The Space Opera Working Thread

reply to post by wildtimes

Is it Gep who has stumbled upon Death, Adam and Pandora????
I'm thinking it might very well be....

Nope. Page answered...

*Off too look at the new link*

Originally posted by wildtimes

Okay, I just re-read this...and you've sparked an idea for where Dag is going next.
If you do a google map search for directions from Lebanon to Fairy Stone State Park, you'll see the 150-mile route that Brittle needs to take to get to the portal to Avalon from Vandalia.

I'm right now just a bit south of Fairy Stone State Park. They have stones made by the fay there, laying all over the place, hence the name. Excellent choice for a portal to Avalon!

Where, in relation to Lebanon, is the witch's hut? I loved that scene...
I'll go back to check it again, to see if you specified her coordinates, but if by any chance she is near Hobbs End, well, that could make for some really interesting synchronicity here, and hook up Brittle with old Gert, and Neno with Dag...and maybe even Silo and Pip??

I'm not sure yet where Hobb's End would be. Going by the description in the story of neno's travels from the big rock to Gert's cabin, here is an overview placing it within the context of most of the points so far:



Lebanon is in the lower left corner, most of the rest of the places are towards upper right. Gray's Cave is just outside Lebanon, to the north. Following Cedar Creek from the east end of Lebanon northward, one will run into Daugherty's Cave along the banks of it. Going northeast from that, along River Mountain, one will find most of the other points. Those are located in what was known as "The Corner Settlement", on the eastern end of Glade Hollow.

The Breaks is too far away to show in this map. It's about a 2 or 3 day horse ride north of the Corner Settlement. Bundy's Cave is on the other end of Glade Hollow from the Corner Settlement.

Here is the most likely route from the Falls to the ridge of the mountain, where Dag and Brittle looked across at the passes to the eastward, heading towards fairy Stone:



It goes right past Gert's cabin, but on the other end of that high meadow where the rock wall is, so they would not have actually seen the cabin, although they would have been within 200 yards or so of it.

EDIT TO ADD: (I don't know for sure that the story IS in fact, about Neno, but it crossed my mind, and I can see Neno fling a lawsuit against Death for shoddy workmanship!)

I shudder to think of the appeals process!

ETA: It's about an hour and a half or two hours walking from the falls to the top of the mountain at the Inscription rock. To avoid the scrolling, you can right click on the maps and save 'em to your local hard drive for reference.

Originally posted by wildtimes
reply to post by nenothtu

 

Well, pardner, we seem to be on the same wavelength here....lol!!

Dag is now back underground in Home-Town, but they have not got her successfully disguised yet. Maybe she will be seen and mobbed, and they'll have to leave without the gypsy garb, via the Falls entrance again. Without the horses they intended to borrow, they are on foot instead...reduced to trudging in the cold...and.. and.. and they can come across Neno (and/or Gert) on their way up?

Then the lot of them could go to Fairy Stone Park together?? Or Gert could know of a closer portal? And also know who Dag is?

We have an exciting bunch of scenes to write, guys!!

Fairy Stone is almost exactly in the opposite direction from where Silo is, so she'll be on her own until we get the fay sorted. It's going to be anywhere from 3 to 5 days horseback or on foot to Fairy Stone, depending on how hard you want to push.

Originally posted by wildtimes
reply to post by A boy in a dress

 

That's down that way too and I have a tale about those rocks that makes
BIAD's nylons roll up-and down!!

Well, there you have it! Your setup, Monsieur mon ami.....prithee, DO TELL!!

Yeah, what SHE said! I second it - always in the mood for a good tale, and watching BIAD try to keep up with unfurling and repeatedly furling nylons is just icing on the cake!

ETA: HERE is what the fairy stones from the park look like, The ones towards the bottom are from Russia and Madagascar, but the top couple are from the park.

reply to post by nenothtu

I'm right now just a bit south of Fairy Stone State Park. They have stones made by the fay there, laying all over the place, hence the name. Excellent choice for a portal to Avalon!

Thanks! Yep, I do my homework. I discovered Fairy Stone State Park online at about 2am (couldn't sleep), while looking for faerie lore and such in the Appalachians. Loved the imagery of it...and I imagine Gert is well aware of the place...all the more reason she can help Dag and Brittle reach his goal.

The story of Princess Starlight, the Cherokee tale, may also figure into the Brittle/Dag situation. If anyone wants the links, I can reopen and paste them here, but all I did was a google search for Appalachian fairy lore and from there I learned a bunch!!

EDIT TO ADD>>>> Years ago, in my horsewoman days, I used to ride the river bluffs, which look remarkably like the Appalachians once you get into them. I had also been studying Celtic lore and witchcraft/Wicca, and American Indian shamanism (Hopewell people). I live only half a mile from what was a Hopewell cemetery and archaeological national site, but it was covered over by a high-rise project "accidentally". So, I know there were Hopewell people in this area.

I was out riding Ara Fair one day, down by the river, with my dog Faith, and I had a vision of an elder Indian medicin woman pop into my head. She told me I was in that location at that time to "marry" or combine the First Tribes' spiritual practices (at that time I lived about a mile northwest of where I am now on a small acreage, and had found an ancient flint scraper while digging a garden, which was confirmed at my local natural history museum to be 25,000 years old) with the ancient Celtic traditions (my own ancestral heritage).

At the time I was married to Kevin, and combining our names and the place we live (the Kaw River area), I named my homestead "Kavalon." There were power-places on that property, too, remarkable areas that exuded magical entities. I built single-handedly, with hand tools, a treehouse down in the bottoms, overlooking the dry creek, and that was my "fortress of solitude" and where I communed with the spirits. There was a patch of land that was purely undeveloped, spongy with moss and ancient growth. Many of my amulets and ritual objects were consecrated there in elaborate private rituals.

So, yeah, I have a bag of tricks to draw from here, too.....and I am LOVING this new direction!

Fun!

*BIAD sucks in a huge breath and screws his lips up in concentration*

Many, many years ago, BIAD and his young-wife were looking to start
a family. No matter how much the Man/Girl dived off the wardrobe or
nudged his 'better-half' awake at certain times in the early hours, Mrs BIAD
was still sans- perambulator.
Life went on.

So one Summer, we jumped into the car and crossing the country, we
wove our way down the Welsh coast and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Starting at Portmerion -where 'The Prisoner' series was filmed, we trundled from
B&B-to-hotel wondering how BIAD was going to 'man-up' and do the business.
We agreed to make towards Penzance in the South-West of England and
passing through Somerset, we dropped into Glastonbury and all it's mid-Summer
magic.

Clambering up the Tor, my wife huffed-and-puffed at the steepness of the man-made
hill and so, decided to rest on the short grass and gaze across the hazy-Summer
twilight.
For Boy In A Dress, well... ignoring the pains in his calves -due to the high-heels
doubling as hiking boots, he trekked to the top and stood in the archway of St. Michael's
Tower.

Then after soaking in the peace and quiet of a Land that reeks of Fairies and shining Knights
-history, BIAD followed the thin-dirt track back down to where 'she-who-must-be-obeyed' rested.
"It's warm..." she said "... the ground, it's very warm" and beamed up at me.

I may have mentioned of my family's past that involved the accepted belief that there are things
that go on that humans only sometimes glimpse. I was certain this was one of those times.

We drove onto Lands-End and then after visiting Wooky's Hole and sampling the famous Cider,
we eventually made for home. We pulled in at StoneHenge and oggled at the monoliths.
For BIAD, the place seemed sapped of energy and with the feeling that something was still
waiting to happen, I suggested going to the lesser-known stone-circle, The Rollright Stones.

In Oxfordshire -which is North of StoneHenge, a small village called Chipping Norton boasts
it's own little-piece of magic.
The legend about the group of Knights meeting a Witch at the site, involves the poor sword-
slashing men being turned into stone by the Hag and there, they now stand and wait.

BIAD reckoned there was more to the place -than met the eye (if he had any)... and as the car
pulled into the very small carpark, the wigged-wonder vaulted out and dragged Mrs. BIAD with
him.
"This is it..." he said grinning "... this where is he is" The wife of 28-years looked at her strange
husband and said "where who is?" and the Man/Girl whispered "our son!"

I have collected stones for most of my life, pebbles from Roswell, grit from The San Agustin Plain
sand from White Sands -all New Mexico. Rocks from near Groom Lake -Nevada and slivers of
stone from Devils Tower -Wyoming.
Don't ask me why... THAT's a tale that will make you drop off-line and leave poor BIAD alone!

So the small stone that lay in Boy In Dress' hand vibrated with a power that -up to today, I still
haven't fathomed. I can only assure you in all seriousness, that I saw the 19 year-old young man
that is sitting near to BIAD at this moment.

The stones have gone on to assist in other's child-acquiring problems... and there were many.

Currently, The Rollright Stone-fragments reside in a little package and stored in my garage.
And there they wait.

reply to post by nenothtu


The Falls you describe sound perfect.
I went a-lookin' fer pics of it, based on your coordinates...no luck...but, is this by any chance>



similar to what you are talking about?
Do you have any pics of it?

reply to post by wildtimes


That's Close enough to the middle falls of the 3. The top one just runs down a steep cliff maybe 80 or 90 degree inclination, and the lower one is pretty short, but that's close enough to the middle one.

I DO have a couple of photos, but they're not suitable for distribution in a family oriented publication - my first wife got camera happy while I was "in the shower" there.

Originally posted by nenothtu
reply to post by wildtimes

 

That's Close enough to the middle falls of the 3. The top one just runs down a steep cliff maybe 80 or 90 degree inclination, and the lower one is pretty short, but that's close enough to the middle one.

I DO have a couple of photos, but they're not suitable for distribution in a family oriented publication - my first wife got camera happy while I was "in the shower" there.

You're just FULL of surprises, dude. Wow. You and the others, too...

BIAD - your tale of the Rollright Stones sent me off on an internet trip, hunting for stone circles and megaliths in Google Earth.

Then I started collecting them for inclusion in a KMZ file. That job will NEVER be done - there are LOTS of them, just in the UK and Ireland alone. I found a couple of places with ready-made files for Google Earth, but their coordinates are a bit off, up to 150 meters or so. For every ONE I can find a reference to, I can see several MORE surrounding it that are not referenced, but which I can see in the aerial views pretty plainly.

I found one site that has a number listed, but the co-ordinates they give are OSGB from British ordinance Survey maps, and I had to track down a special conversion program to convert them to something Google Earth could use, then adjust them. It's a laborious process.

I'm still in Wales. I'm almost afraid to tackle Scotland, England, and Ireland - and I'm leaving the rest of the world out altogether...

I found one of the quarries where I believe the Bluestones at Stonehenge came from, in the Preseli Hills in southern Wales.near 51°57'37.50" N 4°42'09.65" W. I got a bit excited, since my mom's people were Griffiths from Wales, but upon further investigation, I think they came from the north, around Snowdon. Lo and behold, that place is about eaten up with Druid Circles, too. Not so much the mid section of the country.

As many of these things as I'm finding, I have to wonder WHY an oral tradition of their use hasn't survived very well, and folks are still having to speculate on what went on in them. The "New Age" hoodoo that some "esoterics" are coming up with, making it up as they go along, probably isn't helping much. Even more frustrating is that modern day "druids" appear to be still making these circles, and making their own use of them which likely has nothing at all in common with the ancient uses.

I'm still digging, but it was a fascinating tale you told, and it lit a fire under me!

reply to post by nenothtu


Yep, there's quite a few, although most of the sites are sparse of the
stones... farmers with dry-walling to fix and all that!

This may assist:

Megaliths...

EDIT: In fact, here's the page you may need...

UK

It's been a quiet thread for a couple of days... time to shed the Winter's sloth
and get going again!!

Onwards.

Originally posted by nenothtu

Originally posted by A boy in a dress

It's bad enough (or BIAD enough!)... that he's in the kitchen making
the cake! (you should see him with his chef's hat on... ridiculous!)

Yeah, but I bet that wig does a heck of a job as a cake mixer!

Happy Birthday - isn't this like the 3rd year in a row you've turned "51"?

Maybe 51 is the new 39?

Is that YOU, Jack?

Heh Neno, sorry that I just saw this!
It's true that I seem to have been caught in the '51' net for some time
... we can only hope that the knotted-ropes hold for a few more years!

I wasn't going to relate the incident with BIAD's cake-mixing... most of the
debris has been wiped off now and the visiting relative has forgiven him
for the supposed 'trick' with the food-blender.

39...? my word, my hair was still there at the back and my joints didn't click
-when I woke in the morning!

Hi, team Yydryl.

I'm sorry to have been absent for a while -- been some stuff going on that has disrupted my routine, my mood, and my focus. I'll be back in the saddle soon...sorry for the delay. Just know that I'm "working" on my next posts between my ears...always.

Originally posted by wildtimes
Hi, team Yydryl.

I'm sorry to have been absent for a while -- been some stuff going on that has disrupted my routine, my mood, and my focus. I'll be back in the saddle soon...sorry for the delay. Just know that I'm "working" on my next posts between my ears...always.

I too, found it a bit of a chore to get going again... it can't be my
age... can it?!

reply to post by A boy in a dress


Your new avatar is VERY disturbing - that skirt is far TOO short!

Neno would have an apopleptic fit!

Originally posted by wildtimes
Hi, team Yydryl.

I'm sorry to have been absent for a while -- been some stuff going on that has disrupted my routine, my mood, and my focus. I'll be back in the saddle soon...sorry for the delay. Just know that I'm "working" on my next posts between my ears...always.

I hope all is well. I've had trouble getting kick-started, too. I think the kicker is being misplaced or something. Like you, I'm always working on my next post in my head as I go through life. Most of them never make it to the board - that misplaced kicker, I guess. The kick is supposed to make me arise - not double over!

If you need an ear to bend, mine are double-jointed - and I can wiggle them, too!

reply to post by nenothtu


I agree, BIAD has a 'stand-in' dress that he uses on the annual event of cleaning
his regular one and I think this was used in the photo-shoot when he was in Tokyo.

reply to post by A boy in a dress

Hi You
I'm really enjoying your last entries.
I can't wait to see what happens to ol' Macalister if/when Death and Pandora come calling!
Great stuff that!

Happy Monday!

reply to post by A boy in a dress


Check your e-mail. I sent a video of a dead ringer for neno to you.