Writing Exercise 056

The first writing exercise this year is a song, or more precisely a lullaby. It has no melody yet, but it might get one perhaps. I only wrote the bridge and the chorus once after the fist stanza in order not to bore you with a lot of repetition. But a song is a song, so imagine them being sung after every stanza. Enjoy. :)

2017/01/06 – write a song

1.
When my evening falls
And all the lights of day
Are declining to dusky shades,
I remember
All the way that I’ve come,
All the chances that have passed me by,
And all the choices that I’ve made.
And I see what I’ve become by now.

Bridge:

And I kiss them all good night,
I kiss them all good night…

Chorus:

And as the last star
Has fallen that day,
I close my eyes in ease.
May the night lead my dreams,
May darkness accompany my heart
To the promised place.

2.
There’s a mirror in front of me,
The surface of the seas
Is almost as smooth as glass.
As it flows
The waters ease
The long forgotten memories,
Just leave me silently
Within total calm of mind.

3.
A lovely breath of air
Surrounds me tenderly,
Caresses me with love,
Just makes me feel
Like flying.
It sings a sweet lullaby,
As it carries away
All the sad thoughts in my head.

4.
The tiny flame
Inside my heart
Keeps still on burning,
I can see it slightly
Shimmer in the dark.
The flickering heat
Melts away all the pain
I felt for so long.

5.
Under my restless feet
The earth is beating
With a slow pulse.
There’s still plenty of power,
It still gives me strength.
On the solid soil
That will protect my sleep
I lay my head to rest.

Fairy lights

I hope you had a lovely second Sunday in Advent. :)

On Saturday my fiancé, two of our friends and I went to a Christmas market with a medieval theme. There were a lot of booths and people wearing garbs, and we were ones of them. The hot beverages and sweets were very welcome, we watched a fire show and awesome concerts. It was pretty cold, but also pretty amazing. There were campfires and tents all around, so you could warm up whenever.

The market was located around a lake, and on the surface of the frozen water there were hundreds of lights. It was so beautiful and the atmosphere seemed as if enchanted. You could very well imagine fairies dancing in the dark.

This picture is but an insufficienct glimpse at what it was like. But it is enough to give you an impression of this almost magical night...

Quoth the Raven

I must admit, I really like the works of E.A.Poe. Especially the poem "The Raven" is one of my favourites.
Then I discovered the band Omnia has turned this very poem into a song -- a really good one with all the darkness and grief which the poem holds.
Inspired by these two works I drew a picture of a raven and coloured it with SAI. Here are the two versions I did:

Lend me your voice!

Today I want to talk about some of the characters from my book in the making 'Ravenous Adventures -- A Tale from Neverbeen Universe'. As I already told you in another blogpost I know them like the back of my hand.
I drew a couple of pictures for the novel, so you'll be able to see how I imagine them -- so they might come alive in your minds as you read my story. But what a book can't provide is a voice. And I have specific ideas how my characters sound like.

So let me introduce my characters and tell you who I envision to be their seiyuu (voice actors). :D

Raphael Raven is a 2482 years-old Daemon and the CEO of Raven Corp, which specializes in IT and computer games. He originally comes from a highly magical world, where humanity is almost extinct, but currently lives in Thuddington City on Earth. Calm and collected, Raphael is a natural leader and specializes in telepathy and teleportation. He might be reckless about his own health -- he has a weak heart condition --, but he cares deeply for the few persons dear to him. His hobbies are cooking and dragons.
I imagine his voice like Matthew Heafy's from the band Trivium. (A lot of their songs are very fitting to him and his situation also. :o)

Gene Hoffman is a 32 years-old human from Thuddington City. He is Raphael's lover of a good seven years. Gene is very laid-back and good-natured, he is compassionate and caring. Gene works as game tester for a games magazine and part-time voice actor. He is a foodie and a nerd. Raphael has taught him telepathy. Gene is a huge fan of Raven Corp, and he likes dragons. He would leave everything behind and follow his lover into his magical world.
His voice would be Ville Valo's from the band HIM.

Thanatos Vulture is the most gentlemanly Reaper there is. His species and age are unknown. He is Raphael's best friend. Reasonable and very polite, Thanatos is a workaholic who has a very deep fondness for coffee. He is a man of principles and high morale. His way of speech is old-fashioned and stiff; he uses Japanese suffixes to express respect appropriately. Always keeping his countenance he hardly shows emotions, but he worries for his best friend and for his former apprentice.
His seiyuu would be Toshiyuki Morikawa (voice actor, famous roles are Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children or Naraku from Inu Yasha).

Azrael is a new Reaper and used to be Thanatos's apprentice. Before he became Reaper he was a human named Jake Darjeeling, but passing the examination he gave up that identity with all of his memories and mannerisms. Azrael is like a blank canvas. He tries to fit in with the Reapers and finds himself in situations of questionable morale as he tries to figure out the right thing to do. Out of the Reapers he respects his former mentor, Thanatos, the most and he shares his fondness for coffee.
To me his voice actor is John Legend.

Phobos Morgenstern is Lucifer's youngest son and his heir. He lives at Lucifer's castle in Hell and tends to the twilight gardens and his spirit forge. He is Raphael's best rival and gives people insulting nicknames. (Phobos calls Raphael 'Bloody Frailtard' while he in turn is dubbed 'Old Grump'.) Choleric and foul mouthed, Phobos is an ingenious seal technician and expert exorcist. While he would deny any help, he in truth is very reliable and strong. He bakes the best chocolate cookies in all the Realms.
I imagine his voice is Alexander Spreng's from the band ASP.

Ayumu Nakashima is a human witch, who has so many seals and curses about her that her life expectancy is greatly enhanced. She is Phobos's girlfriend and lives with him in Hell; he nicknamed her 'Manipulative Hag'. Ayumu is very good at healing magic, she is kind but stands her ground. She is one of the very few people who can calm Phobos (as much a she can rile him up). Ayumu is witty and a good friend. She is a voice of reason.
Her voice would be Emilie Autumn's.

Sendrith is a shrewd demon, who has been abducted as a boy, brainwashed and formed into a wretched creature. At his lord's main fortress he is the master of dungeons. He is ruthless, cruel, clever and eager to please his lord. Due to his training and brainwash he likes to inflict pain as much as he likes to receive it. Sendrith would do anything for his master.
His voice actor should be Yoann Lemoine (Woodkid).

Number 463/Yumír is a young shadow devil, a magical creature who can transform into anyone his counterpart wishes to see most -- he creates a perfect carbon copy of that person. As he is very talented he can also transform into different things or people. Shadow devils are very dangerous creatures when the grow up and suffer from identity crisis. Number 463 is named after ther number on his collar, as he belongs to the same master as Sendrith. He is a lonely, sweet, shy boy who is so very grateful Sendrith does not shun him that he is willing to do almost anything for Sendrith. He is so glad to finally receive a name of his own -- Yumír.
I imagine his voice like Maggie Eckford's (Ruelle).

I know not if there is a reason...

The past weekend has been very eventful for me.
My fiancé and I went to St. Goarshausen, which is situated at the river Rhine.

As I do Tai Chi the "Tai Chi Forum International" led by Volker Jung was the place to be and learn about the five elements (water, earth, wood/wind, fire and metal) and their influence in the hand form.


On Saturday we went to St. Goar, which is situated on the other bank of the Rhine, and visited the castle ruins of Burg Rheinfels, where there was a medieval fair this particular weekend.

At Burg Rheinfels there were a castle museum, lots of booths, knights' games, bards playing minnelieds and really splendid views over the Rhine.

Isn't it beautiful? This really was a fun day (although I sprained my ankle). :D

On Sunday, before heading home, we also visited the Loreley rocks. Which is a MUST SEE when you are there!
The rocks create a seven times echo which caused lots of ships to crash. According to legend the Loreley was a maiden who sang like a siren to lure sailors against the rocks.

Maybe you have heard about the poem by Heinrich Heine about the Loreley, which was turned into a beautifully melancholic song? Here it is, as translated by A.Z. Foreman:

I know not if there is a reason
Why I am so sad at heart.
A legend of bygone ages
Haunts me and will not depart.

The air is cool under nightfall.
The calm Rhine courses its way.
The peak of the mountain is sparkling
With evening's final ray.

The fairest of maidens is sitting
So marvelous up there,
Her golden jewels are shining,
She's combing her golden hair.

She combs with a comb also golden,
And sings a song as well
Whose melody binds a wondrous
And overpowering spell.

In his little boat, the boatman
Is seized with a savage woe,
He'd rather look up at the mountain
Than down at the rocks below.

I think that the waves will devour
The boatman and boat as one;
And this by her song's sheer power
Fair Lorelei has done.

As you can see, my fiancé and I had a great trip. I wish I could have shared more impressions with you because the landscape is really breathtaking and beautiful. If you ever get the chance to go there, do so! I can highly recommend it. :D

Writing Exercise 029

As I'm on holiday this week my weekly writing exercise has to be published today, before my departure.
To me, this week's topic has great timing because last week my djembe (African drum) group performed at a summer party. I was super nervous but everything went well and we had a lot of fun. So this is what came to mind when tasked to write a drabble about music:

2016/06/27 – Drabble: Music

Knees touching, we sit and wait. My heart beats like a drum as I glimpse at the others of our ensemble. It is time.

Together we chant like a choir so the people may gather: “Odja hee, odja – hee odja...“ I suck in a breath as our leader gives the signal. My hands fly over the African drum, hitting the drumhead in a quick staccato: open, open, bass – bass, bass. The beat is fast, the rhythm invites to dance. The crowd cheers as I play a solo. In the end we throw our hands in the air, laughing: “Fanga!” – Welcome.

Oh, and don't forget: on Wednesday I guest vlog on Frankie's and Sam's blog 'Kalopsiad'.
Let me know what you think of it.
See you next week! :D