Marvel: Agents of Shield (Ep 1 Review)

     There are spoilers in this review. I will, however, do my best to minimize them while reviewing the show. Also, I'll tell you this upfront because some of this review may not sound like it, but if they keep making episodes of this quality, I will keep watching the show.

     Expectations are a terrible thing; they can take a wonderful experience and diminish it or make us avoid it altogether. They can make a wreck of our nerves. But when they match the end product, the anticipation makes the enjoyment so much sweeter.

     That said, Marvel: Agents of Shield fell a little short of my expectations. To be fair, it was a first episode and had to spend a certain amount of time away from plot and action introducing the characters and their personalities/abilities. (A few quotes and almost quotes: “I can disarm nuclear bombs, but I work alone.”, “That simulation is like magic...or unappreciated genius”, “I beat your guy’s high-tech security with a laptop I won in a bet.”) Also, I was in a bad mood unrelated to the show, and that does tend to color a person's enjoyment of it.

     The basic premise of the series is that Phil “His first name is Agent” Coulson is secretly alive and well after the events of The Avengers, and is leading a hand-picked team for SHIELD, who's purpose is to – cover up superheroes? Help superheroes deal with their new identities? Oh-oh, I know! Save the world, one superhero at a time.

     And who is on his hand picked team?

        - Grant Ward, a standard-issue “I want to save the world” superspy who prefers to work alone (and has a soft spot for his grandma)
        - Melinda May, an agent who's been off the field at a desk job by choice, but is hinted to be something of a legend
        - Fitz-Simmons, a supersmart science agent. No wait, sorry, a supersmart tech guy, with a cute accent, named Leo Fitz and a supersmart bioscientist named Jemma Simmons
        - And, in an unsurprising twist, Skye: a hacker who has, at some level, outwitted SHIELD's technology for an unknown period of time before this episode.

     In the first episode, J August Richards plays an unemployed factory worker with newly discovered superpowers. He gives a great performance, and the greatest tension of the episode comes down to his acting. Will he be a hero, or a villain? Will he survive? I hope to see more drama and action like this in the next three known episodes and beyond.

     To sum up: This was an introductory episode with action and drama. A few lines fell flat for me, but not unforgivably so. There are enough twists to satisfy for this episode, and plot threads left open for the future. Worth watching, even if you haven't seen The Avengers or its related movies.

Body, Soul, and Mind

     The good news is I don't seem to be sick anymore. The bad news is, now matter how often I rework the next scene for Dragon Valley, I can't seem to get it to work. So, if there is a fan of what I've written so far, you may have to wait a couple of weeks for another story in that line.

     Today, I am going to share a poem with you. This is a poem I wrote from the point of view of a villain in a story I haven't shared here. Well, sort of a villain; anyway, a character with some darkness to him. It's a little dark and fairly emo, but I'm proud of it. I hope you enjoy it.

BODY, SOUL, AND MIND

The human body, soul, and mind:

All these are me, all these are mine.

I do not like the man in me:

The things inside, the truth I see,

The darkness that's within my soul

Is something everybody knows.

Misunderstood and hated well,

The secret life is living hell.

I know I am a selfish man.

I'll take what little hope I can.

Eternal enemies are these,

The things I love, the things I need.

But what else can a person be,

Than what is truly underneath?

Shall darkness be dispelled by light?

No; coming day won't end my night.

Assemble-A-Story

     Okay, my brain and stomach are still gymnastically exercising over who can make me feel more, for lack of a better word, oogey. (Hopefully that sentence gives you some idea of my state of mind. I am ignoring the part of my brain that says, “Fix it. Fix it, now.”) For that reason, I have not finished the story I wanted to have posted.

     This upsets me for two reasons. The first is that I feeling oogey. Groggy, light headed, difficulty focusing and gave stomach-churning things travelling through my bloodstream. Or maybe just up and down my nervous system. I hope to be better in time to post the story Saturday; however, my body has so chastised me for making a promise (to have the story up today) that I make no promises at this time.

     As such, the story has been delayed again. However, I don't wish to leave you completely without a story, so I leave you with this: the Assemble-A-Story!

     Choose a section from each category. This will build your story from beginning to end. And yes, writing this is a lot easier for me than writing a story. There is some assembly required; some pieces fit together better with other pieces. Just keep in mind, it’s supposed to be a short story, so I tried to leave out too many twists, turns, and surprises in the plots.

     I would love to hear what stories you write with this. .

GENRE

(1) Fantasy. In this story, the hero has a very minor magical talent. Choose one.

          a) They can create a small ball of light in their hands while they are concentrating. When their ally is around, the ball can grow brighter. This will help shine light in a few situations, but draws the attention of the bad guy. If they suffer any major emotional blows, they discover that their ability has failed them.

          b) They can see truth. When someone is telling the truth, they glow softly with a white light. When someone is lying, wisps of darkness trail like smoke from them. When someone uncertain of what they are saying, the air shimmers like heat around them. The hero must concentrate to use this ability: if the hero speaks, they must refocus for it to work again.

          c) They can sense how far away their ally is. They can also sense the allies emotions, if they concentrate or the emotion is strong. This bond comes from a long alliance and occasional encounters from magic in the past.

(2) Horror - or romance? The Hero and their ally are not only as normal as they can be, given their descriptions, but are flawed and slightly selfish. The hero and their ally will grow together by the end of the story, however, and realise how much they care about each other’s well-being. (They may even come to love each other - but I will leave those details to you.)

(3) Modern Buddy-Cop. The hero and their ally have come together under circumstances beyond their control. their personalities conflict with each other right off, but they come to respect each other’s style by the end of the story.

(4) Monty Python. Throw in a few extra lines of dialogue, perhaps a twisted reference to popular culture or philosophy. Replace the ending with the phrase “Now for something completely different,” and a semi-animated dance number. Now you have a choice: is this a monty Python sketch (which should take place largely in a single room) or a Monty Python movie (in which case, there is an extra musical number thrown in, and choose two allies. One of the allies is completely annoying and irrelevant to the plot. The hero will happily kick them out of the party by the end, and we will be left wondering their fate.) Is this a perfect translation of Monty Python? Heck no, but that’s the point.

(5) Supernatural Sci Fi. Best set in the modern world or the near future. There will be hints of spirits, and the hero will have just the barest touch of psychic ability. The Ally has one of the following:
          a) A cybernetic eye, capable of detecting different types of energy.
          b) A cybernetic limb, capable of amazing feats of strength and dexterity.
          c) A scanner attached to their front arm which boosts their inherent psychic powers, allowing them to detect danger early. This will cause them some confusion when they first meet the villain; the danger will rapidly flash on and off. When they first meet the villain’s sidekick or second character, it will flash and then short-circuit. This may cause the ally to scream and pass out.

SETTING / STORY OPENING

(1) A metropolis of tall buildings and many, many…many people. It is winter, with light amounts of snow just setting on the city. The story opens in the evening, in a nearly empty cafe/bar/tavern. It serves terrible food and drink, but the hero likes it because this place is never busy.

(2) A small, dusty town that is old before its time. It is the middle of summer. This story opens in the dead of night, when an unexpected meteor streaks across the sky. The ally insists to the hero that it is a falling star, and that they investigate. The hero agrees, and they meet the villain or their lackey on the way.

(3) A medieval castle. (May require the reworking of some heroes.) Choose one of the following.

          a) It was abandoned a few years or centuries ago, after it was sieged by forces that sought to destroy the kingdom. The hero has taken up residence with a few others.

          b) The invaders were repelled at the last minute, but there were too few people to man the castle. The invaders succeeded, and left the castle in ruins.

          c) There was a mystical force which defended the castle, but it was so strong it took out attackers and defenders alike. You can further choose the source of the force: (i) the attackers, (ii) the defenders, or (iii) the castle itself.) The story starts shortly before dawn, in that dark moment before the light begins to creep over the horizon.

(4) A ship in the middle of the ocean. The hero begins realising that the crew is smaller than they originally thought, and gets smaller as the story progresses. They manage to confront the captain, who fills them in on what is going on, as far as he can tell.

MAIN CHARACTER / HERO

(1) A lovable old man with limited physical abilities but great wisdom from a long life. [Hero name: Jed]

(2) A tough as nails street cop/guard/archer with good aim, who developed her strength of character from having to care for her young siblings through her teenage years and early twenties. She still worries about them, though they are all grown.. [Hero Name: Jess.]

(3) A boxer/knight/street tough who has always taken good care of his physical body. He's good in a fight, but has taken a few blows to the head and can be described (though not to his face) as "un-smart". [Hero Name: Jack]

(4) The geek girl from high school/training, who never quite fit in. She is now an engineer /wizard and, though she's as awkward socially as she's ever been, she's awkward all the way to the bank. (Hero Name: Jenna)

(5) A teenager from the ‘wrong’ side of the city. Has a temper that's easily set off, but hates to hurt people. Knows a few sneaky tricks, such as how to deal with locks and maybe pick a pocket without getting noticed, but doesn't like interacting with others. [Hero Name: Jamie. That's right, a gender neutral name. You choose: male or female.]

HERO'S ALLY

(1) A wacky but lovable rotund gnome. (Maybe they just look like a gnome.)

(2) A wise-cracking elf who objects to the insinuations that [he/she] a vegetarian. (Maybe they just act like an elf.)

(3) A young woman with a hunchback and sharp eyes.

(4) A young man with a peg-leg and sword fighting skills.

(5) A highly intelligent person who insists that [he/she] is not funny. Not one little bit.

CALL TO ADVENTURE

(1) The story opens with the hero in a verbal conflict with their ally. If they had been working together more closely, they would have noticed the first signs that the villain would attack. While they are taking time apart from each other, they independently discover the villain's plot. Because of their fight, they will have difficulty working together the rest of the story. By the end, they will have a heart-wrenching moment where they both apologize for every hurtful thing.

(2) The ally is temporarily stunned after goons sent by the villain (or running from the villain) attack them. The hero vows to avenge their friend. The ally awakens shortly after, and runs after the hero. Before the hero confronts the villain for the final time, the ally confesses that they are related to the villain. They ask the hero for mercy, but leave the fate in the hero’s hand.

An alternate version of this choice is to have the hero confess to the ally that they were once in love with the villain, but swears that they will not let that stop them from foiling the villain’s plan

(3) The hero is on a quest. You have two choices.

          a) The hero is assigned the task of defeating the villain by their employer, or by a client. The ally and the hero meet when they accept the assignment, under protest, of course. Should they succeed, a merry bushel of money and the promise of yet more gainful employment awaits.

          b) The hero has actually been pursuing the villain for some time, on a mission of justice set off by the death of their parents. The story opens with them explaining their new lead to their good friend and ally. The ally expresses doubt about the truth of the lead, but will not let their friend go off on this mission alone.

VILLAIN, CONFLICT, AND ENDING

(1) A rich and eccentric man determined to control the known world, no matter the cost. He has a team of power followers: loyal fighters, intelligent wizards/engineers, and a smart strategist (named Karr) as an adviser. This man, let’s call him Levinson, knows when to listen to his closest advisers and when to ignore them.

          Sad Heroic Ending: Karr is taken out by a heroically self-sacrificing Good Guy Ally, throwing Levinson off balance and allowing the good guy to win.

          Bitter Action Ending: Karr is taken out by the ally, who is then destroyed by the wizards/engineers. The hero fights and defeats the fighters and is facing Levinson when the engineers show up and deal a deadly blow to the hero. The hero manages to take out the engineers/wizards, but is hurt badly. He/she manages to just barely defeat Levinson, taking his life, but must sacrifice himself/herself to do so.

(2) A group of ghosts, left behind after a terrible battle, determined that anyone living on their land must join them as servants in the afterlife. They will take the life of the Good Guy Ally in the moment that forces the good guy to accept the reality of the situation. These ghosts have no names, but the hero and their ally get the impression that they start with an “L” or a “K”.

          Super Happy Ending: The good-guy defeats the ghosts by destroying their link to this world; this undoes their murder of the ally.

          Bittersweet ending: The good guy sacrifices himself or herself to bring the ally back and send the ghosts back to the underworld.

          Horror Ending: The good guy also loses their life in the battle against the ghosts. They seem to have caused the ghosts to lay dormant, but clues dropped in the story tell us that they are likely to rise again.

(3) A woman who hears voices. She is always a step ahead of the heros, and a near-perfect shot with the ranged weapon appropriate to the setting. The thing that keeps the hero alive is that she prefers to scare them off, though the voices in her head are telling her just to scare them away. The hero discovers the body of this woman’s brother (Let’s call the woman Leandra, and her brother Kendal.) Now you have two choices.

          Action Ending: Kendal was killed by Leandra in a way that shows that Leandra is truly crazy. In this case, the hero is led on a heart-pounding chase. The hero is free. There is a moment of fear as you wonder whether the ally has escaped. On their way out, the ally is shot; however, they are alive and likely to recover at the end of the story.

          Supernatural Ending: It becomes apparent that the voice is a supernatural creature that killed Kendal. The hero will lead Leandra to the truth, and confront her with it. The voices will be driven out, and Leandra will become a close friend (and possible romantic interest?) for the hero. This will bother the ally to a humorous degree.

THEME

(1) Love conquers all. The story focuses on the loneliness of the hero. The ally has been trying to draw the hero out of their shell, and may in fact be in love with them. (I will let you decide on this one, based on your choices above.) The hero and the ally will realize their love for each other by the end of the story, even if it ends in tragedy or one of them winds up with another love interest.

(2) Trust your friends. Sometimes, learning to work with others is the most difficult thing to do. If you don’t learn this lesson, you or others may pay the price. If you do learn this lesson, you can pull out of it.

(3) Life is hard, but you have to keep moving on. This phrase will be said either by the ally to the hero (perhaps as the ally lays dying), or by the hero to the villain; which depends largely on the choice of villain and ending. Where it is not clear, you may decide

(4) Always look on the bright side of life. If it doesn’t have one, light a fire and run like it’s out to get you. This could alternately be stated, "If life hands you lemons, make lemon grenades."

(5) There is no hope, anywhere. You have to pull hope from the cold, dead hands of victory after it has fallen forever. Hope cannot defeat evil or darkness; but it can keep you fighting until you defeat it your own self.

Bonus options: Chose a theme and invert it. The hero is the bad guy, and the villain is the good guy. The ally is the hero, and the hero is the ally. There are two competing heroes; each might be living the story as though from a different genre. The hero faces two, or even all three, villains in the same story, which fits best with multiple heroes.

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

     I would like to start this post off by saying I have not been feeling well, and the story I had planned for today needs to be edited still. Instead, I present this post; it is a piece that insisted be written the night before I started feeling sick. I'm sure that fact is unrelated. Tuesday will bring the story.

     Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

     That sentence was written by Noam Chomsky to illustrate how a sentence can have the right type of words in a grammatically correct order and still be meaningless. I first saw it probably a decade ago, and it almost made my brain hurt. I saw it again last night, and the meaning suddenly became apparent to me. 

     To explain the meaning of the sentence, let's quickly look at the meanings of each of the words.

     'Colorless' means 'without color,' but also means 'unexciting or uninteresting'. Poetically, it could also be taken to mean 'unfinished', as in when a painting or comic has been sketched out but not colored in.

     'Green,' in addition to a specific color, is a common word used to mean 'new or untested'. 'Ideas' means 'concepts or thoughts,' or really any mental construction.

     'Sleep' is a verb performable by 'ideas'. 'To be dormant' is one definition of sleep. In this case, dormant means mentally unexpressed.

     'Furiously' means 'full of passion' or 'intensely, energetically'. Since it describes sleep in the sentence, it may appear to present the most difficulty. However, if you've ever seen anyone toss and turn in their sleep, you understand what it means to sleep furiously. It's like sleeping through a nightmare that is trying to wake you. 

     So, my first interpretation of the sentence would be:

     'Unfinished new concepts lay fitfully on the cusp of consciousness.' It refers to ideas right on the tip of your tongue, or things you can almost remember, and inspiration before it strikes, just as you feel it coming. It's ideas that may have been stewing and which are now boiling, with bits of them popping like bubbles on the surface of the soup. ('On the cusp' means 'on the edge.' In this case, it means 'just below the surface of consciousness.')

    Alternatively, you could use 'sleep furiously' as a phrase to mean 'to sleep deeply or with determination, i.e., being difficult to awaken.' Then you can also get, 'Uninteresting new thoughts remain unexamined.' In other words, ideas that seem to bear no merit or interesting features are forgotten, or remain unexpressed by the conscious mind.

     (Both of these statements are true, at least poetically. You could cut them in half and switch things so that the uninteresting ideas boil and the unfinished ones are unexamined  They would still be valid statements, just less apparently true.)

     Taking these meanings together ('Unfinished new thoughts lay fitfully on the cusp of consciousness' and 'Uninteresting new concepts remain unexamined',) it references the tendency for ideas to remain unmanifested by the conscious mind until they are interesting and/or well formed enough to be comprehended. This determination is made by the mind in which they lay. Such ideas may attempt to peek through without quite forming.

     Examples of colorless green ideas sleeping furiously include any detective from any detective series having a theory that they cannot complete (and may not realize they have) until the final clue causes everything to snap into place. Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote) was probably the most obvious about this; her colorless green ideas would sleep solidly until the last clue kicked her mind into high gear and pulled the thoughts together. Other detective shows would show the ideas sleeping more fitfully, as the detectives attempt to fit the clues together more intentionally.

     It might also be an effective way of describing the memories of people with amnesia: the memories are attempting to surface; the person may be able to see the memories just beyond their reach, under the thin veil that separates the conscious from the subconscious.


Other sentences that may express the same idea:

     Unfinished new concepts desperately attempt to be expressed.

     Uninteresting new ideas lay dormant, however desperately they try to be expressed.

     Incomplete new ideas seem to lay dormant in the brain, but are actually writhing with activity in our subconscious.


Note: I'm not the first to assign meaning to the sentence "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." I did write this entry before reading other takes on it, though.

This page seems to be the oldest page that assigns a meaning, though it attempts to assign a singular meaning: David Policar, 1997

Or to take a more creative approach in assigning meanings that I certainly didn't see. Some of the approaches may stretch the expected limits of language: Conscious Entities, Colourless Green Gavagai

Universes

     Today, I cover some universes I've thought about. They come from games, movies, and songs. It's a random little trip through the multiverse of my mind. And, yes, it's bigger on the inside.

     You can deduce a bizarre universe from the Beatle's songs, with cellophane flowers, rocking horse people, and that strange walrus eggman. You have yellow submarines and paradise in an octopus's garden. It is a silly place. One fun thing could be Maxwell's Silver Hammer as a D&D Magic Item. An intelligent, CE hammer covered in silver which deals sonic damage, with extra damage on a crit and auto max damage on a Coup de Grace. It was once created as a special weapon capable of scoring a crit against undead, and has been driven mad by constant constant with necrotic energies.

     This brings us to Dungeons and Dragons, which takes place in a multiverse; every home game is a different universe within the same collection of universes. The only thing that links them all are the six basic stats - Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. Even with that, some homebrew universes add stats. Sanity is one I've seen. (Don't do that, by the way. Wisdom covers it. Sanity is for Cthulu.)

     Cthulu - well, let's just not talk about that one right now. Hastur. Hastur. Hastur.

     Then there's the adorably creepy universe of the Pixar Theory. (For which I refer you to Jon Negroni's "The Pixar Theory") This is the most comprehensive and cohesive conspiracy theory I've ever heard. Interestingly, it implies movies that still need to be made - the origin of supers, for example. In any case, I think Pixar should run with it. If they don't want to actively write to it, they can just keep leaving easter eggs; the fans will figure it out for them.

     Okay, next universe: Zelda. These people (Zelda, Link, Gannon) are stuck in a loop. Magic sword, boomerang, fairies, triforce. Fun, entertaining, yes. And I know that Gannon, Link, and Zelda have to be there. But can't we see a new take on the story? Maybe like this one. I would play that.

     Sudden jump sideways: Star Wars. Magic (Oh, sorry, I mean "the force”) is explained by midichlorians in the blood, providing access to the force’s energy. When I first saw the movie mentioning them, I could have sworn they said mitochondria, which actually are/were these critters that long ago invaded our cells and now provide us energy. But magic (the force) from mitochondria (midichlorians), is actually not the weirdest part of their universe. Neither are the vast  arrays of aliens and plot holes, nor is the question of whether Hans Solo shot first. The truly bizarre part is that it takes place long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away (presumably in our universe,) And humans are exactly the same. This implies time travel and the ability to jump quickly from one galaxy to the next.

     Expect a death star any day now.

Dragon Valley: The Guard

You can see the first Dragon Valley Installment here, the most recent previous installment here, and the next one here.

Hana and I stood in front of a wrought iron gate set in a stone wall higher than our heads. On the other side was a flower garden separated into quarters by a path. The garden had plum trees just about to blossom, and small green plants sprouting from chalice-shaped flower pots. At the center of the quarters, surrounded by the path, was a clover covered mound on which rested the statue of a sleeping griffin, about the size of a large dog.

The house on the other side was two floors, and a third floor at the roof, with gabled windows. The second floor hung slightly further out over the bottom floor, and the roof also extended out an extra foot or two. The house was a pale yellow, while the trim and supporting beams were a dark brown.

“Dain lives here?” Hana asked.

“No. Well, yes. He’s a houscarl for the merchant, Rhoal. Better money guarding travellers than guarding cities.”

“Apparently. I wonder if he needs bread delivered. Or pies.”

I turned the gate handle and began to open the gate. It creaked. The griffin statue lifted its head, opened its beak, and shrieked. Suddenly, a large wolf came running, as if from nowhere. I closed the gate and took a few steps back. The wolf pushed it's head between the bars, growling and snapping at us. I turned to Hana and shrugged.

“I think they know we're here,” I said.

“Good eye you have, and good ear,” she answered.

A moment later, Dain emerged from the house, holding a shield and a sword. He whistled, and both the griffin and the wolf stopped their noise and sat quietly on either side of the gate, keeping their eyes on us. As he approached us, he broke into a grin. He sheathed his sword, but kept his shield ready.

“Zed! It’s been a while. And Hana, right? What brings the two of you this way?”

“Dragon,” I said.

“Well, I assume you didn’t ride it here. And I’m afraid I don’t know anything about it.”

“Are you interested in fighting it?” I asked.

“Fight a dragon? That would be the adventure of a lifetime. I’d like nothing more, except maybe actually defeating it.”

I could feel my muscles relax. “So you’ll join us?”

He turned his eyes down slightly, and looked back up at me. “I have obligations - an agreement with Rhoan here. I’m afraid I can’t just up and leave. There’s always Sal, though. He loves a good fight.”

Hana and I both laughed. He looked from one of us to the other.

“It seems a dragon is not a good fight,” Hana answered.

“Perhaps he’s smarter than I thought,” Dain frowned.

“Hey now, didn’t you say ‘adventure of a lifetime’?” Hana asked.

Dain laughed now. “No one ever said adventures were a smart idea. You should go. You’ve got a long road ready.”

He turned around and headed back to the house. He whistled after the two animals. The griffin went back to its mound but kept its eyes open, watching us. The wolf followed him in.

“Those are loyal friends you have,” Hana said.

“Oh, shut up,” I mumbled.

We stood there a few moments, then turned and walked away. 

-----

“You are the most stubborn boar I’ve ever known,” Hana said.

I tried to ignore her. I had been hoping for someone up close, to help me keep the dragon confused and off-guard. I still hoped Grem might be able to help, though I don’t think arrows would deal much damage, or be distracting enough.

“You listen to me, now! There’s no soldier’s following you, there’s nobody needs to see me respecting you, and I have something to say.

I stopped and glanced around. My mind had been travelling faster than we were; we hadn’t gotten far from Rhoal’s.

“That’s better. Zed, your mission is insane. The gods know you’re going to die, and the people you looked to for help have turned away. You can’t win this.”

“I have a strong sister with a weapon, a sword that came into my hands for a reason, hope for help from Grem and, as you hinted at, a blessing from the gods.”

“You’re not the first to have help like that when facing odds like this. And yet, most of them still wind up dead. You need to rethink this; you need a lot more help than you’ve got.”

“There have been people who killed dragons on their own.”

“Legends and stories, not even about dragons as big as you claim this one to be.”

“Either help,” I said and leaned in close to her, “Or go home. Your attitude is not helping. Doubt does not fight dragons. Swords and strength fights dragons. Occasionally, magic and alchemy fight dragons. If all you bring is doubt, go home.”

“Learn the difference between doubt and wisdom. Now...listen - ”

“No, you listen - ”

“No, I mean listen. Do you hear that?”

I closed my mouth and listened. There was a bark, and a growl. I looked around for the source. I saw stone fences and trees; I saw a cobblestone road. Then I saw the wolf, running for us. I stepped forward, blocking Hana with my arms. I looked it straight in the eye, and began to calmly untie my sword. The wolf stopped a few paces away, and flattened its ears against it head. It lowered its snout to shoulder-height and growled.

There was a whistling sound. The wolf and I both looked up. It was Dain.

“You traveled a little faster than I expected. Good thing I had Fang here to help follow. You might want to take you hands off your sword. He knows what weapons are, and he is a guard dog,” Dain said.

I let go of my sword, still half-bound, and spread my hands out to my side. He stopped growling, but kept his ears to the side.

“Fang, play nice.” Dain reached down and scratched behind Fang’s ears. Fang panted and looked up at him.

“Are you joining us?” I asked.

Dain smiled. “Maybe. Rhoal wants to meet you. He’s interested in your quest. You may get more help than you were asking for.”

Dragon Age: Origins - My Hero's Story

     My favorite game series is Dragon Age.  I played through Origins several times with different characters, backstories, and outcomes. But there is one I consider the "real" story of the Hero of Ferelden, because it is my vision of heroism. It was also my first game. This is that story, from my character's point of view, told by way of describing his companions.


DOG

     I have had my dog for what seems a very long time. My parents thought it rather odd that I actually named him Dog. He fought with me when Howe betrayed my parents. He was faithful and strong.

     I sometimes feel guilty for having had Dog fight with me, but he was a mabari war hound. He guarded me and those close to me; I thank Andraste he survived the battle at the city gates. I asked a lot of that hound.


ALISTAIR

     After I joined the wardens, Alistair became my first companion (well, second, after Dog) and my close friend. He had a great sense of humor, and deep thoughted but light-hearted philosophy. He became something of a conscience. In combat, Alistair was my shield. He was difficult to hit or hurt. He leapt to his friends’ defense and withstood damage. He was reliable, and an excellent addition to the companions.

     I regret how things ended with his family; I never wished to cause him pain in how I dealt with the demon. I hope that his marriage with Anora doesn't end as a source of pain. He will be a good king, and I hope he forgives me for pushing him to it.

     Alistair fought the archdemon by my side. It didn’t seem right to leave him behind; he’d been in the fight even longer than I. And it was rather fitting for the king to fight the archdemon. I was knocked unconscious in the fight. I woke to see that Alistair dealing a killing blow; I made a rather dramatic attack, because I hadn't realized it was already dead.


MORRIGAN

     Morrigan was always intriguing, in her way. Her tongue was as witty as Alistair's, but sharper. (Please tell neither that I compared them.) But there was mystery to her, and I felt from the beginning that she had a part to play. She had a thick skin and a tough heart, but she was not the cruel and frightening person some think her. Truthfully, it was amusing to hear her verbally spar with Alistair. I think those two became closer friends than they would ever care to admit

     She cast spells of fire, which came in extremely handy. She also changed into beasts. Watching her transform into spiders and bears was...unnerving, but proved to be of value.

     I found a grimoire that had been taken from her, and returned it. Soon after, she confided something to me. Flemeth, who claimed to be her mother, was raising her to consume her essence when Morrigan became powerful enough. We confronted Flemeth with this information, gave her a chance to defend herself. The conversation did not go well; Flemeth died.

     The night before we fought the archdemon, Morrigan approached me and told me she could perform a ritual, to conceive a child with a Grey Warden. The archdemon, rather than possessing and killing either Alistair or myself, would be cleansed of the demonic taint and merge with the soul of the conceived. I agreed, and took the role in this ritual. I knew, or rather hoped, that Zevran would forgive me. Alistair was to be married soon, and I didn’t want any questions of his loyalty to the queen.

     In the final battle, I did not take Morrigan to fight the demon. I knew she wanted to leave the city after, and anyone actually fighting the archdemon would have a hard time of that. I also did not want my future child endangered, though I wonder how much of me the child will be. It was difficult to say goodbye and leave her at the city gate. Although it felt like such a weak gesture, I left my dog to watch over her. Dogs are such noble and loyal creatures.


STEN

     After we escaped the first darkspawn, our little group (Alistair, Morrigan, Dog, and I) stopped by Lothering. At the edge of town, a hugely tall man was hanging in a cage. I have this thing where I’ve got to talk to people in cages; I have to know whether they belong there.

     From his own description, perhaps he did. Yet he sought a purer form of justice - redemption, not vengeance. A strong arm is a blessing when fighting darkspawn, and I saw honesty and determination in his eyes. On his honor, and by leave of the local chantry leader, the Revered Mother, I accepted responsibility for him, and enlisted his aid to fight darkspawn in penance for his crimes.

     Sten was a strong and proud warrior. He fought with magnificently large swords. I grew to respect his strength in arms and the power of his determination. We didn’t always agree on the best course of action to pursue, but we were always able to reach something of a gentlemen’s understanding. (I suspect he would call it a warrior’s truce.)

     Sten held much of his history close to his heart, yet I was able to learn a bit about him and the Qunari. It is an alien culture to me, and I dislike parts of it, but I hope to learn more. Because of his strength and experience, I asked him to command the forces that held the city gate while I led the charge against the archdemon. He kept my companions alive, and did what he could for the others who fought with him. Most importantly, he held the gate.


OGHREN

     Oghren lost his family to the darkspawn in the deep roads. He was a passionate dwarf, though that passion was drowned in ale. The best help I was able to give was to drink with him and fight with him. That is, fight by his side. Despite the drinks, he was as thoroughly a warrior as Sten. He just seemed to forget it sometimes.

     Oghren was enough of a wild card that I did not wish to take him into the final battle. However, I couldn’t leave him out of the fight altogether and asked him to help guard the gates with Sten, Morrigan, and Dog.


WYNNE

     We met Wynne at the circle tower. She helped us work out a problem there, which unfortunately ended in tragedy. With the tower devastated, Wynne joined us in our quest. Wynne was a wise and comforting presence. She became a confidant to me (and I to her), and she seemed to adopt Alistair as a something of a son.

     Wynne was a powerful healer. However, on our journey we discovered and freed a trapped soul that placed the knowledge of the Arcane Warriors directly into my head. I was able to convey to Wynne enough of the knowledge to bring back their abilities, allowing her to channel magic into the use of weapons and armor.

     Wynne’s healing played a critical role in fighting the archdemon; even with the seeming endless potions, we could not have survived without her healing. She also took out her share of the darkspawn.


ZEVRAN

     While travelling one day shortly after Wynne joined us, we were ambushed. Our skills were stretched to their limits, and we were nearly killed. We managed to take out most of the attackers, but kept one alive for questioning.

     His name was Zevran, and he revealed that he was hired by Loghain and Howe to kill us. But there was something more behind his words. I offered him mercy and his life in exchange for serving us on our quest. This was not a popular offer with my companions; it was, at the time, the greatest rift between Alistair and I. Zevran always expected to be killed. I get the impression that he would have just let me, which breaks my heart.

     We discovered early on that we could communicate openly and easily. We shared ourselves. Although he was less quick than I to describe our relationship as one of love, we are now inseparable. 

     Zevran’s quick combat style meshes well with my own. When we team up against someone or something, we take them down quickly. We work together as well on the battlefield as we do elsewhere.

     Zevran fought with me against the archdemon; I could have it no other way. We don’t talk about my child with Morrigan, but I feel this need to seek her out and discover the fates of her and my child; I need to know that they are safe and…untainted.


OTHER PARTY MEMBERS

     There were others I heard rumor of, in my travels, and I wonder about them here.


GOLEM

     Oghren asked me a question, after it was all over. “How many more lives could we have saved, if we had golems by our side? Even one?”

     His wife, you see, had discovered the secret to making golems. But each golem requires the soul of a living being to create. She wanted to make more golems; we had to stop her.

     His question still haunts me, though: if we had made more sacrifices, would we have spared more lives? Were we really the merciful ones, in the end?


BARD

     I heard rumors that a bard had tried to follow us. She claimed it was her destiny to join us. Either she was crazy, or destiny was averted. In likelihood, though, her life was spared. I wonder if she could have lightened our hearts in our journey, and also wonder if that would have been good or merely pleasant.


LOGHAIN

     Loghain was an enemy to the people; he placed personal ambition above the good of Ferelden. He betrayed the king and the Grey Wardens. But he was a good fighter; I fought him, hand to hand. I have to wonder if he would have survived the joining. Would we have been able to trust him in the final fight?

     But after what he did to Ferelden, after what he did to Alistair, I couldn’t let him live. I wanted to give Alistair the sword, and let him remove the traitor’s head personally; but Alistair was engaged to Loghain’s daughter in an arrangement meant to stave off civil war. I couldn’t let their marriage start with him killing her father. That is not the basis for a stable kingdom.