LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-07 AT 07:27 PM (EDT)
 
And it certainly was, for the most part, though it clearly sets up quite a bit for what follows. Lots of great bits there, though Serge herding everyone in, etc, was at the top till I got to the very end....

"We're going to -Corwin's- wedding."
 Now it was Sakura's turn to consider the point. She did so, then nodded.
 "Wait here," she said. "I'm gonna go get the rest of my ninja stuff."

After I put myself back together, I had to admit that they had a point...

Edited to add;

actually, a question just occured to me. Blue takes place just before Clarion Call, not during, Correct???

Precisely--it's noted at the very end, after all.

Other than that... anytime I read the stvartelf passages, I get that tingling sensation in the back of my head where my "Books I have Read" list resides. Must be the Forgotten Realms stuff back there.

I am defintly interested in seeing what comes up in Clarion's Call now... >)

LAST EDITED ON Jun-23-07 AT 00:44 AM (EDT)
 
Interestingly enough here, it's probably the areas that are supposed to be less stand out that's poking me.

One's the Masho, for instance. Having looked up their Japanese names, and with the reference to Anubishu's no-daichi, I was suprised to find out he's in charge. Admittedly, it's been years since I saw Ronin Warriors, but he never struck me as the most intelligent of the four. Is Shuten still around, or are they the Three Masho again? It also makes sense Rajura would be the one to suspsect Saionjii's mixed loyalties.

The other is that greatsword Anakin pulled off the rack. The description is frustratingly pinging on my source material radar, but I can't place it. Which, if it turns out to just be a random sword(or randomly created sword) will be most ironic.

Furthermore, our given svartelf(it's now obvious that Akio and Anthy's heritage rendered them VERY pale in comparison. I'd expected dark skinned elves, but Anaximandra(Mandy? Ana? Peri has quite the point) is closer to the average DnD depiction of a drow/dark elf)strikes me as familiar. Google fails to place the name beyond a common user handle on WoW servers, apparently. And the only Drax I know is about as far from a dark elf as you can be. :)

First off, I'm really glad to see the Symphony back in motion. It was actually what drew me into the UF universe in the first place. I ended up reading the other stuff largely to understand the context of SotS. My girlfriend forced me to sit through Utena years ago, and it was intriguing, but I found it frustrating that nothing ever seemed to be resolved. Along came Symphony, and the rest is history.

As for the Masho, I recently mentioned the massive crossover-y goodness of UF, and a friend of mine seemed to take it as a challenge, trying to come up with something that wasn't in there somewhere. The stumper? Ronin Warriors. Heh. Looks like he loses after all.

That sword does sound familiar, doesn't it? It'd have to be pretty awesome to replace a lightsabre on the cool scale, though.

One sour note, though. Anaximandra strikes a jangling, painfully dissonant R.A. Salvatore chord with me. Drizz't Do'Urden bores me to freakin' tears, and trudging my way through those books has gotten me to the point of wincing at the mention of the word "Drow" in any form. I'll try to reserve judgement, though, because it's Eyrie, and they have a history of taking things I hate and making me like their version in the end.

To hear, one must be silent.

LAST EDITED ON Jun-23-07 AT 05:26 PM (EDT)
 
>Drizz't Do'Urden bores me to
>freakin' tears, and trudging my way through those books has gotten me
>to the point of wincing at the mention of the word "Drow" in any form.

It's hardly my fault you were fool enough to read them all. :)

In any event, those of you who have Forgotten Realms scar tissue to deal with, don't be afraid. There may be some cosmetic similarities between Svartalfheim and the Underdark - that's hard to avoid when you're dealing with shadowy, largely-underground countries - but I can assure you there are significant differences as well. Mind you, I'm not sure how significant, because that would require me to know much more about the Underdark than I actually know? But at least be reassure that I'm not trying for Salvatore references.

As someone else noted, Anaximandra is named for Anaximander of Miletus, a philosopher-scientist of the sixth century BC. Among other things, Anaximander (a student of the great Thales and tutor to Pythagoras) rejected the supernatural in explaining worldly phenomena. How this is relevant to the character who is named for him will be further explored as we go.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

Now that I know the source of the name, I think I can hazard a guess as to what Anaximandra got expelled from Svartalfheim for. (Which would make it rather ironic, then, that she got dropped into _another_ realm where magic plays such an important part.)

-Joe-

>Now that I know the source of the name, I think I can hazard a guess
>as to what Anaximandra got expelled from Svartalfheim for. (Which
>would make it rather ironic, then, that she got dropped into _another_
>realm where magic plays such an important part.)
>
>-Joe-

Of course, if that is the case, she's still better off. Maybe she'll be able to make sense of Ryu Zan Paku.

Peter Eng
--
I'm only a Charter Member because of the DCForum upgrade, and because there's no rank below "Clueless F!wit."

>It's hardly my fault you were fool enough to read them all. :)
>

True. I did it to myself. Though I did manage to break the death-spiral at book five or so.

> But at least be reassure that I'm not trying for Salvatore
>references.
>

Praise all the gods of literature for that. The man is one of the most over-hyped hacks I've ever had the displeasure to read. Just my opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.

>As someone else noted, Anaximandra is named for Anaximander of
>Miletus, a philosopher-scientist of the sixth century BC. Among other
>things, Anaximander (a student of the great Thales and tutor to
>Pythagoras) rejected the supernatural in explaining worldly phenomena.
> How this is relevant to the character who is named for him will be
>further explored as we go.
>

I wish I could nod knowingly and say I recognized the reference from the beginning, so as to look brilliant and all. I can't and didn't, of course.

Wait...did someone mention the Soul Edge? For some reason, that strikes me as just the kind of thing Akio would have hanging around. This could turn so very ugly.

Can't wait.

To hear, one must be silent.

Well, I mentioned the Soul Edge games, but I actually think the sword in question is "Requiem" - the telephone pole with some edges on it, not the demonic blade.

Yeah, the Soul Edge has a very, how should one put it, distinct design style. Though it does shift shape depending on the fighting style of the user, the giant pulsing eye in the middle of the hilt would probably have warned Anakin off. :)

>That sword does sound familiar, doesn't it? It'd have to be pretty
>awesome to replace a lightsabre on the cool scale, though.
>

I may be wrong, but the description really reminds me of the Zweihander used by Siegfried in the Soul Calibur games...

All of a sudden, I'm thinking "Grim Adventures of Peri & Mandy"...

Forseti had better hide. :)

As for the sword, when we are talking big & evil swords, one leaps to mind. If Anakin starts saying "Blood & Souls for my Lord Akio!"... RUN.

>As for the sword, when we are talking big & evil swords, one leaps to
>mind. If Anakin starts saying "Blood & Souls for my Lord Akio!"...
>RUN.

*blink* Anakin is channeling Kharn the Betrayer?

I was actually thinking Elric of Melnibone. But hey, whatever works :)

>>As for the sword, when we are talking big & evil swords, one leaps to
>>mind. If Anakin starts saying "Blood & Souls for my Lord Akio!"...
>>RUN.
>
>*blink* Anakin is channeling Kharn the Betrayer?

Nah, Kharn's more of an axe-man.

And by axe, we mean a perpendicular slab of metal the size of Anakin's torso studded with a bladed chain strapped onto a handle probably as long as Anakin is tall. ;)

>Nah, Kharn's more of an axe-man.
>
>And by axe, we mean a perpendicular slab of metal the size of Anakin's
>torso studded with a bladed chain strapped onto a handle probably as
>long as Anakin is tall. ;)

Well, true....but, you know, Kharn's used FLAMETHROWERS at times...it's not as if he's picky. As long as it gets the other person dead, it's all good.

And as for size...well, I'd say that that sword MORE than qualifies. 6 foot greatsword? Yeap, that works.

Still and all, given the coice between Kharn and Elric...I think I'd prefer to have Kharn around. He's less dangerous, in the long run, I think.

LAST EDITED ON Jun-23-07 AT 09:50 PM (EDT)
 
>All of a sudden, I'm thinking "Grim Adventures of Peri & Mandy"...

I can't believe I missed that entirely. That's hilarious. XD

>Furthermore, our given svartelf(it's now obvious that Akio and Anthy's
>heritage rendered them VERY pale in comparison. I'd expected dark
>skinned elves, but Anaximandra(Mandy? Ana? Peri has quite the point)
>is closer to the average DnD depiction of a drow/dark elf)strikes me
>as familiar. Google fails to place the name beyond a common user
>handle on WoW servers, apparently. And the only Drax I know is about
>as far from a dark elf as you can be. :)

Anaximandra seems to be a feminine form of Anaximander. Whether there is any significance to this or if somebody just thought the name was cool remains to be seen though.

Polychrome

>One's the Masho, for instance. Having looked up their Japanese names,
>and with the reference to Anubishu's no-daichi, I was suprised to find
>out he's in charge. Admittedly, it's been years since I saw Ronin
>Warriors, but he never struck me as the most intelligent of the four.
>Is Shuten still around, or are they the Three Masho again? It also
>makes sense Rajura would be the one to suspsect Saionjii's mixed
>loyalties.

Shuten's still around. But what makes you think the most intelligent Masho would automatically be their leader? ;) There is something to be said for experience. Also remember, this is UF. We're not necessarily going to be absolutely true to the original series.

A damn shame.. throwing away a perfectly good svartelf like that..

And I can see the trainwreck coming... I can see it.. This will be fun.

>Blue takes place just before
>Clarion Call, not during, Correct???

Correct. The passage previously released as a Clarion Call teaser - and, in fact, pretty much the entirety of Out of the Blue - was originally part of the S5M2 draft, but ended up being pushed into its own segment for a couple of reasons, pacing foremost among them.

Clarion Call will begin the day after Out of the Blue ends.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

<argle>

I was just beginning to really enjoy myself when I realised I'd got to the end. Some great stuff here, as always:

* I see I'm not alone in thinking that sword Anakin picked up reminded me of something.

* Peri is just as much fun to read about as I suspected from the intro we got a while back.

* The "hostage" (with pie ending) bit gave me the giggles, bad...

* An exiled svartelf: interesting.

* Is there anywhere that doesn't have an appropriate "So You've Just..." book available there...? Those things really get around.

--
Unable to save the day: File is read-only.

>
>* Is there anywhere that doesn't have an appropriate "So You've
>Just..." book available there...? Those things really get around.
>

(LIE MODE: ON)
Well, due to divine nudging, Mr. Bacon hasn't written "So You've Just Arrived in the Tenth World"...
(LIE MODE: OFF)

Peter Eng
--
I'm only a Charter Member because of the DCForum upgrade, and because there's no rank below "Clueless F!wit."

>* Is there anywhere that doesn't have an appropriate "So You've
>Just..." book available there...? Those things really get around.

Presumably the new Ohtori Academy lacks one.

My first thought when I read the description of the sword Anakin picked up was, "Did one of the Valkyries lose her sword?"

<much snippage giggled at, excised>

>* Is there anywhere that doesn't have an appropriate "So You've
>Just..." book available there...? Those things really get around.

Accept with my compliments a copy of Mr. Bacon's latest release, "So You've Just Posted An Obvious Question On The Interwebs". ;)

I really like this movement, from the start to the end, It had many bits that had me going, "Oh thats right! I'd totally forgotten that detail" and "Oh thats cool.. I haven't seen that character in ages, glad to see life goes on." :)

On a sidenote I was just thinking... if Cephiro was still a realm run on willpower, and assuming that Corwin's world engine isn't just removing this from the equation.. maybe Anaximandra survived her fall simply because she willed to survive?

_____________________________________________
A long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away. THERE IS ONLY WAR.
-kinda makes sense if you think about it.

Oh man, poor Utena.

Wearing a dress and being a bit girly for one night is one thing, but going from that to being a bride is a rather large step...

Gryphon's girl-magnet effect strikes again! I guess some guys got it... ;-)

If they're still telling stories about ReRob's wedding, imagine how long they'll be telling stories of this wedding for!

So, Juri's division is building the new Jedi starfighter, eh? Starbuck might be able to get her hands on one, after all. ("Say, Juri, I need a birthday gift for a friend of mine.")

Oh yeah, this (5-2) is going to be good.

--
Willard Goosey
"Booga!!!!"

"Damn shame, people be throwin' away a perfectly good black girl like that."

I'm amazed Boba didn't try to borrow his Dad's Slave One or Slave Two for this considering. Although with the sheer amount of firepower and potential martial arts mayhem thats going to be in attendence (known invited ones that is), it should make for a very good popcorn moment. I wouldn't be surprised though if some slapstick gets slipped in of the Animal House/Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang 'Food Fight From Hell' variety. I pity whoever messes up the main cake before the girls & Corwin get to cut it.

>I'm amazed Boba didn't try to borrow his Dad's Slave One or Slave Two
>for this considering.

After what happened the last time, Jango probably took away Boba's keys.

Peter Eng
--
I'm only a Charter Member because of the DCForum upgrade, and because there's no rank below "Clueless F!wit."