Bel Canto de Myth

[uc pseudonym]

Ah. Well, that'd be pretty depressing (to slowly reach the Game Over, that is). Now, for an evil idea of mine: You know those "Choose your own adventure" books? Make one in which there are two options at the beginning. One of these leads (possibly) to the real ending. The other branches off into twenty or thirty endings... all of which are bad.

[Gypsy]

Ah. Well, that'd be pretty depressing (to slowly reach the Game Over, that is). Now, for an evil idea of mine: You know those "Choose your own adventure" books? Make one in which there are two options at the beginning. One of these leads (possibly) to the real ending. The other branches off into twenty or thirty endings... all of which are bad.

Woo, that is evil.

[Gypsy]

Sherwin dropped the lyrewand and sprinted towards Blythe. Although it was taking seconds to unfold, Sherwin became aware of each movement he made, every breath he took, and with every heartbeat time seemed to move slower. His feet slid in the mud as he pushed off with every stride. Rain pelted his face like small stones. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the shadow making huge, inhuman leaps in the direction of the chanter.

The cleric made a desperate dive just as the black figure made its final jump. Raindrops spiraled off him and the strange blue light dissipated upon meeting his outstretched hands. Right before his arms came around her, Sherwin saw her eyes flash back to normal.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Ezekiel watched from the steps of the temple as Sherwin snatched the Blythe gracefully from the air. The cloak of the black shadow brushed over both cleric and chanter as it missed its prey by inches. Sherwin brought his friend close and twisted in the air to take the brunt of the fall. The shadow never broke its momentum and with one last jump, it had disappeared into the night. The wind sighed to a stop, and the rainwater began falling straight down in a gentle shower.

Shine blew past Ezekiel and hurried to Sherwin and Blythe’s side. Sherwin rolled to the side in obvious pain, then propped himself up on one elbow and called to Blythe. The chanter wasn’t moving. Shine stooped over Blythe’s still form as Sherwin moved to his knees. He held his side and he studied Blythe for a moment.

“She’s alive,â€

[true_noir_chloe]

I like your sketch and I love your story. (I think Sherwin is a great bishie too ) I look forward to the next section. ^-^

[Gypsy]

Thanks. This is Tryce (the drunk).

[shooraijin]

Yay, more good art! I dig the orange jacket, and the ponytail looks totally appropriate on this guy.

[true_noir_chloe]

Great sketch! Is he going to be the comic relief character?

[Ashley]

What a hottie!

[Gypsy]

Great sketch! Is he going to be the comic relief character?

Oh, I think you'll find out eventually. ]What a hottie! [/QUOTE]

Thank you ... (I think! )

[Gypsy]

[I]Wondering what was on the cleric’s mind, Ezekiel sat on the bench across from where Sherwin was seated. “So,â€

[true_noir_chloe]

I am so wanting to find out what happens next in your story.

[Icarus]

*taps foot* no rush. *checks watch* nope, none at all.

[Gypsy]

Putting a hurt expression on his face, Tryce acted like he was in a great deal of pain. He might get more attention from the ladies that way.


Tryce decided that this was too good of an opportunity to miss. When Blythe turned around to reach for more bandages, he hastily raked a hand through his hair. When she faced him again, he allowed his lids to fall heavily over his eyes.

“So, you’re … you’re a chanter?â€

[uc pseudonym]

Nice section. I'm not sure why I think this, but I do.

[true_noir_chloe]

Still going good, Gypsy. I hope I'm not too late to vote. My computer was down for awhile.

[Gypsy]

A tall form dashed in from the side. Shine could tell through her murky eyesight that it was Tryce.

The half-elf ducked slightly, then propelled himself upwards, taking Ezekiel off his feet and breaking his grip from Shine at the same time. Ezekiel regained his footing with cat-like agility and swung turned on Tryce. With reckless ferocity, Ezekiel lashed out.

They were laughing. Men all around him, laughing. They were covered in blood, but it was not their own. It was the blood of his family. The men had killed his family and now they were taunting him. When he would get near one, the figure would just disappear as if it was only a shadow. The death cries of all the slaughtered villagers rang out, and wailed from all sides, but it did not silence the laughing.

The leader came out from among the other shadows and stood before him. He reached for Ezekiel, but the young man grabbed the warlord around the neck. With all his hatred and anger, Ezekiel squeezed the horrible man’s neck. But then he was suddenly knocked to the side, and the warlord was before him again, trying to grab his arms. Filled with helpless rage, Ezekiel fought the leader of the shadows off.

Tryce ducked under one of Ezekiel’s wild swings. Using the young man’s momentum against him, Tryce gave him a sharp jab in the gut. Fighting for breath, Ezekiel fell back hard. Suddenly, the darkness around him cleared, and the warlord morphed into the drunk from the night before. Morning light streamed through the temple windows, and a bird could be heard singing cheerfully outside. The cleric and chanter were at Shine’s side, and Tryce stood protectively between Ezekiel and the girl. The tall man’s fists were still balled and an aggressive glint was in his steady gaze.

Tryce had dealt with berzerkers before, and he could tell that Ezekiel was no longer a threat. He felt pity for the young man as he watched Ezekiel realize what had really happened. His mournful, jasper eyes fell on Shine.

“Did … did I … how bad did I hurt her?â€

[Icarus]

[Gypsy]

Continued…
Tryce slid his foot back and looked behind him. Shine was very pale except for the red, finger-shaped marks around her neck. Blythe was checking the back of the girl’s head for further injury. Sherwin seemed to be searching Ezekiel’s eyes for answers.

“Why are you around people?â€

[Gypsy]

Sorry I took so long to update! (According to this thread, I spend half of my waking hours apologizing for one thing or another ...) I guess I lied when I said I'd update on the 2nd. The 16th is close enough, right?^^;

Anyway, it's *that* time of year, everything is happening so fast, blah blah blah. Well, I had a lot of changes to do to Bel Canto, and rather than just tackle it, I ran and hid. I'm going to have to do some major clipping to my timeline for the first version of this. Once again I bit off more than I can chew and my first idea for this project was just too massive for me to take on right now. I'm also trying to throw together some sort of relationship system instead of having everything link based. Anyway ... I had to condense. So, the story might seem a little squished right now. I'm taking options out, merging options in (making them part of the story rather than an option) and basically cutting the whole project down the middle for right now.

[shooraijin]

It's okay, it's still great!

[true_noir_chloe]

Before I log off I just had to read this new section. *thumbs way up* What a good idea for getting those three together. ^^

I have a question re: this part, >Without the desire to revenge his family festering inside of him< Did you mean to say, avenge? I'm sure it's a slip because you're real busy right now. Just wondering. ^_^

I can't wait to read more, even if it's after Christmas.

[Gypsy]

I have a question re: this part, >Without the desire to revenge his family festering inside of him< Did you mean to say, avenge? I'm sure it's a slip because you're real busy right now. Just wondering. ^_^

Yes, thank you, that's what I meant. I'll have to keep on my toes from now on I guess, or I'll have to start paying you editor fees! I'll go fix it now.

[true_noir_chloe]

I charge only $20 an hour, unlike Eirewolf, who charges a leg and a paw for it. I'll pm you with where to send the check. *hehe*jk I really do like where you're going with this story, however. ~-^

[Gypsy]

Ok, I'm sorry, this is rather cheap, but I've been neglecting my poor little thread here. I don't have the next post ready (stilly stumped on how to condense and combine things) but this is to just show my *counts* four to five readers that I haven't forgotten, here's a sketch of Roux. Depending on how I squish the plot, you may meet her soon or not so soon - but it's the only semi-finished sketch (note the lack of bowstring, quiver, and shading) I have. Actually, it was a study on hair and clothing folds, not to mention trying to figure out Roux's outfit. Again, this was just a 20-30 minute sketch, but it's kind of relevant and the best [virtually] tangible apology I could come up with.

Just an amusing side note – I found out the other day that “rouxâ€

[true_noir_chloe]

I love your drawing. Great for such a quickie sketch! ^_^

Gypsy I will wait for your next installment for as long as it takes. You have one of my fav stories here.

Also, I love the look you placed on Roux' face - great way to capture the emotion.

Humm, Roux is a mixture for gravy. Very interesting.~-^

[Icarus]

We try to be patient, but sometimes, our impatience gets the best of us. That's why we have shotguns and implied threats.

I'm kidding, of course. Take all the time you need, we'll be here.

[shooraijin]

And you say you lack a unique style.

The picture makes up for everything

[Gypsy]

Well there. *dusts off the thread* Shall I try this again? Since it’s been close to two months since I’ve done a post, I’ve condensed a few choices and turned them into flashbacks just to kick Bel Canto into action again. The following post (probably) won’t exist in the Flash version. I would like to keep testing my choice web/tree/forest on you guys if you don’t mind. ^^;

Choice from the last poll:

Shine looked at Ezekiel with surprise, then her gaze gradually warmed. There was something in his eyes that touched her.


Blythe squinted up through the foliage to see the position of the sun. The sky was taking on a muted tone as the day waned. The filtered light streaming down through the trees would soon dim and the forest would quickly be enveloped by darkness. The song of the forest was rich. Two squirrels chattered and scolded in the distance while a bird chirped three notes over and over as if reluctantly bidding the day farewell. Now and again a soft thundering hinted of a woodland waterfall hidden somewhere in the depths of the leafy surroundings. The same breeze that was playing with the chanter’s hair also rustled the leaves as it flowed through the trees, carrying whiffs of the damp, sodden smell of the forest moss.

Although Blythe was soaking in the natural beauty around her, she was also observing her traveling companions. Sherwin was leading the group on the overgrown path. Ezekiel was behind him, followed by Shine, Tryce, and herself. It would have been faster easier to travel a main road to the city of Auroralysium, but taking both her and Ezekiel’s condition into consideration it had been decided the less they were around the general populace, the better. No one wanted to risk Ezekiel losing control or Blythe going into another “dark tranceâ€

[true_noir_chloe]

You're back!

I'm so happy.

Okay, enough of the sentamentality <--- ooo, big word.

I love your new section. It's fantastico! Great prose. How many edits did you do? Come on, be honest. LOL

Okay, well I will go vote now. Another great installment, Gypsy.

[Icarus]

Hello. We've been waiting for you.

Thank you for the update.