My parents have the penchant for burning. In fact, they love burning, especially old stuff. Now, the recent victim, or rather, victims, are the red laces which was tied to the tree last Christmas of 2001. I want to save them, I really do. Oh dear, I should be executed for my love of sentimental value.
This is, indeed, for future reference. Artmagick links.
Ugh. Classes again tomorrow. Can't we just go to Hogwart's instead? Study cool stuff like transfiguration rather than do a math boardwork? (In which I haven't done yet.)
I downloaded the following mp3's today:
Christmastime by The Smashing Pumpkins
The Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky
Cosmic Girl by Jamiroquai
Girl by Beck
Fix You by Coldplay
Put up some of the Christmas decorations and bathed the dogs. I'm so excited to do my bit on the Christmas lights... twirl it round and round and round...
Graphisme Chinois et Pixelcreatio
Watched The Exorcism of Emily Rose today... must do research for various other stuff.
Crux sancta sit mihi lux / Non draco sit mihi dux
Vade retro satana / Nunquam suade mihi vana
Sunt mala quae libas / Ipse venena bibas
"May the Holy Cross be my light / Let not the dragon lead me
Step back Satan / Never tempt me with vain things
What you offer me is evil / Drink the poison yourself."
Anyhoo, downloaded Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) by Alannis Morissette, the one in the De Lovely soundtrack. I really love this song... *electric eels, I might add to it... *sings**
Oh btw, I finished Good Omen's yesterday and oh my was it so hilarious! I love the two friends Crowley and Aziraphale! And Adam, the Adversary's son, make me go... 'Awwwww...'. Also, I love the dog Shadow... from yesterday! =D
Save Blind Indus Dolphins Petition! Please sign!
1. The Horus name, associating the king with Horus, the Falcon god:
“Horus, Strong Bull, whose Images are Born.”
2. The Two Ladies Name, associating the pharaoh with the cobra goddess and the vulture goddess:
“Whose Laws are Good, who Pacifies All the Gods.”
3. The Golden Horus Name, a second association with Horus:
“Who Brings Together Divine Order, who Pleases the Gods.”
4. The Prenomen, the first of the king’s two names written in a cartouche, the oval signifying royalty, preceded by the hieroglyphs of a bee and a sedge plant, symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt:
“Re Manifests himself as Lord.” “Lord of Re’s Being.”
5. The nomen, the second name in a cartouche, preceded by hieroglyphs for “Son of Re,” asserting the king’s descent from the sun god Re:
“Tutankhaten, living image of the Aten.” (At this stage his name had not yet been changed.)
I know, don’t listen to Bob Brier or any archeologist wanna be who just want to have money but what can I do dear unca? My library loves those type of authors.
Taken from:
Brier, Bob. 1998. The Murder of Tutankhamen: A 3000 year old murder mystery. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson.
Take a wife while you’re young
That she make a wife for you
She should bear for you while you are young,
It is right to make people.
- The scribe Ani
- Circa 1400 B.C.
Stay away from hostile people,
Keep your heart quiet among fighters.
- The scribe Ani, circa 1400 B.C.
The wealth of an army is its leader.
- Instruction of Ankhsheshonq circa 300 B.C.
Respect the nobles, sustain your people.
Strengthen your borders, your frontier patrols.
It is good to work for the future,
One respects the life of the foresighted.
- King Khety Nebkaure
Circa 2150 b.c.
Scarab inscription sent to Lady Tiye:
… the king’s great wife, Tiye, may she live,
The name of her father is Yuya,
The name of her mother is Tuya,
She is the wife of a mighty king.
I am your son who serves you, who exalts your name;
Your power, your strength, are in my heart.
You are the living Aten whose image endures.
- Akhenaten circa 1340 b.c.
God will attack the rebel for the sake of the temple,
He will be overcome for what he has done…
He will find no favor on the day of woe.
- King Khety Nebkaure
- Circa 2150 b.c.
Common scribe teachers sayings:
“Let your name go forth, while your mouth is silent.”
“Report a thing observed, not heard.”
Statue base inscription:
I am the recorder of the law,
Who gives direction to courtiers
Wise in speech, there’s nothing I ignore.
Priests prayer to Amun:
Pilot who knows the water,
Helmsman of the weak,
Who gives bread to him who has none,
Who nourishes the servant of his house.
I take not a noble as protector,
I associate not with a man of wealth,
I place not my share in another’s care,
My wealth is in the house of my lord.
My lord is my protector,
I know his might, to wit:
A helper strong of arm,
None but he is strong,
Amun who knows compassion,
Who hearkens to him who calls him,
Amun-Re, the King of Gods,
The Bull great of strength, who loves strength.
Furnish your station in the Valley,
The grave that shall conceal your corpse;
Set it before you as your concern…
Emulate the great departed.
Who are at rest within their tombs.
- The scribe Ani circa 1400 b.c.
There is no man who does not die.
- Sayings of Ankhsheshonq circa 300 b.c.
Do not concern yourself with him,
The Asiatic is a crocodile on its shore.
He snatches from a lonely road.
He cannot seize from a populous town.
- King Khety Nebkaure
Circa 2150 b.c.
Crime never lands its wares;
In the end it is justice that lasts.
- Ptahotep
- Circa 2275 b.c.
At last, found Maudragon's Scans.
Oh hail the Abhorsen Lizzie!
Theme song now: Arkarna - So Little Time
So little time... so much to do...
And the Lizzie version...
Don't you just want to SCREW IT ALL?
Downloaded Danny Elfman's The Piano Duet... The one in the Corpse Bride OST. =D
And then, there's Anela's notes:
The Morphology of Arts as a Branch of Aesthetics
By: Thomas Munro
1. Aesthetics as a way of studying the arts
• What is aesthetics?
- “A Philosophy of Beauty”
- A subject that aims primarily at a theoretical understanding of the arts and
related modes of behavior and experience; deals with all the arts
- It investigates not only products but also the process and abilities involved in
creating, using, enjoying, appreciating and evaluating the arts
- It is not confined to any one period of art but compares the different periods to
reveal their common and divergent traits
- Could find out and demonstrate some eternal “laws” of beauty, inherent in the
Universe
• Why study aesthetics?
- To satisfy an intellectual curiosity about the arts and their place in human experience
- In art, we should not only look at the artwork but also dig deep and examine the procedure and abilities
2. Its transition to science
• Aesthetics becomes more empirical, basing its conclusions on the observation of works of art and related phenomena
• Aesthetics is a humanistic science (man and his arts are contrasted with nature
• 3 Prerequisites to the scientific study of arts:
1. Psychology: general, naturalistic conception of human nature
2. Anthropology: shows how art arises and functions in different cultural settings and changes as a factor in social evolution
3. Securing of an extensive range of works of art for observation, representing nearly all major art-producing cultures and periods
§ Humanistic subjects can progress gradually toward scientific status as the prerequisites are used to develop it. Scientific status: observe and describe their phenomena more accurately, infer by controlled logical methods , to guard against prejudice, classify results systematically, formulate and test hypotheses about recurrent phenomena, predict and control outcomes with increasing reliability
* Aesthetics becomes more empirical, concerned with observing and describing concrete data, becomes less purely abstract, less highly generalized, there is a more analytic observation of a particular work of art alone or in comparison with one or two others
§ There is a close cooperation between the philosophic and scientific approaches to aesthetics
3. Description and Evaluation
§ Description:
- Confusion arises when statements of fact are mixed with judgment of value; yet values are facts in one sense (a peculiar kind of fact, unusually hard to investigate empirically)
§ Evaluation:
- One must observe not only the artwork itself but its effects and functions, its consequence in human action and experience along various lines.
-
* Axiology or value theory: praising or condemning a style or art
* Its chief concern is with the nature and varieties of form in the arts
4. Aesthetic morphology as descriptive study of aesthetic form
§ Two main groups of phenomena:
1. Works of art
- Concern is for aesthetic morphology
- Describing the works of art: how it affects observers, social functions for which they are adapted
- Attention on the products
- Pays close attention to both forms and ingredients in art; to their interrelations and mutual influences
- Describes the nature and varieties of form in the arts and by extension in other objects of human or natural origin, in so far as they are used as stimuli to aesthetic experience
2. Consists of related human activities, modes of behavior and experience
- Concern is aesthetic psychology
- Describing behavior and experience in the aesthetic realm: focus upon works of art (before and after)
- Attention on the people who make and use them
* There are FORMS in both these phenomena
* Morphology: to study of the forms which are observable in works of art
8 Aesthetic Axiology refers to both AM and AP
§ Form: mode of arrangement, includes physical and chemical structure of objects and events
Task of aesthetic morphology to distinguish these various kinds of form:
a. Elements, details, parts, materials, ideas or other ingredients involved
b. The ways in w/c these are interrelated
* Kinds of forms are what AM tries to analyze, compare, describe and classify
§ Functioning of art: the ways in w/c it pleases or displeases people
§ Apperception is the sense perception w/c involves a comparatively large amount of interpretation and understanding of meanings
5. Difficulties in observing and describing works of art
§ The complexity, subtlety and variety of forms in art are so elusive and intangible as to defy normal modes of observation
§ Difficulty in finding words for describing art w/c will not imply evaluation, praise or disparagement: must be accepted by all kinds of people
§ Over-specialization in studies of the arts: terms are used differently in different branches
6. Aims and values of aesthetic morphology
§ Form: entire structure of each individual example, its particular selection of materials and its way of arranging them; individual form is what distinguishes AM from other kinds of morphologies
§ Aims and values:
- Primarily intellectual and scientific
- Classify particular works of art under different headings (i.e. epic, lyric sonata etc.)
- Pointing out how it exemplifies this or that quality, style or historic trend
- Studies the peculiarities of individual artists and their works provide the basis for all judgments of value and of greatness
- Improves techniques for perceiving and understanding the distinctive nature of a particular work of art
§ Morphology: begins and ends with detailed, analytical observation of the work of art, along with the attempt by each observer to report objectively what he has seen or heard; comparison of findings by many observers. It is gradually building a tested body of knowledge about the forms and species of form in art; we proceed to study how each kind of art operated in human experience: its functions and effects, actual and possible, under varying life conditions
Watched Domino last night. Tell ya what, Choco rocks my socks. Gotta love South Americans, I tell ya.
Went to Tricia's burial awhile ago. It's sad and I tried hard not to cry, in which I succeeded. But something that Tricia did just made me feel that she did not forget me after all. I love you Tricia, wherever you are right now, when I see you again, I promise I'll teach you how to swim. Probably in heaven's beaches. *hugs*
Anyhoo, they are watching Dreamer downstairs. Might go join them after a few minutes.
Songs for personal reference:
Venus in Furs - Velvet UndergroundThe Rasmus - In The ShadowsCome Together - AerosmithTaro Gomi Scans
It is sad that unless you are born a god, your life, from its very beginning is a mystery to you. You are conceived; you are born: these things are true, how could they not be, but you don't know them; you only have to believe them, for there is no other explanation. You are a child and you find the world big and round and you have to find a place in it. How to do that is yet another mystery, and no one can tell you how exactly. You become a woman a grown-up person. Against ample evidence, against your better judgment you put trust in the constancy of things, you place faith in their everydayness. One day you open your door, you step out in your yard, but the ground is not there and you fall into a hole that has no bottom and no sides and no color. The mystery of the hole in the ground gives way to the mystery of your fall; just when you get used to falling and falling forever, you stop and that stopping is yet another mystery, for why did you stop, there is not an answer to that any more than there is an answer to why you fell in the first place. Who you are is a mystery no one can answer, not even you. And why not, why not!
-Jamaica Kincaid, Autobiography of My Mother
I have decided to list here the books in my froogle wishlist... Hey, it's almost Christmas time you know... *wink*
Lirael by Garth Nix
Abhorsen by Garth Nix
Dreamcatcher by William Goldman
Ghost and the Darkness by William Goldman
El Amor En Los Tiempos de Colera / Love in the Time of Cholera
Vivir Para Contarla by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Collected Novellas by See Garcia-Marq Marquez Gabriel Garcia
No One Writes to the Colonel and other stories by Gabriel Garcia
The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation by James J. Wilhelm
The Misfortunes of Virtue and Other Early Tales by Marquis de sade
THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE AUDREY NIFFENEGGER
SEVENTH TOWER #3 AENIR Garth Nix New SC
The Silent Gondoliers by William Goldman
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel/ Grossman, Edith Memories Of My Melancholy Whores
Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C. S. Lewis and Fritz Eichenberg
Grim Tuesday No. 2 By Garth Nix
Across The Wall by Garth Nix
Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende
Keys to the Kingdom #1: Mister Monday by Garth Nix
Paula by Isabel Allende
Sandman: The Dream Hunters TPB by Neil Gaiman
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Day Dreams by Rudolph Valentino
Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks
A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks
At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks
Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea, and Sky
Egyptian Myths
Egyptian Legends and Stories
Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends
The Gods Are Thirsty by Tanith Lee
Screwtape Letters C. S. Lewis
Zahir Spa, El: Una Novela de Obsesion by Paulo Coelho
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
The Devil in Gray by Graham Masterson
Dragons and Dragon Lore by Ernest Ingersoll and Henry Fairfield Osborn
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman
Sandman, Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman
Flowers of Evil and Other Works/Les Fleurs Du Mal Et Oeuvres Choisies (paperback)
Three Arthurian Romances: Poems from Medieval France : Caradoc, the Knight With the
Sword, the Perilous Graveyard
Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom and Other Writings
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1) by Robert Jordan
Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien
Where Human Pathways End by Shamus Frazer (Limited Edition)
Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Christopher John Francis Boone
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
Mein Kampf & Adolf Hitler
Fables in Ivory : Japanese Netsuke and Their Legends
Pablo Neruda: Absence and Presence
Lambent Traces: Franz Kafka
Ghosts of Sodom: The Secret Journals of the Marquis de Sade by
Medieval English lyrics: a critical anthology
Athenais: The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress by Lisa Hilton
Nestor got his motorcylcle/big bike, whatever you call it (believe me, I can't tell the difference), yesterday. They got it blessed in Antipolo and brought in some cashew nuts, piaya, suman and mcdonald's fries.
Anyhoo, http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/. For future references. I'm reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett for now. =D
It's Christmas season already and I still don't feel like it. I still haven't watched Harry Potter and I probably will, maybe next friday. ... but I can't wait that long. I would very much like to see Cedric...
On monday, we will deliver our postponed report on Venezuela on Latin America/Mexico studies class. I still need to type that annoying weekly reaction paper on two readings in which I haven't read yet for art. I still need to pass Math... in which we will have a quiz on monday. Drink 11 cups of Starbucks coffee to get the planner and do some research on my business proposal in which I don't really want to do but have no choice but to do so. And that I think I need to go to my cousin Tricia's burial tomorrow. Too many things...
I probably won't be able to finish Nano this month. So, goodluck to all the others who are still writing! =D
Anyhoo, read Garth Nix's Sabriel and finished it this morning... can't wait to read the next book. I want more Sabriel/Touchstone adventures!
ALL THE GREAT SMASHING PUMPKINS SONGS (IN WHICH I HAVE TO HAVE)
Gish(1991)
1. I am One
2. Siva
3. Rhinocero
4. Bury Me
5. Crush
6. Suffer
7. Snail
8. Tristessa
9. Window Paine
10. Daydream
Pisces Iscariot (1994)
1. Soothe
2. Frail & Bedazzled
3. Plume
4. Whir
5. Blew Away
6. Pissant
7. Hello Kitty Kat
8. Obscured
9. Landslide
10. Starla
11. Blue
12. A Girl Named Sandoz
13. La Dolly Vita
14. Spaced
Earphoria (1994)
1. Sinfony
2. Quiet -live
3. Disarm -live
4. Cherub Rock -live
5. Today -live
6. Bugg Superstar
7. I am One -live
8. Pulseczar
9. Soma -live
10. Slunk -live
11. French Movie Theme
12. Geek U.S.A. -live
13. Mayonaise -live
14. Silverfuck -live
15. Why Am I So Tired?
Adore (1998)
1. To Sheila
2. Ava Adore
3. Perfect
4. Daphne Descends
5. Once Upon A Time
6. Tear
7. Crestfallen
8. Appels + Oranjes
9. Pug
10. The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete
11. Annie-Dog
12. Shame
13. Behold! The Night Mare
14. For Martha
15. Blank Page
16. 17
17. Once In A While (Japanese cd)
Machina II (2000)
1. Glass' Theme
2. Cash Car Star
3. Dross
4. Real Love
5. Go
6. Let Me Give the World to You
7. Innosense
8. Home
9. Blue Skies Bring Tears (Heavy)
10. White Spider
11. In My Body
12. If There Is a God (Full Band)
13. Le Deux Machina (synth)
14. Here's To The Atom Bomb
15. Slow Dawn
16. Vanity
17. Saturnine
18. Glass' Theme (Spacey Version)
19. Soul Power
20. Cash Car Star
21. Lucky 13
22. Speed Kills
23. If There Is a God (piano-vox)
24. Try, Try, Try (Alternate Version)
25. Heavy Metal Machine (Version I alt. mix)
Miscellaneous Tracks
* Never Let Me Down
* Christmastime
* The End is the Beginning is the End
* The Beginning is the End is the Beginning
* Sad Peter Pan
* Glynis
* Daughter
* Jackie Blue
* My Dahlia
* Sun
I think that this would be on next month's (December) National Geographic:
Eep! I can't wait. Boy, am I such a nerd! And it's still D's birthday today... Happy Birthday D!!! Or Happy Belated Birthday! *hugs*
The full news is here.
Took a quiz too:
Numenorean
Last night, Aunt Espher and Uncle John came to the house to do some jogging, they also brought a yummy, but quite heavy banana cake. That night too, we saw a sick bird. Were kinda scared because the poor bird might have avian flu or something but I still took care of it for quite awhile. We gathered some pine needles and cracked corn and bisquits and made a home for the bird in a transparent plastic ware. I late tucked him in the plant outside, the one with the large leaves and made a little home for him, just in case he wants to fly away. When I got back an hour or so later, the bird was already gone. I just hope that wherever he is, he's alright and well. We also went to the church and mercury drug after with my cousin Jasper who is here now btw.
Anyhoo, today, my cd writer is being such an arse. I was trying to burn Sharae's birthday gift but now it only burns 2 tracks and what? I wasted two blank cds! ARGH! The Blue Bugs Bunny one and my favorite black Astro Boy!
Anyhoo, Sharae's cd was supposed to be like this:
You and Me by Lifehouse
Breathe (2 a.m.) by Anna Nalick
Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynard
The Horizon Has Been Defeated by Jack Johnson
Spark by Tori Amos
Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai
Eye by The Smashing Pumpkins
One of these Mornings by Moby
Cello Song by Nick Drake
Beautiful Way by Beck
She Gave Me Love by Getaway People
I Don't Want To Be by Gavin DeGrawe
Why Does It Always Rain On Me by Travis
But now, it only has these songs:
You're Beautiful by James Blunt
Wisemen by James Blunt
Why Does It Always Rain On Me by Travis
You and Me by Lifehouse
Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai
The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice
Breathe (2 a.m.) by Anna Nalick
Everlasting Love by Jamie Cullum
Cello Song by Nick Drake
Spark by Tori Amos
Taxi Ride by Tori Amos
One of These Mornings by Moby
Beached by Orbital, from The Beach Soundtrack
Trust me
It's Paradise
This is where the hungry come to feed
For mine is a generation that circles the globe
in search of something we haven't tried before
So never refuse an invitation
Never resist the unfamiliar
Never fail to be polite
and never outstay your welcome
Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience
And if it hurts, you know what - it's probably worth it
You hope and you dream
But you never believe that
something is going to happen for you
Not like it does in the movies
And when it actually does
You expect it to feel different
More visceral
More real
I was waiting for it to hit me
I still believe in paradise
But now at least i know it's not some place you can look for
'Cause it's not where you go
It's how you feel for a moment in your life
And if you find that moment, it lasts forever
It lasts forever...
Lasts forever...
(fade)
Voices by Dario G featuring Vanessa Quinones from The Beach soundtrack
We sailed over seas
Searching for the missing key
Unlock a new world harmony
Climb the highest mountain range
Then we took the longest train
Looking for our perfect refrain
I hear voices beneath the sky...
The sky...
The sky...
The sky...
Hidden rhythms in the rivers run
Blinding beats in the desert sun
Hear them today, play all as one
The distant voices in the far off sky
Led us to the elusive prize
Even today, we testify
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
(I hear voices beneath the sun)
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
(In the sun...)
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
(I hear voices beneath the sky)
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
(In the sky...)
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
Na na na na na yeah yeah...
A message I sent to thegirlsofua:
Hullo people, since it's the second sem na, I won't be needing the
following stuff so first person to email me gets the stuff:
Philosophical Antrhopology
Family
Four Loves reading (for Family, Ms. Magsino)
Economics book (2 of them)
First Filipino (Rizal... it's still with Anneler btw)
Anyhoo, anyone have:
APS Japan readings
Political Thought readings
Hope that someone indeed have them. *shrugs*
Garett & Lynette
♥
by Julia Margaret Cameron, (1815-1879)
Last night, we watched The 40 Year Old Virgin and it was one hell of a funny, sort of perverse movie. Lol. Anyhoo, did a bit of washing today. Did my own stuff and smoked a cigarette while I was taking a bath.
Anyhoo, I desperately need to get these cds:
James Blunt - Back To Bedlam
Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
Jamiroquai - Dynamite
Listening to: The Smashing Pumpkins - The Crying Tree of Mercury from Machina: The Machines of God cd 2000
Went to school today early. Like 7:30 or so. I waited for like 30 minutes and probably finished off the battery of the mp3 player before I finally got a number. I got # 845 by the way. I came just after Zoilo. So anyhoo, after paying, I went to Starbucks and got myself a tall Vanilla cream, but the girl said that they have this Halloween promo in which they upsized my drink to Grande by paying only for tall. Lol. Then my sister texted me and asked to buy her food. I got her my favorite Chocolate Belgian Waffle and a chicken pandesal. I passed Economics by the way... 2.5. At last! Thank God! *crosses fingers* I checked it on the computers in Prom A but I'm kinda scared... because my grades in Economics still did not appear in my online grades thing. Oh fear be banished!
Went to Ever afterwards where I saw The Smashing Pumpkin's Siamese Dream and Machina, the Machines of God. I saw a really nice flat shoe, some corduroy/suede garment and it's brown but I have no monies. :( So yeah, we bought mango tango roll cake and chocolate marble ice cream. Dad called btw and he said that he's passing by the Philippines.
Anyhoo, last night, as Nestor and I are on way to Ate Norji to get my Lost dvd, we passed by a deserted street where you can only see candles. There was even a candle stuck on top of the dead end sign and me and Nestor where joking about the way of the dead and stuff like that. And on the way home, I saw my very first live owl. It's white and big with a sort of circular head. Like a snow owl. I'm excited coz I saw one but then I felt bad because they shouldn't be here in the city. They should be back in the woods. :(
Nanowrimo news: Was able to finish Chapter two! Current word count: 3832. I'm still in half of Chapter three...
Chapter Two of the Winter Horse. COPYRIGHT: L. Aranas.
Chapter 2: Glimp & Glomp
As Lillian rode Winter Horse, she was able to observe her surroundings and realize how strange her environment seemed to be. She knows that she doesn’t remember anything about her, but something tells her that this is not how the world around her should look like.
It was winter, she is sure of that, the trees shouldn’t have leaves but the trees in this forest still have leaves. Leaves now covered with hardened ice. They looked like trees blooming in spring, when suddenly, a cold blast of wind had frozen them and left them entrapped inside the wintry frost. The clouds never stopped to swirl and looked like its going to rain any time now. Then it started to snow. The snow fell softly to the ground. The fall of snow seemed to last an eternity for Lillian and she constantly feared that Winter Horse’s feet would be trapped in the soft snow and that he wouldn’t be able to trudge through it but to her surprise, she saw that Winter Horses’ hooves never touched the ground! He was drifting a few inches from the snowy ground… and the falling snow, they never fell exactly to the ground but fades when they reach the same level as Winter Horses’ was drifting at.
Winter Horse knew what things crosses Lillian’s mind. Therefore he decided to tell her things about the world she is currently in.
‘In this world, the seasons start with the Winter, then the Autumn, then the Summer, and lastly, Spring.’
‘Oh.’ She replied, dreamily.
Winter Horse kept on telling her things about the land, and Lillian listened. This world, these surroundings seemed strange to her but she found it fascinating. The frozen roses in bloom made her stop Winter Horse.
Winter Horse stopped and bent down so that Lillian could get off him. ‘You cannot pick anything though.’ Winter Horse warned.
‘Oh I won’t pick anything… I don’t have the heart to!’ Lillian replied as she kneeled in front of a red rose bush. Her hands tracing the delicate blooms of a rose frozen in ice. ‘How sad, sad for such beauty to not enjoy the warmth of spring!’ She thought. She was lost in her own thoughts when a small voice brought her back to the ground.
“… Yo! Winter Horse!” A small, but shrill voice tore the silence of the forest.
Lillian looked around but could not see anyone in sight. Winter Horse, on the other hand, smiled and looked up a pine tree.
“You both were late. Glimp and Glomp.” Winter Horse replied, haughtily.
Lillian looked at the direction Winter Horse was looking and saw two fat, furry, spotted white and brown hamsters that look almost exactly the same.
The sight of the two hamsters caught Lillian off guard. Then suddenly, a vision crossed Lillian’s mind. She was running, running inside a house, there were walls, dark ebony walls… then she opened a wooden door… bright light spilled into the room… then she saw a man, a man whose feet she only could make off, then she went to a table… there was a parcel… she opened it, and inside were a cage... she was lifting the iron cage… then a bright light shined through… brighter than the one which was spilled in the room for this light emitted a certain kind of iridescence as it shimmered, and burst into a thousand glimmering prisms… Lillian felt dizzy and almost fell if it were not for Winter Horse who supported her. She saw the two hamsters on the ground now, but they would not go near her. Lillian’s eyes hurt, they felt strained and tired and her head felt like a thousand tons… she couldn’t make out any of her surroundings anymore.
“… not her, again…” the Glimp was saying.
“She is one of the lost now.” Winter Horse replied.
“… but Winter Horse… she is still… her.” Glomp protested.
“That is why she is here. You have your orders coming from the Master.”
"Hush now, she's coming to her senses…" said Glimp.
"Hush…" replied, Glomp.
Lillian struggled to get up. As she stood firmly, her eyes searched for Glimp and Glomp but they were nowhere in sight. Lillian grimaced, she was sure that they were there before.
"Glimp & Glomp, where are they?" asked Lillian.
"Glimp, Glomp… come out now." Demanded Winter Horse.
Glimp and Glomp came out behind a boulder and scurried behind Winter Horse and climbed on his tail.
Lillian saw Glimp and Glomp climb Winter Horse's tail, smiling, she came up to them but Glimp and Glomp looked at her with fright in their eyes.
"Don't be afraid, Glimp and Glomp. I wouldn't hurt you". Said Lillian as she opened her hands for Glimp and Glomp to jump in.
"Go on, you two sluggards. Lillian can't hurt you now." Said Winter Horse.
Glimp and Glomp jumped into Lillian's hands. "Do you want to go with us, Glimp and Glomp?" asked Lillian.
The two hamsters looked at each other and nodded. A look of distrust crossed their faces, sighed, and nodded again.
"We are meant to go anyway." They both replied at the same time.
"You want to hang into Winter Horse's tail, mane or stay warm in my pocket?" said Lillian, kindly.
"Stay in her pocket, you two, since I don't want fleas hanging on any of my locks." Said the cheeky Winter Horse.
Lillian gently put Glimp and Glomp in her pocket, folding some of the seams to make them feel warmer and comfortable. "Hang in there you two, for Winter Horse is a swift rider. You don't want to fall, don't you?"
"Don't worry about us, Madame." Chorused the hamsters.
Lillian looked dreamily ahead. "I wonder, where did you two come from?"
Glimp and Glomp looked questioningly at each other.
"From the Ash tree over there you mean?" said Glimp, pointing one tiny furry hand into an old, unnoticed Ash tree whose bark looked twisted and burned, a stark contrast to the white veil of Winter.
"Yes, but we also used to live in #109 Rochester Ave, East Port, Daineshire, in Unumterre." Glomp interrupted as he tugged Lillian’s pocket tighter.
“What happened? Why did you guys leave? It must be utterly warm in that place.” Muttered Lillian as she climbed Winter Horse.
Glimp and Glomp gave each other a quirky look, finally, Glimp replied “We’d rather not tell, for it was a grim memory.”
Lillian was about to ask the hamsters another question if not for Winter Horse telling them to hold on tight as he started his speedy gallop, following the road, if ever there was such a thing seen through the snow.
“Aye, Winter Horse, where are we going?” Asked Glomp.
“See, Winter Horse, I’m not the only one curious here.” Said Lillian with a naughty smile in her face.
Winter Horse sighed. He was instructed not to tell, under all circumstances, but then, there were those so called ‘special circumstances’. Winter Horse frowned, almost all the Fallen have ‘special circumstances --- those which need exceptions.’ Inwardly, Winter Horse thought that everything were farce, but then again, it is the all knowing Master to whom his services are bound. Then again, he has to make this exception now…
“To Sir Nicholas de Montmorency.” Winter Horse answered with a defeated groan.
“Aye! That madman!” chorused the hamsters.
“Madman?” asked Lillian.
“Yes, madman. Raving, insane, crazy crackpot of a young knight.” Said Glimp.
“Aye yes, more than that! And even worse! He does not have anybody else in his estate, but him alone. Poor, wasted young knight. Good looking yes he is, blonde hair…” said Glomp.
“Yes, hair the color of maize in a bright summer afternoon.” Said Glimp.
“Eyes, eyes as blue as the tropical blue sky but most of the time, it has the dread of the midnight sky.” Said Glomp.
“But poor boy, he thinks scare crows are his soldiers…” said Glimp.
“And mannequins as peasants…” said Glomp.
“Dear me, he must’ve been through something… depressing, indeed.” Lillian mused.
Winter Horse had been listening to the conversation of his riders while he gallop swiftly on to the de Montmorency estates. ‘Those two who had fallen before the new Fallen. They knew a lot, so it seems. They really are, I dare say, inquisitive and such, pardon the boldness, but rather, loquacious.’ Mused Winter Horse.
‘Glimp, Glomp, my dear friends, remember what we have talked about?’ said Winter Horse effervescently.
Glimp and Glomp swallowed and blinked their tiny eyes in the cold, they had almost forgotten.
“Oh so you guys know each other… like, really know each other eh?” said Lillian, her triumphant smile crossing her face once again, the smile that hints of finally getting to know the things that surround her, the mystery of this weird place and Winter Horse, the speaking Hamsters Glimp and Glomp… she is finally getting close to the truth… or so she thinks. If there is ever a truth, or such a thing as truth in this place. Unfortunately for her, Winter Horse knows her thoughts, for Winter Horse had watched and known her even before she can say that she knows herself. In short, Winter Horse, whose real name was Asrafael, had been her silent guardian, throughout her whole life in Unumterre, even before she had become one of the Fallen. But of course, that fact, that most important fact, is unknown to the Fallen Lillian. She can only thrive on what was given to her, in order for her to reach the fork in the road, that is, if she can redeem herself and succeeding in whatever circumstances that Master might think of giving her what was due. And the first circumstance, was Sir Nicholas de Montmorency.
“Yes, dear Lillian. I know them. As I know everyone and everything.” Replied Winter Horse.
