Owls

I’m sitting here at work right now, wondering why I have to be stuck at work. I wonder why I’ve not succeeded yet, why I haven’t been published and am living the lifestyle of a fabulously wealthy author. I meant successful, not wealthy, but it will do. And, over the years I’ve come up with several answers to those questions. Some of the answers make sense, while others have come out of left field. The only thing they’ve all got in common is the fact that they’re not complimentary to the person asking the questions. In fact, I’m sure I would be beaten, severely, with a wet noodle should I write even one of those answers here. It’s best to just not do it. So, instead I’ll ask a question I can answer.

“Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?”

Mr. Owl takes the lollipop and licks it, “one, two, three,” and he bites through the rest, getting to the center of the tootsie roll pop.

So, why would the little boy in the commercial go and ask Mr. Owl for the answer? The answer to that is symbolism. The owl, with its regal bearing and luminescent eyes has been a symbol of wisdom for many, many years; centuries in fact, if I’m not mistaken. Like the wise old man on top of the mountain, the owl, and those who identify with the creature have been sought out for their wisdom and advice.

In my own experience, I feel that the owl is my spiritual guide (it’s either that or a squirrel), and I base this belief on the one time I’ve seen an owl.

The animal was standing in the road as I was driving along. There wasn’t roadkill beside it, it was just waiting and watching me come closer. It should have been blinded by my headlights, but it wasn’t. It looked past my headlights, and locked eyes with me. In that moment I felt stripped naked, bearing the whole of my soul out to this one creature. The truck continued on, but the owl took flight, spreading its great wings and rising up above the truck like an angel. I knew then that there was more to this world, more to this life, and this owl had been sent to me as a message to bring that home.

I try to keep that message in my mind every day. I try to bring the wisdom of that one owl to everyone else who reads my work. We are not alone in the universe, there are many other people in many other realities, and those focused on the arts are our glimpses into those realities.

Remember, the next time you’re reading a book. Those characters are real, their feelings and hopes and failures are real, and so long as you keep them in mind they will continue to be real.

And, to ruin all the nice poetic things I just said, I wonder what would have happened if the owl didn’t fly out of the way. Would it have been a satisfying crunch?

Ryan

3-21-14

Fire Elementals

http://www.santharia.com/alchemy/fire.htm

This topic surprised me, and I think Cupcake did it as a joke. The conversation went something like this. “fire elementals” “kk” “@_@” “I don’t wanna fight a fire elemental”. And, then I told her what I had in mind for the fire elemental, and I’ll share that with you all too. First, however, I want to discuss the Fire Elemental itself.

“A mass of ambulatory flame races across the ground, seeming to flicker and spark from a central humanoid-shaped conflagration. Like a living inferno, the fire-creature’s dance of burning heat and flame brings it ever closer.” That is a quote directly from the Monster Manual page 98 beginning of column number two, and it is absolutely the best description I’ve ever heard when it comes to fire elementals. These things are powerful living weapons, their very touch is enough to set most materials ablaze, and stopping one is like fighting a wild fire.

The fire elemental hails from the Elemental Plane of Fire, one of the four elemental planes, but this fact depends entirely on what campaign setting you’re playing in. In the World of Warcraft d20 setting there is only one elemental plane called The Elemental Plane, strangely enough. I’m not sure on a lot of other settings. I know Forgotten Realms uses the standard setup of the four elemental planes. And, I can tell you that it’s all mashed together in one plane, called The Maelstrom, in my campaign. Think of The Maelstrom like it’s the Hell from Dante’s inferno. You’ve got four separate but integrated levels: Earth on the bottom, air on the top, and water and fire constantly fighting over the middle ground.

And, now my brain’s stopped working…

You would probably expect something that’s composed entirely of fire to be evil (given our society’s depiction of Hell, the home of the source of all evil), but that’s not the case. Fire elementals, though their alignments can vary as much as a human, are typically neutral creatures. I mean, look at it this way. In reality a fire is a natural phenomenon that destroys everything it touches equally. It doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t try to destroy this thing intentionally, and it’s not out to get anybody. It is an act of god. People demonize fire because it is a destructive force that sometimes we can control and sometimes we can’t, we blame the fire for the destruction, not whatever carelessness caused it. Except in cases of arson, then you hunt down the individual that did it, and feed them to the flames if you have my mindset. Lol. Even in cases of arson, though, it is the person that is evil; it’s the person’s actions that cause the destruction. Fire, much like a gun, is only a tool.

So, now, what are my intentions for Fire Elementals in my game?

Well, technically it’s not going to be in my game. Lol. It will take place in my world, but I won’t be the one running the game. Russell’s going to DM, and for the first time in 5 years I’ll be able to sit back and just be a player character. Lol. But, yeah, the character I plan on playing is a half-orc shaman named Doc’kalla and he’s going to have an affinity for fire and, if the DM allows it, he’s going to have a fire elemental (a small one) as his familiar.

Now… I just need to find a shaman class that allows me to do just that. Lol. Internet here I come!!!

Later Kids

Ryan

2-24-14