Nutri-Bars

Space Colony

Any new Colony would need to keep its members healthy and well-fed. As securing protein and food materials from local flora and fauna would be difficult if not impossible for the first few years, an easily transported source of food would be needed.

As this need would contribute to the ever-widening colonization market, several earth-based companies produced nutritional supplement bars. These meal bars were full of immunization medication, vitamins, protein and calories.

The basic formula for the bars was that each one could keep one adult alive for one day.

The flavorings were not the best. Some companies experimented with beef and chicken additives but none were able to truly capture enough flavoring to make them a hot commodity.

Nutri-bars became the food stores of the moderately poor colonists. Flavor wasn't the largest priority.

Some colonists were known to add a Nutri-bar to a soup or stew and cover the bland taste with other seasonings that were available.

INSPIRATION: Firefly (Serenity), Lost In Space (movie)

MutEx Scouts / Pirates

Mut-Ex (MU-TEX)

Mutant Exploration

Mutant Exploration of space.

Humans were considered poorly suited for deep space exploration so the scientific community decided to make some improvements. The scientists borrowed DNA from various animals to increase stamina, agility and muscle density. A few of the MutEx Scouts were given above normal intellects so be able to handle the multitude of navigation calculations more efficiently.

Most scouts were never heard from again; considered a lost cause and never searched for if lost. Hundreds of MutEx scout ships were sent out to find new homes for the citizens of Earth. Only 9 found anything close to a habitable world. Eight were deemed appropriate for colonization and were put on the fast track to be converted to a habitable atmosphere or for the construction of surface domes.

The ninth world, a medium-sized moon, was considered to be too hazardous for navigation and left alone. There were several rumors that one of the more intelligent MutEx scouts was able to overcome the psychological conditioning to obey his orders and found a world for himself and others like him. MutEx scout ships were not designed for inter-atmosphere travel; primarily to search out worlds with breathable or near-breathable atmospheres from orbit. If all of the MutEx scout ships crashed into their hidden world, there would be no threat. If any of them survived, they would be bound to the planet.

The problem is that they did survive and the Scouts, with their genetic enhancements, flourished. While the new eight colony worlds were being established and the settlers pushed their way out from Earth to their new homes, the Scouts turned themselves into pirates; attacking colony ships for provisions and materials.

It was because of the MutEx pirates that the Colonization Council established an armed patrol to escort the ships.

MutEx Pirates are the stuff of legend. Some say that they eat the people they catch on board the ships and others believe that they eject them to space. Either way, MutEx "MU-tex" has become a synonym for danger; a space-faring bogey man.

Two or three generations of being exposed to a number of different types of radiation has warped their appearance and that of their children giving them an almost monstrous appearance.

INSPIRATION: Reavers (Firefly), Morloc (Time Machine)

Blackthorn: Travel and Technology

In the Jules Verne-esque, Steampunk world of Thomas Book, travel is handled a bit differently than what was documented in the years prior to 1920. Specifically, the technology of travel is considerably different.

LAND:
The most common form of transportation was across land; generally in the form of the steam locomotive.

Train tracks criss-crossed the various nations of the world. From the metropolis cities of the United States to the untamed wilds of Eastern Europe, rail was the fastest way to travel on land. As this meant that passengers would be on the tracks for days at a time (for longer voyages) several of the rail companies created palaces of locomotive luxury where the wealthy could recline and relax and enjoy the scenery.

More than a few wealthy Coal and 'Steam' barons, invested in their own rail cars to the extent that they became almost like a mechanical yacht and were used to tour around the country whenever needed.

Cities such as Chicago and New York have even created smaller rails that encircle their borders and even travel under ground to move people here and there. (Steam-powered Subway)

SEA:
Aside from land travel, the next most common form of transport is that of ocean travel. Steam-powered ships like the Titanic disgorge an innumerable mass of passengers at the ports of San Francisco, New York and London every week. Again, as travel is slower greater luxury has been created for those who can afford it.

A recent project to increase shipping from the east to the west has been the creation of a canal near the South American city of Panama.

AIR:

The least common form of transport is that of Air Travel. Only the wealthy could afford such means but for those who could, it became a floating palace to move from city to city. Considerably faster than rail travel because of their ability to ignore topography, Air Ships are extensively used in Europe where the terrain makes rail travel lengthy.

Newly adopted by the American cities, Air Ship tethers are becoming more and more common for the skyscrapers in Los Angels, New York and Chicago.

Woodcuts and Concept Art

These are some woodcuts I sacnned from a book called "Mountain Magic" or something there abouts. The material in the book was fairly common but the wood cuts were awesome.

I post them here because you could easily take one and tell a story about it or use them as clip-art for a post on a ghost story or something.

Bboard Avatars

basement door

basement door
Originally uploaded by mobyoctopad

I love the look of this basement door. Since it's below the level of the street, it suggests a level of secrecy about it. However, if it is such a "below the common notice" bit of architecture, why decorate it with the nice stone accents around the frame and on either side?

Few buildings are built like this any more so it suggests that the building itself is old.

And old buildings are FULL of stories; sometimes secret stories.

if ever there were a doorway that could lead the way to some clandestine meeting, here it is.

Owl.

The silent messenger who knows 10,000 things.

Skraggling

Concept Art: Character

I found this guy doing a search for a demon's name.
There's something about him that resembles a WoD chracter
Maybe he's a a Magus?

Concept Art: Props

Imagine finding this skull somewhere. Definite proof of vampirism and as soon as you move it into the daylight it explodes into ash.

Masks

This is the dorsal view of a bat's skull. I love how the eyes are huge and slanted.
This would make for an awsome mask if you could somehow get it cast out of hydrostone

Wyck: I've got Wounded

Villa Park - Lapine Medical Center

A simple small dwelling. From the door one can see the kitchen, living room, and a hallway leading to some other parts of the dwelling. The living room, which is immediately past the door, is furnished lightly with some paintings, a few bits of holo-art, and a large television off to the right.

The kitchen is made entirely of chrome, glittering in the artificial light and practically sparkling when things are moved around. It is kept meticulously clean at all times and is well equipped.

The hallway, is peeked down, seems to connect to some bedrooms and the bathroom, as well as to a back exit.

Contents:
Elanor
Shoebox
Fridge
dufflebag
Obvious exits:
Street

The door upstairs is practically broken down as three young man force their way through it in a rush of cuts and bruises. Through the hall and down to the medical center's basement, one voice calls out above the screams and moans of the others,

"Trix! Doc! Where are you? I've got wounded!"

The smell of blood and burnt flesh begins to fill the stairway as Wyck arrives with two others; one limping with a hunk of cloth wrapped around his thigh and the other with an old t-shirt trying to keep a cut on his forehead from bleeding into his eye. They are both street-rats, but the quality of their clothes suggests that they're not bums or one of the homeless. They were wearing fairly nice garments that have now been soiled with blood, street grime, and what appears to be carbon from a fire. Wyck is the last to enter the room, holding a wooden sword, a japanese boken, out as though his life depended upon it.

Elanor is just getting to her security chair when the poor door is pried open. She presses the open button to possible spare it from further harm as injured gangers spill into her home. One ear is stock straight, the other off to the side, angled downwards. A brief instant of hesitation before she moves towards the closest, "The able should bring the disabled downstairs to the operating room. Swipe medical insurance cards at the terminal there."

"They don't /have/ medical insurance cards, Trix!." Wyck's voice is strained, almost hoarse as though he's been screaming. Finally content that nothing's following them, he relaxes his defensive stance with the boken and lets it drop to his side; the edge of the wooden sword scored with what would appear to be claw-marks and scorching. Sliding the 'weapon' into his belt as though it were scabbard, he reaches down to grab the legs of the one who was injured in the thigh. "It's ok Benny, she's going to fix ya up right." Putting him on the table as he's the less ambulatory, he turns to the other one and asks, "Zen, have a seat bud. Ya got him here. It's ok now."

The guy with the head wound takes a seat and the blood from his scalp continues to seep through the t-shirt bandage.

Elanor waves a small furry hand, "Hey, don't do what you can't do, a girl can dream." she huffs, looking over the man on the table even as she pulls a stool over to step up onto and get a better vantage. She digs into a pocket and procures a scalpel and a tricorder looking device she begins to sweep over the man slowly.

The wounds appear to be slashes, not from any blade but rather a claw - three of them in fact. The leg has been slashed open and the femur snapped.

Elanor clucks her tongue softly before she gives the tool she's using a sharp twist, reconfiguring it for the new task of dermal regeneration, slowly sweeping its regenerative light over the worst bleeding as the other hand digs about for a bottle, "Feed him two of these, one at a time."

Wyck takes the offered bottle and stands close to Benny's head so he can see him. "Benny, it's me." The blonde-haired guy is starting to fade with the blood loss and the pain, "I want you to swallow this," he offers one of the pills and then the other. "She's going to fix ya up." The smile he offers has been made a hundred times before by those men who command others and attempt to try and convey confidence and hope in a wink. As Ben's injuries are being seen to, Zen's eyes begin to flitter. The blood seeping from his forehead apparently has drained him of his conscious thoughts and with a slump he falls out of the seat and to the ground.

"Zen!"
Elanor issues forth a colorful word known only in disreputable sections of LATMA, betraying her occasional habit of wandering away from the safety of home and the security measures therein. With the bleeding staunched and the drugs tingling through the injured man's body to work in her stead, she hops down and begins waving at the still upright gangers, "Ok, chop chop, I need these people downstairs now so we can get this under control. Move it!"

Villa Park - Small House - Operating Room

This cellar glitters with sparkling metal and smells of exotic drugs. The walls are lined with all manner of curious tincture and pharmaceutical products. All the tools one could need to research, test, and create entirely new medicines seems to be present, crammed into the ordered place.

Hanging over it all is one, large, digital clock that reads the time silently. Off to the left is a monitor with a keyboard, likely a computer, and to the right is some strange device that constantly crackles with electricity. There are a few chairs scattered about in convenient places as well to top things off.

Contents:
Elanor
Obvious exits:
Out
Wyck picks Zen up and drags him into the operating room since he's passed out. Benny is a different story. With Elanor's help, he manages to get the two injured people down into the operating room where she can tend their wounds more effeciently. "Zen. Zen. Wake up dude. Come on now, stay with me."

In her native environment, the doctor is much more efficient. With assisting pulls, straps, and grabber arms, she is able to rapidly analyze the next in line, which would be Zen. She spares a glance towards Wyck, "No one's died on my table yet," she murmurs, the air going thick with the resonance of her will, a calculated but wild regrowth, like a crazy fractal pattern in the lights, smells and even the sound of the lab area, weaving her miracles into the flesh of the injured man.

Wyck turns towards the rabbit-themed doctor and pleads with his eyes, "Trix. Save them." It's a simple request but one pulled from the bottom of his soul.

Benny begins to moan here and there, the nightmarish visions of earlier begining to wander in and out of his thoughts. It is then that Wyck begins to feel the brunt of what has happened. His body begins to slow here and there as he tries to help the two guys. Holding both of their hands in his own as though he were trying to link them together through himself - daring death to come for any of them.

Elanor is a rapid worker when motivated, but she has not the ability to work on two people simultaneously. A piercing shriek makes her ears go flat on her head as she snaps her view onto Benny, then back at her current patient, "Your friend is leaving, grab the metal pads over there." She gestures with an ear, "Rub them together, then press to his chest a moment." she instructs, trying to concentrate on the task at hand, "And be quick!"

Wyck uhs in confusion for a moment and then stands up to look for the metal pads. He doesn't want to let go of either of them but as he sees her begining to become more frenetic with her pace he drops them. Rubbing them together like he's seen in the old vids he walks over and waits for her to say the magic word.

"Do it!" she says in a sharp snap, general soft patience worn away to a razor point while life and death dance so darkly in her usually clean working area. On the positive, her patient seems to be doing fairly well under the battery of applied will and advanced technology, "Pre-programmed" she mutters as if that should explain something.

Wyck pushes the pads to Benny's chest and screams "Clear!" as though it were a magical phrase once uttered by the gods at the moment of human creation. Pulling them back from the chest, he attempts to see if there's been any improvement. "Come on Benny. Come back."

The loud thin wail stutters at the moment of contact, the detected heart jumping at the touch of electrical life, but it returns, wailing, a keen electronic howl for the dying. "Again!" She flashes her teeth, gritted, as she runs light fingers over console, "Damn it all where's that assistant," she fumes, though not looking around for said assistant, focused as she can be.

Wyck presses the pads against the guy's chest with a repeat of the power-word. "Clear!" The shock of the pads send a ripple through Benny's body. As he's standing this close to the doc, it's possible that she could see the large chunk of denim that's been ripped from his vest - exposing his flank. The flesh is still pink from where his pattern has been repairing itself from a three-clawed slash.

The sound stutters again, then fades, the tension in the doctor fades with it, released from her body in a long slow sigh. Elsewhere in the room, the monitor has two lines, one turning steadily green, the other silently faded from deep flashing red to a dull grey. Automatedly, the city files are updated to time of death and appropriate files formed. Her winning streak couldn't have lasted forever, not that this rests entirely so casually for the doctor, who is frowning heavily even as she finishes.

Wyck glances up to the doc, his eyes begining to fill with tears as the sound of the fading machine fills his ears. "No..." He doesn't want to believe it. "NO!" And with that, the pads are launched across the room. The outburst of emotion seems to smack him in the face and he reaches out with his hands to grip an imaginary bar before him. Fingers wrap and clench around the bar as tear-filled eyes well up and pour onto his face. "No. No. No." he repeats the chant as the hate and sorrow pour from him into his clenched fists.

The 'focus' ends with the suddeness of breaking a shoe-string and he turns to her to ask, "What about Zen?" He turns to see the man with the scalp-lac in hopes that all is not lost.

The metal pads accept their abuse with only the clatter of settling on the floor. The doctor raises an ear, "Your friend is fine, the trauma is under control, should have him back up on his feet soon." She glances off, "Sooner if you don't mind awkward questions, sooner than that if he wants to take a bath." a soft cluck, "I'm sorry." The three syllables emerge heavy, barely reaching you before they flop to the ground limply, Elanor doing what she has to do without the bounce she had just a few days prior.

Wyck walks up to Zen and places his hand upon the man's eyes to close them. "Zen. She's going to make you better. Trust me." Turning back to the doc, he quietly nods to her as though he were giving permission for her to use the 'juice'. "She's got these machines that can stitch you up in a second. You'll be fine." As a street-rat, Zen probably has no idea what can and can't be done with modern medical technology so how's he to know that it's not coincidental.

Zen is lifted smoothly and a bay slides out from the wall, filled with green solution, which Zen is slid into, sealing up shortly after even as its machinery humms gently in a warm up cycle. A breathing mask is slid into place and other tubes cover other portions of the body that may require evacuation, "What happened?" asks Elanor as she hops off her stool, seemingly confident that Zen will be fine.

Wyck begins to help 'tidy' up Benny's body as he speaks, "They'd been nervous about things on the street for a while. I didn't know what it was and couldn't find anything to go on. I moved them around for a while, to keep them safe. They went back to an old squat and that's when 'it' found them.'"

Elanor wriggles her clawed fingers, though much smaller claws than what could have done the damage, "Something large and mean." she cants her head, "Werewolf?" She looks down to the man devoid of life and frowns again, glancing around in the realization that her den of life making and alteration has precious little accomodation for the dead, "Do you.. have arrangements?" she asks tenderly, "Or..?"

Elanor drops the second question in favor of moving to the monitor and pressing buttons at an idle pace, "Your friend was gushing on the inside. Dead man walking." she looks over her shoulder, "It wasn't your fault."

Wyck finishes tucking in this and that on Benny's body before pulling out a wad of NuYen from inside his vest. "Here. Let me know if you need more." He swallows dryly and tries to think for a moment. "I can't think of a single reason it went for them. There's no reason..." he trails off as one hand rests upon the handle of the boken stuck into his belt. Like a Samurai, he begins to pace back and forth in thought. "It definately wasn't from this world so how did it get in?"

Elanor holds up a hand, "No charge for incomplete jobs." she refuses the mony and wanders towards you, arms crossed under chest, "Can you start from the beginning, hmm? What is it and why is it bothering you?"

Wyck asks, "Can you keep an eye on him," he pats Benny's chest twice and turns back to the rabbit-eared doctor. "I need to go find some people to help me with this."

Elanor lifts her shoulders slowly, "Unless you.. have specific desires, I could handle it for you?" she offers, sounding more than a little awkward in the offering, shuffling faintly.

Wyck shakes his head. "I can take care of it, but I need to get some help first. He's not going across alone." Leaving the money on the table, he walks over and kisses his finger-tips before pressing them against the shelf where Zen is being repaired as though offering a final blessing. "I'll be back before dawn."

Elanor nods, and rolls a hand, "When he awakens, what should I tell him?" she steps along after you, a trailing white ghost of long ears, "I'm sure he'll want to know where you are, and what's going on... and why his friend is dead on the floor. I don't exactly look like your usual doctor, he may be a little alarmed."

Wyck asks, "Can you keep him asleep until I get back? He won't understand and it'll be easier to just let him wake up at my place." Pausing by the stairs he waits for the answer before he takes off.

Elanor nods lightly, "I'll keep him under until you're back then." a soft cluck, then she looks at the money, and sighs, "That'll half pay for the door repair." she murmurs, talking herself into keeping it.

"Thanks." echoes from Wyck as he climbs the stairs to leave.

Another Ring

Just the symbol for Sulfur but it looks cool.

Character: Jeffrey

A Magus

Vampire Hunter's Journal: Concept Art

Char pic

A ring

This is the Alchemical symbol for Mercury. When I saw it, I was reminded of a signet ring. I'm not sure which character it would be fore but I like the design.

mercury rules communication, travel, technology. mercury transcended both the solid and liquid states, both earth and heaven, both life and death. It symbolized Hermes himself, the guide to the Above and Below

Mesa Settlements

The idea of a Mesa (technically a butte) is very alluring to me. It's a big tower of rock in the middle of a vast expanse of flat ground.

I have been looking at them for years and wondering, as many people probably do, "what does it look like on top?"

As some of the buttes have a raised 'skirt' around their base it made me think of the defensive constructions used in medieval castles. The raised area was to strengthen the tower and made it more difficult for someone to assault the base.

So then the idea hit me that the Buttes were sort of like "Desert Towers" or Castles in the Desert. Well, if you're going to have a tower, you're going to have people living in them. And if you're going to have castles you're going to have to have someone to protect yourself from.

This got my mind working but nothing ever felt like it was the right thing.

Some of the Buttes that I found may not have the best tops so I thought that maybe they could be tunneled into like caves so that people wouldn't be subjected to the harsh winds at that altitudes.

A butte with tunnels and caves would suggest a community. It would certainly take some sizable effort and food coordination to feed enough workers to hollow out such places.

And then, if I could tie a few of those buttes together (if they were naturally clustered together) then you could have settlements of several buttes as a colony or community.

See where I'm going here? It's almost like a Seich in Dune.
If you could tie them together with rope-bridges then you'd have a community that only touched the ground when needed.

And that left the question: what are they keeping off the ground from?

In Dune they had to face huge sand worms that were the size of several buses strung end to end. That seemed a bit too much. It's not like you'd ever be surprised by one of them coming. So long as you could just get out of their way you wouldn't be hurt by them but they might tear up a harvester from time to time.

However, something smaller - like this creatures from Tremors, would be fast enough to be able to sneak up on someone from under the earth and snatch them like a real predator.

One way to escape these predators (which can tunnel through the soft desert soil but have a tough time with rocks like the butte), would be to stay off the ground. Enter... a glider.

Though the only form of a hang glider I could find looks like a flying triangle, I'm sure that in a fantasy sense, someone could find a more interesting construction. How would they make it?

Simple: you hunt the things that also fly.

So I threw a Pterodactyl into this desert ecology and, of course, have to throw in herds of something that it can hunt; probably antelope.

The flying lizards could be a real threat to any kind of surface creature as they could swoop down from neighboring heights and pluck them from the earth. Also, they could be a problem for the mesa communities because the buttes would be their favorite nesting sites.

Their wing leather would be highly prized by the glider-makers as it's proven to be light and strong enough to handle the wind-sheer.

Antelope meat would only be part of these people's diet so they would have to find some other means to grow crops - perhaps on the tops of the buttes.

Aradian Rune: The Quest

The Quest

The Quest is the sacred journey to find personal enlightenment. Though many a hero may set out for some precious artifact such as the golden fleece, it is often the journey to such a jewel that proves to be more valuable than the bauble itself.





The Quest does not exactly match any of the Futhark runes of the Norse. However it's meaning could be defined simply as: The search for enlightenment, knowledge, etc.

In the Rider Tarot, the Quest is the Persona of the Hermit:

In readings, the Hermit often suggests a need for time alone - a period of reflection when distractions are limited. In times of action and high energy, he stands for the still center that must be created for balance. He can also indicate that withdrawal or retreat is advised for the moment. In addition, the Hermit can represent seeking of all kinds, especially for deeper understanding or the truth of a situation. "Seek, and ye shall find," we have been told, and so the Hermit stands for guidance as well. We can receive help from wise teachers, and, in turn, help others as we progress. Keywords: wisdom, solitude

Aradian Rune: The Mystery

The Mystery

The figure of the Mystery is the secret, the hidden knowledge that the Hero must learn in order to succeed where others have failed. In some of the ancient stories, the Mystery was the secret of the Labyrinth that was given to Prince Theseus so that he could navigate his way through the creation of Daedalus for the king of Minos. With this Mystery he was able to defeat the beast.

It is this type of 'hidden lore' that "The Mystery" represents.


The Hidden most closely resembles the character of Perthro in the Futhark runes of the Norse.


Perthro

Secrets: Uncertain meaning, a secret matter, a mystery, hidden things and occult abilities. Initiation, knowledge of one's destiny, knowledge of future matters, determining the future or your path.

In the Rider Tarot, the Hidden is the Persona of the High Priestess:

In readings, the High Priestess poses a challenge to you to go deeper - to look beyond the obvious, surface situation to what is hidden and obscure. She also asks you to recall the vastness of your potential and to remember the unlimited possibilities you hold within yourself. The High Priestess can represent a time of waiting and allowing. It is not always necessary to act to achieve your goals. Sometimes they can be realized through a stillness that gives desire a chance to flower within the fullness of time. Keywords: secrets, inner wisdom

Aradian Rune: The Muse

The Muse

The figure of the Muse is a character often found in the tales of the ancient and old worlds. It is this person who awakens the Hero to understand their true potential and helps them find a place within the world.

Every culture has an interpretation of this figure whether it be an Angel inspiring someone to build a great cathedral or a water nymph to inspire a poet to write the dramatic histories of ancient Greece.

The Muse closely resembles the character of Dagaz in the Futhark runes of the Norse.

Dagaz

Breakthrough, awakening, awareness. Daylight clarity as opposed to nighttime uncertainty. A time to plan or embark upon an enterprise. The power of change directed by your own will, transformation.

Additionally, the Rune entitled "The Muse" is associated with the persona of the Rider Tarot: "The Star".

This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench the Querent's thirst, with a guiding light to the future.

In the Winter Rose Tarot (Copyright to Emeleth MacEwen), the Muse is represented as the "Priestess of Air". As the Priestess of Air, she is the force of inspiration, seeing past the day to day obfuscations in life.