Just in case you wondered who was who in the attached PDF, I’ve managed to do some wonderful funky editing to pull the images out of the document. I had invited my lovely invisible audience out there to guess which image related to which character in my on-going, not-so short story… The images are fairly old and have been horded in my note book pages for numerous years, so long ago that I’ve lost the original picture files and I suspect they were from Tumblr once upon a time…
So, if you are curious to know who is who please read on…
Let me start with a confession… I think the phrase ‘in my note book pages for numerous years’ might have given you a clue, these are really old characters, roughly connected to an ancient D&D game, dating back centuries, lost in the mists of time… Well, my teenage years actually…
So without further ado, I shall introduce you to the first couple (above) meet Lord Death and his only daughter Lilly. I realise that the concept of Death has been used in various forms of fiction from The Sandman to Terry Pratchett the reminder of our fragile mortality has been transformed into a physical character, a Grim Reaper. The idea of Death as a Father, to actually create life, gives Death himself an ounce of mortality… Lilly herself was a silent beauty who held some of her fathers skills, yet she could also stay his hand, therefore she was sometimes known as Mercy.
Brooding Gothic Characters, handsome male models, Vampires, Werewolves and fashion magazines have all forms the basis of inspiration. Picking names from thin air, falling in awe with sexy eyes and establishing a background story for nothing more than a picture on a poster (or Tumblr)…
Allow me to introduce Storm, above, please don’t let those dreamy eyes fool you, he’s a vicious killer, an assassin, the head of the guild Stormground…
This whisky slugging, shadow hugging sex bomb is known as Sandy, a member of Stormground and a little rule breaking ambitious rogue. A thorn in the side for Storm and a law unto himself…
I honestly can’t remember if I used this rather dreamy image for Elsam or his Son Nathainial… Both are Pirates, Pit Fighters, General Thugs and the ultimate unwilling hero… Both would be far happier in the pub with their mates, but usually ended up saving the world, accidentally…
Meet Storm’s Brother Akdov, who also has the dubious honor of being Sandy’s father. He is the silent partner in Stormground. More of a business man than a killer, he lets others get their hands bloody while he takes a cut and sets up contracts… His business ventures have spread widely through the underground, including various bars, gambling dens and whore houses. Life generally would be perfect, if he didn’t have to keep bailing Sandy out of trouble…
Apologies, this image did not transfer well out of the PDF… However, I should like you to meet Lorn Blackthorn and his lover Scarlet. Both are vampires, if the picture is too distorted to tell. They have a distinctive love/hate relationship, both too alike in their thirst for power and blood for truly love one another without hating each other.
Our final character in this Rogues gallery is Feral, he’s a thief, with quite a good reputation for causing mischief and pranks. He’s a soft heated fool with a wicked sense of humor and enjoys a challenge to really push his abilities, without getting caught!
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I honestly feel a little weird about introducing you all to these characters, they have been with me for so many years, so long ago they were hatched into an evil plot somewhere on a game board, their actions determined upon the roll of a dice. I feel weird giving them life here, so far removed from what I’m currently writing, yet there is also a fraction of tales which remains the same. I don’t know if I will ever give them life again, or if they simply remain in character limbo, trapped in a picture, until I give them a storyline.
I think the last irony I will leave you with, before this post drags on too long. None of the pictures actually ‘look’ like any of the characters!!
… Yeah, that confused me too …
Anne Harrison 21.02.17
Tatterhood 