Fantasy Inspiration

Thought I'd post some inspiring photos, since I didn't feel much like writing anything today. :)

I credit Meaghan Ward over at The Patriot's Call for finding some of these, and whoever else found the rest of them for those. *cheesy grin* Some of them I found on epic youtube videos, and some of them I'm really not sure where they came from.


I love the structure and colors and the story behind this one, even though I don't know what it is. The castle is amazing. I want to find out who that person is, and what he's doing.


This guy came from a video of the song "Man of Steel" by Fired Earth Music. The music is nice, but I love the person because of his expression and the plain evil behind him. The clothing is a little extravagant but intriguing. Plus, he's an elf, so that kind of biases me. ;)

This picture is beautiful, modest, and action-filled, which I love. The lighting is almost dreamlike and her expression one of intense concentration. Blurry feathers and flying birds add to the intrigue. Who exactly is she shooting at?


This one has a rather sad feeling behind it. A silhouette is always intriguing to me. Colors are rich and with good placement.


Credit for this one goes to APoD (Astronomy Picture of the Day). This is a supercell thunderstorm. It's not exactly fantasy, but it has an amazing power behind it. Makes me think I need a lot more 'fantasy weather' present in my story, because this on Earth is INCREDIBLE.


This is a picture from Magic: The Gathering that I thought looked like my primary villain, Klista. I don't play the game, but the picture was (once again) on a youtube video. I almost flipped when I saw it. She doesn't look especially evil, but her expression is imperial and almost condescending. Colors are nice (green is my favorite) but not especially appropriate for a villain. I'll live, though. ;)

Well, I suppose that's it for now. You can get larger versions if you click on the thumbnail. If you have any neat pics you want to share with me, feel free. ;)

Science Fiction for Friday

*thinking it's about time for some more sci-fi -- or would ya'll rather have fantasy? let me know.*

This can't be happening.
I told myself that every minute of every day. I couldn't be stuck in a Coreship cell with Tarika Trevis, the most dangerous criminal in the galaxy. I couldn't have gotten caught using the Equilibrium Complex. I couldn't be without Karelei ... it was an impossibly impossible impossibility.
Tarika stared at me with her creepily colorless eyes as I paced the floor of the tiny cell. The stark, glowing walls were beginning to whirl around me.

"They all do that," she informed me.
"Do what?"
"Pace. It never does any good."
I kept at it, just to prove her wrong. She was in front of me an instant later, blocking my path with an expression like stone. I jumped back into my corner. My back struck the wall, jarring all the air out of me. Ever since that dratted laser got me, all my Equilibrium was out the window.
"I can heal that," Tarika growled again, crouching next to me.
I curled into myself, the laserburn stinging like fire. "Leave me alone."

The door slid open.

Tarika jumped to her feet, fists clenched. I glanced up, deliberately keeping my hair in front of my eyes. Two guards in red uniforms cocked green Fighters at Tarika's head. "Not you," one rasped, eyes glinting behind his purple eyeband. "The kid."
"I still qualify as a kid," Tarika protested. I wondered for the first time how old she really was behind that hard face and jagged black hairstyle.
The second guard shoved her into the opposite corner and stood over her with his gun aimed at her heart. The other beckoned to me. I staggered to my feet, swaying with the barely perceptible roll of the ship.

“Arely!” Tarika cried, sitting up. “Aim for the blue, and look out for the –”
“Shut up,” said her guard. I just saw the handle of the gun impact her head as the door slipped closed again. I shouldn’t have been able to hear her cry of pain through the soundproof walls, but I did anyway.
I also heard the metallic buzz of Restraints as they settled around my wrists and saw the orange glow in front of my eyes as they confined my vision as well. The guard’s thick fingers dug into my upper arm, and I stumbled beside him along a long, curving hall.

The Restraints did not dissipate until it was completely dark around me. Something weighed my hands down. I glanced at it, but didn’t see anything so I groped with my fingers instead. My thumb hit something. A green Fighter laser streaked across the room, the low warble bouncing off wide, high walls and a star-strewn roof, illumined for an instant in brilliant colored light. I cocked the lasergun in my hand, ready to shoot at whatever attacked me. I’d heard of this.

That was the reason cold fear pooled in my stomach.

A blue light stabbed at my eyes from the left. I whirled to meet it, but it vanished. Something slammed into the back of my neck. I smelled burnt hair as I fell to the ground. The gun skittered out of my reach. Gasping, I rolled onto my back, but whatever had hit me was cloaked by darkness, smothering, concealing darkness.
Setting my teeth, I felt the back of my neck. Something warm trickled onto my hand. I jerked my hand away and automatically tried to look at my fingers to assess the damage, but the dark fell like a blanket before my eyes.

Cold laughter echoed to my right. Two points of blue light stared at me. I felt my own eyes grow wide. Every bit of warmth in my body seeped into the floor. My hands twitched. I reached for where I thought the gun would be.

Nothing.

Design!

Just a little middle-of-the-week post to tell y'all to check out my new blog design. Like the header? My mother, beloved Kimberly *chuckle* and I made it this morning. Quite wintry, no? I was inspired by Squeaks' beautiful design over at Hidden Doorways. Check her out too. *waves madly to Squeaks*

I have also been successful in designing some outfits for my Elf/Elvarian dancers to wear at the party in the end of my book. Not the most important thing on my agenda, but *shrug* I'm getting there. I finally settled on a design with a rather blousy cut. Three parts; a jacket, pants, and an undertunic. The pants are cut just above the ankle and the leg slants upward. I was thinking something that wouldn't obstruct movement and something that they wouldn't trip over or step on. The jacket is in the same sort of design, open at the front with embroidery down the right sleeve, while the pants have embroidery down the left leg. I'll upload a pic if you guys want one. ;) Also settled on the colors green/gold for one outfit and crimson/white for the other. (Those represent Iri and Aaron respectively, for those of you who know them.)

While I'm here, let me share a couple of verses that touched my heart this week:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

No matter how hard we slave over our works, whether they be novels or graphics or a malfunctioning blender, we can always be humbled by the fact that God did it first and best. Since we are created in His image, how much can we achieve by glorifying Him in our works? The best is yet to come.

Elizabeth