Rosicky

Just re-read the entire story. Maybe this gentle nudge will awaken your creative spirit, gabz2000? Or maybe the Italian ship was attacked by demons before it returned to Port and Chris was lost and the world is the way it is because the demon generals have taken control of the world. 😬

I forgot ... many thanks for this story, Demented! I am enjoying it immensely! The story reveals a fantastic imagination! Happy Thanksgiving!

While the pursuit of the psycho stalker bunny boy might be concerning, I believe that he will play a useful foil allowing Kotik and Lord Baldric to escape as planned. I bet he'll cause so much confusion and will be engaged in many altercations when he sees the Kotik copy threatened ... it won't matter to the hareling who's doing the threatening -- even if it's High King or an avatar of a god. If Baldric and Kotik are firm in their plan to upend the civil order of Sibel, the hareling will be very useful towards that end!

Thank you for a wonderfully crafted story, Palantir! It provided many hours of pleasure ... A wonderful distraction during these times. I need an epilogue! 😃 Thank you, again.

Uhm ... I'm wondering ... to which ethical system are you referring to? Utilitarianism? Under this system, "right" or "wrong" depends on the outcomes ... the correct ethical choice is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number. Let's see ... smoting vampires that seek to do harm to many would be the correct choice as it saves many more lives. Ethical egoism? This system holds that the greatest good is that which achieves the best benefits for yourself. Smoting vampires who are trying to kill you would be a pretty great good. Deontology? This is a rules-based ethical system founded in normative ethics. I don't know enough about vampire normative ethics, but from what I've read in this story, vampires follow rules set by, primarily, the Vampire High Council. One of those rules is abiding by the various pacts with humans, and the underlying principle is that vampires ought to live peaceably with humans. Smoting vampires in rebellion against vampire normative ethics could be seen as good. From the standpoint of Elvish normative ethics, the fact that King ZoHal thought it was "impressive" that Chris was able to smote seven vampires can give a clue as to what elves consider good. From a human standpoint, the normative ethic that life is sacred is outweighed by the normative ethic that preserving one's own life and the life of loved ones may excuse a breach of a comprehensive application of the life is sacred ethic. A Kantian view of deontology is that an act is morally right not based on the consequences of the act but on the intentions of the actor. Was Chris acting out of anger? Was he acting out of a fear of his own safety, that of his friends and of his father? Was he aware that he had the ability to smote? Gabz2000 doesn't give us an indication that he was worried about them escaping, recuperating, and returning with a vengeance. But, then again, Gabz sometimes leaves some details out. The question of Chris' intentions is one for Gabz ... but, can we rightly impose normative ethics of humans on non-human beings? Normative ethics are based on the prevailing thoughts based on information and experiences. It very well could be that human normative ethics, if they knew of the Blood Army threat, could very well be that it is a rule that all Blood Army vampires should be killed before they do harm to humans. This analysis is also a discussion under Ethical Relativism, which is the moral system that considers rightness or wrongness based on the norms of the individual's society. Natural law? Natural law is based on human reason ... right or wrong isn't established by courts or the crafting of laws, but is innate to human beings. So I wonder whether natural law applies since Chris is only half-human? Can natural law apply to non-humans? Can natural law apply to demons? And then again, we peer down the rabbit hole of the rightness or wrongness of self-defense, and the extent that use of force may be employed. Virtue ethics? Virtue ethics comes from the Aristotelian school that right action stems from acting virtuously ... acting based on honor, honesty, bravery, etc. One could consider Chris' actions to be consistent with those virtues, whereas the Blood Army vampires were acting contrary to those virtues. Care ethics? One of the newer systems of ethics is that of care ... good is seen in actions that are intended to preserve relationships. Thus, Chris' smoting of the vampires to ensure the safety of his father and of his friends could be seen as an act to preserve his loving relationships. These are just the basic systems. Philosophers come up with new ones every week it seems. Which system of ethics are you imposing on Chris that makes his act of smoting disturbing to you? Hehehe! 😁

I'm convinced that Etalos' love interest is Kalron. Remember in the Fragments of Darkness 1 chapter he remarked, "Kalron seemed nice." Aside from the stiffies he'd get in Chris and/or Victor's presence, he's never said anyone was "nice." How fortuitous for him that Kalron moves in .... Hmmm! 🤔 Hehehe! If Yonthar is one of the stronger Generals, and if the chains seem to be adapting to him, then I don't think there'll be any problem with Chris absorbing more Demon Generals. Of course, just as Chris is able to let demon energy seep out into one of Sarad & Zenfar's glass orbs, I'm sure they can figure out some snow globe or something that Chris can deposit a Demon General into. King Ethnar might enjoy having a Demon General in a snow globe on his desk that he can shake up every now and then, I'm sure. It also seems that Chris can dispatch demons faster than Generals can make them. So there shouldn't be any problems eliminating them as long as the chains cooperate. I'm still convinced that Chris can let some of Yonthar's energy out and manipulate the demons loyal to Yonthar ... or he can let Yonthar's energy leak out and set a trap for the demons! I hope Chris adds volumes to the literature in the Tower. Each encounter could be its own book. Many thanks, Gabz2000! Time for a new chapter! LOL!

Remember the Will & Grace episode where Karen was addicted to Jack's romance novel writing? I think I'm Karen and gabz2000 is Jack. And substitute Rocco with Gabz' job. 🤣😂🤣 SCENE VI: Jack's Apartment KAREN: [ENTERING] Honey, your words are rockin' my world and my pants. Why aren't you typing, you big, merry sissy? JACK: I don't need to write anymore. Rocco and I are back together. KAREN: No, Jack, I need these pages. I'm gettin' so many images from this stuff, sex with Stan has gone from "I've got a headache" to "I've got to have it!" JACK: Sorry, Kar, no can do. KAREN: But, honey, I've got to know what happens next. I'm addicted to these stories, which is odd, because I don't have an addictive personality. JACK: Hey, even if I wanted to write something, I couldn't, 'cause I'm happy now. Pain was the coal that fueled the choo-choo of my art. KAREN: If you weren't with him, I'd have my stories? JACK: Probably, but I am with him. KAREN: But if you weren't... JACK: But I am. KAREN: But if you weren't... JACK: But I am. KAREN: But if you weren't... JACK: But I am. VIII: Jack's Apartment (JACK finds ROCCO alone in his apartment.) JACK: There you are. Penny for your thoughts. ROCCO: I'm dumping you. JACK: What?! ROCCO: It's just not working. JACK: Why? ROCCO: I don't know. Karen didn't tell me why, but it's not. Good night, Jack. [ROCCO LEAVES AS KAREN POPS IN.] KAREN: Honey, what's going on? What's happening? Are you ok? JACK: Karen, Rocco just dumped me. KAREN: Oh, honey, that's terrible. My heart is cleft in twain. You must be devastated. [KAREN ENTERS WITH A NOTEBOOK COMPUTER.] KAREN: Here. Why don't you try writing through your pain. When last we left him, Giovanni was staring at the stable boy and feeling a familiar tightening in his pants. Go. JACK: I know you made him dump me. What'd you do, pay him 50 bucks? KAREN: Did he say that? Who are you gonna believe? Me or some street trash I paid 50 bucks to to dump ya? JACK: I will never forgive you for this, and as for more writing-- Well, you just forget it. KAREN: How about if I pay you 100 bucks? [KAREN HOLDS OUT A $100 DOLLAR BILL.] JACK: You know, that is so low. It hurts that you would try to bribe me. It causes me a lot of pain. [KAREN MOVES HER HAND AND SHOWS TWO $100 DOLLAR BILLS. JACK SNATCHES THEM.] JACK: I have no choice but to write through that pain. [JACK SITS AT THE COMPUTER.]

Another excellent Chapter!!! Very gripping!!! So Chris smotes the 5 demons much in the same way Yonthar the 2 demons he considered weaklings. I think Chris showed a bit more panache by using the flick of his hand. He also left ash whereas Yonthar made the demons disappear into thin air. We learn from the book on demons that, "a demon is only loyal to its creator and no one else." We also know that a General is known to have created up to 1,000 demons at a time. So far, we know that at least 11 of Yonthar's demons have been destroyed ... that leaves up to 989 loyal to whom? What does the book on demons tell us about the loyalty of those demons whose general has been killed? I wonder ... if Chris has absorbed Yonthar and is leaking Yonthar's energy, can he reveal enough of Yonthar's energy to command the loyalty of Yonthar's remaining demons? That could be quite a useful resource! I also wonder what level of trust Chris will have among the Werewolves and the Vampires if they know a general lurks within. Will he have a new scent diminishing his usual lavendar and roses? Will Luca and Reza be able to smell the demon in him? He had Rehanmir to the point of "fight or flight" and elves were already cowering before his power. How effective will a PR campaign be if he scares all the elves? And will security in the realm be attuned to Yonthar's energy signature so the alarm doesn't go off each time? I'm sure Yal will think of something. We have yet to see if Chris has been able to tap into Yonthar's wealth of knowledge ... and we have to find out what he learned from the female demon he probed. Will the power he gained from incorporating Yonthar be independent of the power residing in him controlled by the chains? It was interesting how Chris "willed my chains to loosen themselves, the chains resisted for a moment but gave in anyway." And I'm assuming based on the purple flames that the demon power he used was independent of the chains ... the chains may have resisted but maybe they didn't give in ... maybe the chains continued to rein in his innate power but it was Yonthar's energy that pulverized the 5 demons? Hmmmmm. Will Chris have a dark energy kumhakta? Finally ... I wonder how sex with Victor will change now that he's got some demon in him. Will Chris flip Victor over and top him and give him some devil-loving? LOL! Many thanks, Gabz2000! Fantastic keeps building on fantastic! Looking forward to more!

First Chris beats Zenfar's record in the Hall of Maktar, and now he bests the General who almost killed his great-grandfather ... I wonder if he'll go to King Ethnar and say, "Hey, great-grandfather ... I have a surprise for you!" LOL! So many questions ... so we go back to "The Ascension" chapter ... before it ends, Chris kneels and says, “I intend to be the light of hope in times of darkness.” He attributed his earlier utterances binding himself to the people as, and this last statement, to "follow[ing] the magic." Is the magic "the flow"? Is there a good flow and a dark flow? Chris, on a subconscious level, knew about the flow ... what else does he know about it? And I wonder, does the power Chris possess truly his? Or is he a medium through which Elven magic flows? Yonthar asked him two questions: "Who are you! What are you?!" When he responded, he said, "You do not deserve to know what I am!" I thought this was a curious phrase ... not you do not deserve to know WHO I am, but he said WHAT I am. Then Chris thought to himself, "I did not know where that came from". Was he speaking from what he knew about himself subconsciously, or was it the magic speaking through him? The chains ... our friend the chains ... the chains that prevented Chris from smoting King Ethnar with that 22-layer Magnus Spell, the chains that allow him to give him the power as needed to battle a foe. The magic controls the chains and the chains control Chris' use of power. It's a seemingly bifurcated system within him ... he gains knowledge by reading and learning from the books and scrolls in the Tower, they're embedded into him at a subconscious level, but then it is the magic that allows him to apply the knowledge. And then there's Yonthar ... the General he absorbed into his body, trapped by the swirling ocean of magic within Chris. Does Yonthar retain his autonomous being within Chris, or has Chris truly absorbed him? Has Chris tapped into Yonthar's mind and does he now possess Yonthar's collective knowledge? How awesome would that be if he did? He could spend years in the Tower after this is all over adding volumes to what is known about demons. Truly an epic 100th Chapter! Many thanks, gabz2000! Here's to the next 100! 🙂

Thank you for an amazing story and 99 well-written chapters! I know the 100th chapter will be epic!

Boy. Who can look at what's happening in Minneapolis and elsewhere and not think "demons!" Even if Chris were strong enough to conjure the Astra Spell there's no way the chains would allow unbridled power to be used that way ... look at the chains reined him in before he could complete the 22-layer Magnus Spell that could have ended King Ethnar. And how did Prince Havar know about what was in the book about demons? Was that knowledge spread around? He does seem to have his ear to the ground ... perhaps he is Retasa's source? Interesting! Many thanks, gabz2000! I'm enjoying this story immensely!

I thought it was a funny line when Rehanmir said it looked like they were going to kill each other and King Ethnar responded that "it would take more than a Magnus Spell to kill Chris." The arrogance of a king! LOL! I think Chris' 22-layered Magnus Spell could very well have ended the Millenium King but for the chains. So it is the chains releasing that allows Chris to tap into his energy ... and further loosening permits him to draw more and more from his endless pool. But the chains seems to dictate that ability so while he's been blessed by the gods and houses, he is not an omnipotent power ... perhaps there is some ethos akin to a just war theory that permits the use of force -- he can only employ a proportionate use of force. Fourteen layers of a Magnus Spell against 14 layers of a Magnus Spell is ok during a sparring session ... but an obliterative massing of energy is too much and he literally is reined in. Excellent chapter. Looking forward to more! Many thanks!

I enjoyed the story. Thanks! Did I miss what happened to Roger?

“Hey, Neil.” “What’s up, Teddy?” We were riding the gondola up Aspen Mountain. One of the off-and-on times I was living in Chicagoland, I stayed with my cousin up in the north burbs for a while. She and her husband had three sons who were like the little brothers I never had – Greg, John & Teddy. Officially, they are my first cousins, once-removed. Over 20 years later, we’re still close. Greg stayed in the Chicago burbs and has his family there. John and Teddy live in Aspen with thei

Neil is a control freak who is dying. In his final few months, his main concern is properly managing his death and planning his funeral. But stage-managing your death isn't as easy as a smart & talented control freak would think.

Thanks for sharing your story, droughtquake. I don't know what it is within us that thinks that ignoring an issue and passively-aggressively pushing someone we might care about away is the best way to handle things. It could have very well turned out that if we opened up and were honest, the person we turned away could have helped carry the burden. But life unfolds as a cumulative result of the decisions we make. I don't know if you're familiar with Harry Chapin's song "Taxi" but sometimes when I look back at things I could have probably done differently, I think to the end of the song: "And she said, we must get together But I knew it'd never be arranged And she handed me twenty dollars For a two fifty fare She said, Harry, keep the change Well, another man might have been angry And another man might have been hurt But another man never would've let her go I stashed the bill in my shirt" It's sad that Neil found closure with Mark through his suicide note. After their last encounter at the Melrose, I can't help but wonder whether or not Neil would look around Roscoe's before going in, or warily looked across the bar or over his shoulder to see if Mark was there. And I wonder if he was disappointed when, perhaps like you experienced, he wasn't there. Would things have been different if Mark were more assertive? Would things have been different if your Brit boy told you to stop and listen? "Another man never would've let her go." I hope this are good with you now, droughtquake -- notwithstanding your profile name! ;-) Thanks for reading and commenting. Look forward to chatting with you in the future!

Many thanks, spikey582. Neil is the classic tragic character: abused as a kid, no support system at home, left at an early age to fend for himself and, more dangerously, left to his wiles since he didn't play the part of an "at risk" kid. Then he embarked on career paths that celebrated the guile he developed -- politics and the law. So it wasn't until therapy when he discovered how much his childhood abuse profoundly affected him that started him thinking differently. So I don't know if he knew that he had choices if his psyche was set along one path. Mark was ironic -- he was "farm strong" but psychologically weak. Learned, but naive. Betrayed but still trusted easily. But I think when he moved to Chicago, like many boys who fled their small towns in the Midwest, life was going to be different. So screw the past. It was unfortunate that the first person he met was Neil. But there's a question as to whether there was something more tragic that happened over the two years that caused him to take his own life or whether he went through a series of events. Maybe he graduated from grad school and just couldn't see what life had in store for him except more pain? I don't know. But perhaps Neil was a major reason since he had a suicide note addressed to him? The fortnight between the two did reveal quite the connection. In any case, this is a significant chapter in a story I'm writing that was giving me the most trouble. So I thought I'd turn it into a short story. It really is a downer as a standalone. But thanks for reading and for your comments! Greatly appreciate it.

Many thanks, skinnydragon! I love your stuff. I may have a few stories knocking around, but highly doubt I'll ever come close to your prolific talent! :-)

I forced myself to watch the video. He was happy. He said he found the love of his life – me. I had the camera trained on him. “What’s that for?” He was camera shy. “It’s to help you remember your first time and how special it was being with someone you love and someone who loves you just as much.” “I guess … if you think ….” “Now tell the camera that you love me.” He was perfect and innocent. He came from a farming family in downstate Illinois. Straw-like dirty blond hair, inquisi

"Tell the Camera You Love Me" tells the tragic story of how a survivor of child sexual abuse overcomes the pain from his early years by finally recognizing and embracing unqualified love.

I love this story! I love the innocence of the two on this voyage of discovery! Thanks

Oh man! On the cusp of a breakthrough. I woulda screamed!

How freaking frustrating! I should know! I've loved it! Freshman year all over again ... Drama from pledging .... Lol! I hope Becker gets his Malley. I didn't. :-(

How awful! I can't imagine what Toph must have felt seeing Steve's midnight kiss going to someone else :-( But I'm going to guess the blond took advantage of Steve's inebriation -- maybe someone roofied him? -- but still, it's pretty awful for Toph ... And for Steve to have to awaken in the new year alone. :-( as for Gary, I'd be pissed as all hell being betrayed like that ... Let me make my own decisions and don't go paternalistic on me thinking what you're doing is in my best interest. Shields up! Thanks, SD! Nice story!

Poor Steve! Toph is being sucked back into his rarified circle of the well-to-do and Steve worries about him being pulled from his embrace. :-( $50K form his mother, I wonder? I love Toph's artistic talent. I hope life in the corporate world doesn't drain his creative juices! Thanks, skinnydragon! An entertaining story!