I never said it was perfect, you are human after all. (Or so I assume.)
I'm just saying, even when you're the (human, definitely human ) king of a story, you're still not entirely in control.
I think it depends on what kind of a writer you are. I have heard some writers describe how after they start a story and establish the characters, sometimes the story sorta writes itself based on the decisions made by the characters. But other writers have to have a very firm outline that they can't afford to stray too far from or their whole method will be thrown off.
I'm just saying, even when you're the (human, definitely human ) king of a story, you're still not entirely in control.
I think it depends on what kind of a writer you are. I have heard some writers describe how after they start a story and establish the characters, sometimes the story sorta writes itself based on the decisions made by the characters. But other writers have to have a very firm outline that they can't afford to stray too far from or their whole method will be thrown off.
I guess that's true. I'm know some writers can keep track of every detail and have an amazing amount of control over their work. I'm not one of them. Sure, everything I put down is a deliberate choice, so I have control in that sense, but once the story grows bigger and bigger I start to forget where some threads were supposed to go. I really should start writing down every thought I get. My memory is really spotty sometimes. What kind of writer would you say you are?
I think it depends on what kind of a writer you are. I have heard some writers describe how after they start a story and establish the characters, sometimes the story sorta writes itself based on the decisions made by the characters. But other writers have to have a very firm outline that they can't afford to stray too far from or their whole method will be thrown off.
I guess that's true. I'm know some writers can keep track of every detail and have an amazing amount of control over their work. I'm not one of them. Sure, everything I put down is a deliberate choice, so I have control in that sense, but once the story grows bigger and bigger I start to forget where some threads were supposed to go. I really should start writing down every thought I get. My memory is really spotty sometimes. What kind of writer would you say you are?
I haven't done enough writing to really figure that out, so I can't say with certainty, but I know I usually can't get started on a story without some idea of where it's going. I have to have everything mapped out to a certain degree but I like to have a little wiggle room to figure out short-term stuff in the moment so I think I'm closer to the first type of writer. That being said I have never really gotten close to finishing a story.
I guess that's true. I'm know some writers can keep track of every detail and have an amazing amount of control over their work. I'm not one of them. Sure, everything I put down is a deliberate choice, so I have control in that sense, but once the story grows bigger and bigger I start to forget where some threads were supposed to go. I really should start writing down every thought I get. My memory is really spotty sometimes. What kind of writer would you say you are?
I haven't done enough writing to really figure that out, so I can't say with certainty, but I know I usually can't get started on a story without some idea of where it's going. I have to have everything mapped out to a certain degree but I like to have a little wiggle room to figure out short-term stuff in the moment so I think I'm closer to the first type of writer. That being said I have never really gotten close to finishing a story.
Yeah, finishing is tough. Rizzo Files is one of the few stories I've actually finished.
"What is a raven doing in my room in the middle of the night?" The lion stepped closer, allowing me to better see his face. "I am afraid the time to explain is running out," I said. "Though in truth I haven't the foggiest notion of what is going on here." The lion stepped ever closer. I could now see that whatever had happened to Lagravis had not yet reached this lion. His eyes remained golden, and his mane was a healthy shade of red. I squinted into the darkness. Red mane? That only meant-- "Laval," I whispered. Laval tilted his head and said, more softly, "Why are you here?" I lowered my head. "Something is grievously wrong with your father." Laval raised his eyebrows. "Really?" "Yes," I said solemnly. "Lagravis stalks the temple, spreading flower pollen everywhere." "Well, that doesn't sound so bad," said Laval. "I'll go talk to him." And he rushed out the door, leaving me stunned. What would inhaling the flower dust do to Laval? Waiting around to see was probably not wise, but trying to save him from Lagravis might be even more dangerous. After waiting longer than I liked, I decided that one possible lion ally was much preferred to two lion enemies. Still holding my Chi orb, I ran out into the hall; but I only ended up running into Lagravis, who was forcing Laval to smell the flower. "Take a deep breath, son," hissed Lagravis. He had grabbed Laval by the arm, and was waving the flower in a circle around his head. Watching with a wide eye, I realized I had to intervene.
Lagravis had not yet noticed me, so I put away my Chi, dousing the light. Then, moving as quietly as my speed would allow, I scurried up to Lagravis and pushed him to the ground before he had time to think. He stared up at me with his red eyes, grinning. "You think I can't do any harm if you keep watch on me," said Lagravis. "And you're partly right..." He gestured behind me. (Foolishly) Turning around, I found that Laval now had red eyes to match his father's, and he walked with a similar hunch. "Laval?" I said. Laval sharply whipped his head about to face me. Lagravis's voice came from behind, "Maybe not the Laval you're used to." Laval charged me then, making me panic. Thus I side-stepped ever-so-slightly too far to my left, tripped, and fell on my back. Instantly Laval changed course, and soon he was on top of me. I rolled away, avoiding his wild blows, and calling back, "Laval, your father in his right mind would not..." Laval landed a blow on my stomach, causing my voice to stop short. I stood up fast and skipped away, trying to think of something that would bring Laval back (apparently, the flower exerted some sort of mind control). In close to no time, he was upon me again. I threw out my claws, Laval's fist colliding with my palm. There had to be something meaningful I could say.... As I blocked and dodged (mostly dodged) more of Laval's attacks, it slowly dawned that Lagravis had gotten up, taking his flower with him. I looked around, trying to spot Lagravis, but he was nowhere to be seen. Too late, I turned back to Laval, who knocked me to the ground. He then lifted me from the ground and started towards a suddenly visible Lagravis, who held out the flower menacingly. I had to say something. Wondering whether I would ever see Rawzom and the rest again, I took one last deep breath and shouted, "Your father loves you!"
Lagravis laughed, a horrible, almost metallic sound. But Laval swayed back and forth, his eyes clearing. Soon, he put me down. "You're...you're not my dad," said Laval. Lagravis spread his arms welcomingly. "And who else would I be? I am the same lion I always was." I nudged Laval. "Time to run," I whispered. Laval nodded slightly, then turned quickly and ran down the tunnel. Caught off guard by the speed of his compliance, I began running as well, not wanting to lose sight of him. I looked over my shoulder to see if Lagravis would follow, but he simply stood where he was, smiling strangely. Then I turned a corner and Lagravis passed out of sight. Up ahead, Laval had stopped. "Laval!" I called. "Have you--" Laval turned, and even from where I stood, I could see that his eyes were once again red. As I attempted to figure out what had happened, Laval charged me again, snatching both my arms. "We must leave the temple at once!" I said, staring into his eyes. There was a flicker of recognition, and, after a moment, Laval's eyes returned to their natural shade: gold. "Huh?" Laval said, loosening his grip on my arms. "Do you know the way out?" I asked. Laval shook himself, then ran off down the tunnel again. From this I gathered that he did indeed know the way out, and so I ran after him, soon catching him up. We had only run a short distance, however, when another lion stepped from an adjoining tunnel. Laval looked ready for a fight, having taken out his Valious, but I stuck out my false leg, causing the lion to trip and hit his head. Laval looked him over. "You've knocked him out," he said. "Y'should've let me handle him..." Suddenly I began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. "You OK?" asked Laval. I shook my head, but continued walking anyway. Even though I knew the lion would be fine, what I had done still made my knee wobble.
After a long while, during which the path forked multiple times and Laval had to disarm five more lion guards, we reached the Chi chamber. The message regarding Emerot was still burned into the wall, plain to see. Laval walked over to it, then turned to look at me. "Did you do this?" he asked, nodding towards the engraved message. "No," I answered. "The Chi..." I trailed off, for how could I explain what had happened in a believable fashion? Laval stared at me in disgust. "This is probably a signature marking theft. And you're blaming it on the Chi? Hmmm..." Altering my gaze to beside Laval, I saw the flower dust from earlier hanging in the air--and it was spreading. "Now, perhaps, would be a good time to take our leave," I said. Laval said, "This way!" And led towards one of the tunnels. I began to follow, but a buzzing from behind made me stop and turn around. It took a while ere I was able to recognize where the sound came from. When any flower dust came within a talon's length of the liquid Chi, the dust was repelled with a slight bang. The buzzing came from scores of simultaneous bangs. "Laval!" I called. "Look at this!" Just then, a monstrous cloud of dust drifted down to the pool, and the resulting explosion was enough to knock me to the ground. I quickly regained my feet and ran after Laval. Once I caught up, I said, "The Chi repels the flower dust! So if one of us so happens to inhale it, we can--" Another explosion came to pass, this time making the ground rumble. Laval started running ever faster. "If that's true, and that room keeps filling with dust..." He gulped and finished: "whole parts of the temple will collapse."
No sooner had the words left his mouth when yet another explosion shook the temple, causing grit and pebbles to fall from the ceiling. "Pick up the pace!" Laval shouted, pulling me along, for my artificial leg made running quite difficult. "Have you the slightest idea of what Emerot means?" I asked. Laval glared at me. "And do you have any idea what happened to my dad?" he retorted. I averted my eye. "No, I don't know what happened." I must have sounded very remorseful, for Laval took his eyes off me, too. We ran in a silence only broken by two increasingly violent rumbles. Then, in a softer voice, Laval said, "But you did write Emerot, didn't you?" I shook my head. From the look on Laval's face, I could tell he thought I was lying. But he accepted my answer for the time being. Soon Laval spoke again: "If you're here, there have to be more ravens." I did not like where this was going. Yet... "Correct, there are more ravens here. They came to raid the treasure room, a plan in which I wanted no part." "Huh," said Laval, sounding disgusted. "That's what they all say. Ravens are always trying to--" His final words were drowned out by another rumble, which knocked us off balance and partially caved in the tunnel behind us. Laval's eyes widened. "I suppose," I said, "There shall be no turning back if this is the wrong path." Laval tried to get up, but failed. "Wrong path? How can this be the wrong path?! I know these tunnels really well." Hurriedly, as I helped him regain his feet and we started off running again, I explained how the passageways seemed to rearrange themselves when I was walking earlier. Once I had finished, Laval stared at me. "Even if you were telling the truth," he said, "Why were you wandering around the temple in the first place?" I was about to answer when Laval ran headlong into someone. Someone leading a large group. He looked at Laval, then at me. "Trick or treat?" said Rawzom nervously.
Laval started angrily. "What are they doing with that treasure?!" "Errr...we, um.... Rizzo, how did you..." Both Rawzom and Laval were staring expectantly at me. "One at a time, please," I said. "And do hurry it up, we must get out of here." "I'll go first," said Rawzom before Laval could open his mouth. "Well, we were strolling along, transporting our...goods. I was waiting for you to make a report. But you never did, so we kept going. And going. And here we are." Rawzom began to walk in place. "So how did you get in front of us?" As quickly as possible, I told Rawzom what had happened since my last report from the back of the raven group, including my assumption that sorcery was at work. Rawzom's eyes grew wider and wider as I spoke, and once I had finished, he seemed too stunned to make comment. That was when yet another explosion made the temple shudder so violently that we all had to lean against a wall to keep from falling over. "Laval!" I shouted over the din. "Perhaps you should voice your concern as we run." "Alright," said Laval. "We're close to the speedor overhang anyway." After the whole group of ravens had turned around and Laval had been pushed to the front (frowning heavily at the "borrowed" Mr Gold along the way), I muttered, "Speedor overhang?" Laval smiled, the first time I had seen him do so. "You'll see," he returned quietly. Then, as we began running, Laval said, "What's the meaning of this ravenish company?" Rawzom, who was running alongside, shook his head so frantically at me I feared it was in danger of coming off. I decided to ignore him. "We came here masquerading as an unarmed party of ravens wanting to talk peace," I began.
Once we arrived at the speedor overhang, Laval obviously had mixed feelings concerning us ravens. He was angry at us for trying to steal treasure, but puzzled by the fact that I had told him our whole plan, even in front of my companions. And then, of course, I had saved him from the flower.... The overhang was actually a cave burrowed out from behind a waterfall, filled with speedorz. "Choose a speedor an' let's go!" Laval called to us, heading towards his own speedor. The rest of the ravens instantly singled out whichever speedor they thought the shiniest. I, however, took my time, looking for a speedor the lions would not mind getting stolen. As soon as I found it, I asked Laval, "Are you quite sure this--" "We're fine," said Laval. "Now hurry up and get that speedor going, 'cos this cave is gonna collapse soon, I just know it!" Seemingly on cue, the cave began to quake wildly. "How...how do we get out from here?" said Rawzom. "Pull the start-cord and ride through the waterfall!" Laval shouted as large rocks started dropping from above. "And quickly, before it gets blocked off!" So saying, Laval yanked something on his control panel and sped through the wall of water, spraying us all. This did not seem entirely safe, but faced with the alternative, it was significantly better than nothing. None of the other ravens had moved, and Rawzom was still bemoaning all the treasure he had to leave behind ("Mr Gold! I'll never meet a better fellow..."), so I had to blaze the trail for them. I clenched my beak, pulled the start-cord, and blasted forward. I braced myself for the impact on ice-cold water. It hit me with quite a bit of force, but only lasted a fraction of a second; next thing I knew, I was speeding away from the temple and into the jungle.
Not having much experience in driving a speedor, I jumped from the one I was riding before I could crash into a tree. I then turned about and ran back to the temple to see if Rawzom and the others were following--or, at least, I tried. Scarcely had I taken five steps when someone knocked me to the ground. "We'll find your raven buddies later, but for now, stay low." I looked at Laval as he stepped off me. "Is there any safe place I can view the temple from?" I asked. Laval nodded and bid me follow him. Soon, we stepped into a clearing from which the uppermost portion of the lion temple could be seen. A small dot in the sky, barely visible, but there nonetheless, was moving up from the temple, headed towards.... "What is that?" I asked, pointing. Laval looked at me as though I had sprouted another wing. "That's... Mount Cavora." "No, no, that." As it got closer, I began to think it was a glider, and that Rawzom was seated at the controls. "Oh," said Laval. "That looks like..." The lion temple shook then, causing an earthquake to start in the surrounding area. Once we had regained our feet, Laval located the flying object again and said, "It's Eris!" He searched my pouches and snatched up a Chi orb ("Stealing Chi?" he muttered darkly), then started jumping up and down. "Eris! Over here!" "Psst!" a voice hissed from the bushes. "Over here, Rizzo!" I made for the bushes, and found the party of ravens hiding there. "The gliders're close by!" whispered Rawzom. "We can--" "Come out this instant!" I demanded. Rather unwillingly, they rejoined me and Laval in the clearing. Razar squared up to me. "You've changed a lot in one night," he said. I slapped his hand as it reached for my pouches. "And now you're working with a lion!" Laval turned to us. "Eris saw us," he said, "And she'll be landing soon."
The moment following the eagle jet's landing, a massive fireball lit up the horizon. Laval stared. "The temple," he breathed. Almost involuntarily, he started towards it, but I snatched his cloak. "No," I hissed. "Later, once the fire goes down." "It's gone," said Laval numbly. Assuming he would be in shock for a while yet, I turned to the jet. "Eris!" I called. "You are safe to descend." When the cockpit cover slid back, it was indeed Eris who sat there. She hopped out quickly. As I walked up to her, she said, "You again? Are--look, I don't even know your name." "Rizzo," I said impatiently. "Now, do you know of the happenings in the temple tonight?" Eris frowned. "When I arrived at another entrance, I found two lions who tried to get me to smell a flower." I nodded encouragingly. She continued, "Then, when I wouldn't smell it, they tried to force me." "Do you know what the flower is?" I asked. "And how it controls the mind?" "Actually, I do," returned Eris. "But nothing like this has happened in Chima for...well, a long time." I probably should have paid more attention to the lion temple, but I needed answers. "Do you possess the slightest idea of what Emerot is?" "Emerot?" said Eris. Then-- "Oh! That's it!" "What?" I said. The bushes around us rustled, shedding leaves as lion warriors, all with red eyes and carrying flowers, jumped out and encircled us. The edge of the circle nearest Laval parted to permit Lagravis entry. "You thought we were gone, didn't you," he said, rather flatly. Laval nodded, completely dumbfounded. Lagravis went on, "I knew this would happen to the temple, with these flowers and all, so I evacuated everyone before it did." Out of the side of my beak, I murmured, "Eris, when I give the word, fly to your jet, and pilot it someplace safe." "What about everyone else?" whispered Eris. "I shall instruct them to ride on the back of the jet," I said. "However, you shall have to carry Laval in its talons."
Then realization struck me as a physical blow. I dropped to my knees. I had forced myself not to think about what was happening, and instead had tried to find answers. But now, when waiting for the opportune moment, with nothing else to fill my mind, past events caught up with me. Rawzom walked over to me. "You alright?" he asked. I looked at the ground, feeling nauseated. "I know," said Rawzom. "It's a terrible business. Mr Gold is lost..." That wasn't all. The sight of the lion temple had always filled me with hope, a sense that all was right with Chima. And now it was gone, leaving me with a dark, disturbing emotion: fear. "The temple served its purpose," a cold, flat voice said. In looking up, I saw that Lagravis was still talking to Laval, who seemed to have regained himself somewhat. I shook myself, for I had to focus on the moment; I could not afford to stand by idly, as I had before. "Rawzom," I said. Rawzom squinted at me thoughtfully. "I'm listening," he said quietly. "We're going to escape this," I continued. "I want you to spread the word amongst yourselves." I indicated all the ravens. "When I signal, fly to the back of the eagle jet, then Eris shall transport us away from here." Rawzom stole a glance at Laval and a grin spread across the entire width of his face. Then he walked off to inform the others of what was to happen. From his parting glance at Laval, I gathered that Rawzom did not expect Laval to come with us. Well, what a nasty surprise he would get. Once all the ravens had received whispered instructions, I looked to Eris, who nodded. And that was when things began to go wrong.
) king of a story, you're still not entirely in control.
