with othersWeapon: SwordPowers: Can control shadow (is a Toa of Shadow)Mask Power: Mask of DreamsFirst appearance: An Unlikely Alliance (epic)Name: AhovaSpecies: ToaGender: FemalePersonality: Cheerful and honest, although talks too much and sometimes fails to take the situation seriously enoughWeapon: Magnetic gauntletsPowers: Can control magnetism (is a Toa of Magnetism)Mask Power: Kanohi Kakama, Mask of SpeedFirst appearance: Dimension Hoppes: The Other TaleName: The Master of MistSpecies: N/AGender: MalePersonality: Mysterious and engimatic and short tempered with less intelligent beings. Highly intelligentWeapon: N/APowers: Can control mist, although the fullest extent of his powers is unknownMask Power: N/ACritcisms, comments, questions, etc. are all welcome .-TNTOS-
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A few days ago I finished editing The Ghost King's Tragedy. I'm confident that it's ready for posting; however, the release date is still August 1st. Besides, I might do some last minute editing, which is something I always do before posting a new fanfic or chapter of a fanfic. Usually it's something simple, such as word choice or arrangement, so often what you see posted on BZP looks a little different from what is writen in my Word documents. Also, I'm proud to announce that I've officially began work on the final chapter in the Legend Trilogy, BIONICLE: The Legend Imploded. So far, the plot is going in a direction that's very different from TLR and TLE. Whereas the last two stories were basically "go on a quest to defeat the Big Bad," TLI is going to be a bit more like a "collect them all and then defeat the Big Bad," but I won't say more than that 'cause I don't want to spoil. I also think TLI is going to be much longer than TLR or TLE. It might even be two parts depending on how long it ends up being, but don't take that as definitive right now. I'm still in the earliest stages of writing, so a lot could change between now and the time I finish it. That's all for now, so see ya, -TNTOS-
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Howdy, y'all!* In anticipation of my upcoming epic, The Ghost King's Tragedy, I've decided to share a short excerpt from the story. This is from Chapter 3 and it probably won't make a lot of sense until I post the epic itself, but if it generates interest then I'll be happy. So here it is: The jungle was just like Kiriah remembered it: hot and humid, with vines and tree branches sticking in their path. It was just as muddy, too, and more than once Kiriah nearly slipped. She didn’t feel so bad about it, though, because the slick mud made the others cautious as well. Kiriah and Oggak were the only two with swords, so they were in the front cutting a path for their group. Kiriah had asked Akuna why they couldn’t just use their elemental powers to make a path, but Akuna had reminded her that such a move might be seen as an act of aggression by the Ghost King. They simply couldn’t risk alarming him if they were going to get the secret from him. Most of Kiriah’s concerns were quickly proven pointless, though, because they seemed to be walking along an actual path, for the grass and mud looked as though they had been trampled. There were fewer vines or branches to cut down here. This gave Kiriah and Oggak time to talk, although Kiriah didn’t really feel comfortable around the Toa of Shadow. Yes, Oggak had already reassured her that she was on their side, but Kiriah knew that shadow was generally not good, so she wasn’t sure what to say to Oggak, if anything at all. “You’re a Toa of Psionics, right?” said Oggak, glancing at Kiriah as they walked. “What? Yeah,” said Kiriah, nodding. “What about it?” “Can you sense any other minds nearby besides our own?” Oggak asked. Kiriah frowned and shook her head. “No. It feels like there’s this intense mental pressure covering area, like a giant blanket. I can’t even feel your mind and you’re right next to me.” “That’s probably because I already have mental shields,” Oggak said. “But that is an interesting observation.” “It must be the Ghost King,” said Akuna from behind them. “This is his island, after all. Maybe he knows what your element is, Kiriah, and he’s trying to stop you from using it.” “Could be,” said Kiriah, chopping a vine out of the way. “I don’t like it. You guys wouldn’t understand, but it feels like I’m missing a limb. I’ve never had to rely solely on my physical senses to interact with the world before and it makes me nervous.” “There’s no need to be nervous, Kiriah,” said Ahova, patting the Toa of Psionics on the shoulder. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? An ambush?” Their conversation was interrupted by a rustling sound in the treetops above. Kiriah looked up, but saw nothing. Then something darted through the air and something sharp stabbed her in the shoulder. The blow was enough to send her staggering backwards, yelping as she looked at her shoulder. A long, thin arrow stuck out of Kiriah’s shoulder. The wound burned like fire and it was bleeding profusely, but Kiriah had no time to think about it, for Akuna shouted, “Watch out!” and tackled Kiriah to the ground as a dozen more arrows flew overhead. Remember: August 1st. The truth is not what it appears. (*I can get away with cowboy talk because I live in rural Texas.) -TNTOS-