Friday, May 9, 2014

Page 677

Scores of servants were afoot, and he had each one’s attention now. Only moments ago, they’d been in the midst of training or en route to another part of the castle or simply standing guard atop the walls. The latter were the first ones to mobilize, but by then, Zeff had already summoned a tidal wave to clear a path to the gate.

And clear a path, it did. Broad enough to envelope the whole courtyard and taller than the highest tower, only a handful of servants managed to get out of the way. The raging waters consumed everyone else and smashed them against the castle’s unflinching walls. And before that was even done, Zeff loosed another wave behind him, just to give Lawrence something to do.

Can you escape underground?’ said Zeff.

I sense a soul net below us,’ said Ax, ‘but it only goes as far as the castle walls.

And the reaper didn’t have to explain any further. The most efficient means of escape was to have Axiolis phase through the ground. At full speed, the reaper would be protected by a hundred meters of rock within seconds; and within a minute, he’d be completely out of Lawrence’s range, at which point, Zeff would be able to spear himself through the skull and be revived at Axiolis’ leisure.

This was the plan. He just had to get Axiolis to the other side of the wall first.

Zeff launched himself into the air with a sudden ice platform. He would have been able to clear the wall then and there if not for the gigantic radium dome that materialized to stop him. There would be no shoving this one out of his way. It covered the entirety of Rhein’s Keep, supplanting midday sunlight with a dim blue gleam.

But Zeff had expected as much. Anything less would have been downright lazy on the General’s part.

Still mid-flight, Zeff made a fist and half-extended his middle and index fingers. On its own, the hand gesture had no great meaning, but to Zeff, it was a code of muscle memory, a thing that had helped him develop, memorize, and train a particularly difficult usage of his power.

18 comments:

  1. Hmm, I was trying to visualize what hand motion he was doing, and I realized I'm not sure what it means to have a finger half-extended.

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  2. As in, half-bent. Half-curled. Between a clenched finger and a fully extended finger.

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  3. Ah, so like making hooks with his two fingers?

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  4. More or less, yeah, though perhaps not quite so "arching" as a hook shape would be.

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  5. Impending awesome in 3.. 2.. 1..

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  6. Is everything ok Mr. frost? you have not been updating as usual

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  7. He has simply finished his bonus updates.

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  8. Yeah, everything is fine. I just need to write more, is all.

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  9. Mmm - interesting. Once again we thing somewhat alike in power design. Gestures or words not because they have inherent power, but because they become guides for a complex, abstract mental process, of meaning only for the user.

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  10. well no, i mean awhile back he said that he was going to a two page a day schedule and seems to have slowed down, just wondering if everything is fine

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  11. That's actually the reason I've come up with for why shonen characters must always shout their attacks. Otherwise, it just looks idiotic. Of course, rarely is that the explanation in-universe. Thank God it's in this one.

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  12. How awesome will this be, I wonder...

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  13. Sorry but, no - they shout it because it's a traditional anime drama gimmick. I accidentally found out about the show that originated it and it was a kind of mecha, so the theory couldn't really even be applied to it. I quite enjoy the whole shouting thing myself, I enjoy the dramatic flavor it lends. But for my story, since I wanted that kind of drama but also felt the need to justify it, I came up with the concept I broadly labeled Guiding Words. Used mostly by mages but useful in other situations as well. Lets me use anything from two word labels to chanted stanzas depending on the situation and character.

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  14. I stand witness to your guess.

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  15. Oh yeah, I know it's a gimmick. It just lets me sleep easier at night. I never understand why most shonens don't have their characters *mentally* shout their attacks instead. Makes more sense to me, and it actually adds another layer of awesome if the chracters then decide to shout aloud.

    Either way, I'm interested in knowing what mecha series you're talking bout. For it to be that old that it spawned that trope, only two are coming to mind, Mazinger Z and Getter Robo. Neither of which I actually saw.

    And I feel I must apologize, I never did get around to reading any of your work. Yet another person I must fulfill that promise to in the new year

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  16. Huh, I'd forgotten you mean to read it. And the latest revision of the novel is coming out too. Good stuff, should be the last 'great' revision. Which makes this a great time to get new beta readers.

    I've forgotten the name of the show entirely. I just remember reading that it spawned many shounen traditions including shouting the names of your attack as you attack. They do kinda overdo it sometimes...I think the most blatant example was in Naruto. This big strong character was really just using basic hand to hand combat but he was naming them all like they were techniques. 'Xxx's shoulder blow!' he'd yell, and hit them with his shoulder. It was pretty ridiculous.

    For whenever you do find the time: http://www.thewordpile.com/. It sound like you know some other aspiring writers as well, so no sweat if it takes a while.

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  17. Mahdi AparentylycntsayawsomApril 27, 2015 at 9:34 AM

    Sokka: water bending slice!

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