Shadelings: The Blog

An aspara sifts through a pile of mechanical debris, using his wings to push away husks of metal appliances in his search.

“What kinda HV you got, again?” he asks, turning his narrow head down toward the elf-woman who had walked into the junkyard. She is dark-skinned with very dark hair, and Frank, his rider – a faun – is eyeing her from his position atop another pile of rusting metal junk.

“Lachan,” she pauses, then glances at a piece of paper between her hands, “27-AhDz 00284 Kuh?”

The dragon nods, then continues his search. His dirty scales undulate with the movements of his front legs; sometimes, bits of white show through and catch the sunlight. Scrap metal and various intact mechanical devices slide down the mound of junk, making metallic clangs and plinks as they fall down the pile; some are large enough to crash against the ground. The dragon grabs something in his teeth, then carefully makes his way back down to the ground. He sets the rather large black box down in front of the elf. She frowns and touches the antenna sticking out of the top of the box.

“How do I know this works?” she asks.

“Look, Lady, I don’t fucking know if this works or –“

“How do you know if anything works, Man?” Frank asks. “Like, what if Yagi doesn’t want it to work? I mean, man.”

“Can’t you just plug it in?” she asks. She has dirt on her hands, and on her face. One of her eyes is swollen, and her clothing is threadbare in some places.

“Do I look like a Lachan HV to you?” The dragon unfurls his heavy wings slightly, showing off their pristinely white undersides, and takes a half-step toward her. She immediately shies back.

“Eggshell, Man, my guy, my dude,” Frank says. “You’re messing up the flow, man, like, man. Abide Yagi, man.” He made his way down his pile of junk, and now his hand rests on the aspara’s back. The dragon huffs and relaxes his wings. The lady folds her paper up with shaking hands, placing it inside her worn purse that hangs at her side.

“I-I c-can go somewhere else,” she mumbles.

“No, no,” Eggshell says, relinquishing his confrontational tone with a heavy sigh. “Look, we don’t have any Lachans of the model you have, but if it doesn’t work, bring it back and we will see about fixing it.” He pauses. “Ten oolms.”

The woman nods and opens her purse, sifting through its contents. Frank trots in front of Eggshell and holds out a dingy hand for the money. When all is accounted for, the woman takes the static collector into her arms, holding it like a child, and leaves the junkyard.

Eggshell looks over Frank’s shoulder, eyeing the ten oolm bill. It’s green, with a picture of whoever the current warden class head is on it. Some woman, by the looks of it.

“She could be teaching us right now.” Eggshell says.

Frank tucks the bill into the small suede bag he keeps dangled around his neck, then turns to look at his dragon. There’s a tired look in his dark eyes that makes his dirt-encrusted features seem to sink more into his face. He’s getting gray hairs in the mess of brown on his head.

“Or not. Whatever, Frank.”

Eggshell follows his rider around piles of junk and garbage in various states of rust and decay. Some of it smells, other bits of it ooze and the rest quietly rots. There is a world beyond the heaps of other people’s forgotten and broken belongings, although Eggshell never had his chance to live up to it. The day Frank applied to Evercrest and was accepted into the warden class, Eggshell hatched for the faun. He had been so excited, leaving his brightly-colored egg and entering the real world covered in yolk goop. He had smiled – to the extent that a dragon could – and proudly proclaimed himself ‘Eggshell,’ because it was the first thing he saw. Frank was happy too, smiling, clean-cut, looking like a fantastic sort, but once Eggshell was dried off and the two bonded, the little dragon fell asleep and woke up in this very junkyard.

The two arrive at a very ramshackle lean-to set along the brown-and-orange chain link fence surrounding the perimeter of the junkyard. The lean-to is made from rusted barrels and sheets of scrap metal laid on top of them. Garbage bags and pieces of car seats and upholstery cover the ground beneath the set up.

“I’m hungry,” Eggshell proclaims as Frank shuffles around the lean-to, settling himself beside a small fire pit. Eggshell walks to the opposite side of the pit and lays down on his stomach, but keeps his head held high.

“Just eat what’s around you, Man,” Frank says. He reaches into a garbage bag and starts pulling things that look flammable out of it and placing them into the fire pit.

“We are surrounded by trash.”

“One man’s trash, another man’s enchilada.”

Frank reaches into his satchel that might have once been designer and pulls a worn lighter from it. He flicks it a few times, and a small, tentative flame appears. With a smile, he grabs a piece of insulation and holds it to the tiny flame until it catches alight, then places it in the fire pit.

“Get off your Yagi-damned ass and get me some fucking food,” Eggshell says. He narrows his eyes at Frank. The faun has seen better days, and his ribs are clearly visible. “Get yourself some food too. If you die, it royally fucks me over.”

Frank chuckles. The fire is going now, and he reaches into his satchel and pulls out two enchiladas wrapped in aluminum foil.

“Where did you even get those?” Eggshell asks, lowering his head as Frank unwraps the first one.

“Yagi abides, Man.” He finishes unwrapping the enchilada, then holds it out. Eggshell carefully grabs the food with his front teeth, then tips his head back and swallows it whole. It’s dry and bland.

“This is not dragon food,” Eggshell grumbles. Frank shrugs and takes a bite of his own enchilada.

Since he was a dragonling, Eggshell has endured meals consisting of tacos and enchiladas, and, rarely, eggs. It became abundantly clear that Frank had no idea how to care for a dragon when Eggshell first asked about flying.

“Will you teach me to fly?” he asked, holding his wings out with excitement. At the time, he was the size of a large dog, up to Frank’s waist.

“Nah, Man,” Frank said, “I’m not into the control of nature.”

Eggshell paused his walking, arching his head up at Frank. Into the control of nature?

“Frank, I’m as much of nature as you are.” He said, confusion leeching into his voice. “I need to exercise; can’t you teach me?”

“Leave flight to the birds, Man.”

Eggshell had spent the rest of that day, and many days afterward, leaping from piles of junk with his wings spread out. Each time, he had only managed to glide to the ground, or run into another pile of junk. Eventually, he rid the crazy notion of flight from his mind – after all, with an andzkin like Frank, why would he need to fly?

Zann. We know the quilgbi and their empress are at war with Seville and Kaimo, but how long is it before the war spreads throughout the entire modern world?

Here’s the truth: Evercrest is already sending riders overseas to aid Kaimo in its time of strife. There are Evercrest riders on the front lines dying in this war. Alluum is already invested. It’s just a matter of time before Zann turns its full attention on us. And what then?

Aleen Drits is an alchemist and the founder of Bunkers Inc., a company who is dedicated to saving lives should another event like the Modern Era wars emerge. All around Alluum, her company is installing fallout shelters for individuals and communities.

Zann is known to have dangerous Modern Era weapons that the world has not seen in nearly five thousand years. Most knowledge regarding these weapons is classified information, but Drits has an insider’s look on the war and the Zannians’ technology.

“There are things about these weapons the government refuses to disclose to the public,” Drits told us. “Radiation was a leading cause of death after Shali’s Revenge, and most of its effects are unheard of. Zann used a bomb full of this radiation in Seville and Kaimo. The sorcerers who work on those afflicted know what to do to cleanse an individual of radiation, but what about whole cities? What if Zann decides to drop its bombs on Xidwin or Altshof? We only have a handful of people who know what to do in these situations.”

Using knowledge gathered from the alchemists’ archives and her dragon’s expertise on underground bunkers, Drits founded Bunkers Inc. Already, the company is flourishing. Drits reports that many other alchemists have joined her company, along with employing other Evercrest-related employees. Sales are expected only to rise in the coming months, so sign up for your own bunker soon before the price increases! Think about your family and their well-being; save them and yourself in a Bunker Inc. fallout shelter!

DID YOU SEND YOUR child or loved one to Evercrest Academy for this year’s entrance exams? If yes, and they were lucky enough to get into the prestigious academy, the person you get back may be a soulless drug addict.

Everyone in Alluum, and possibly even the world, are aware of Constance Dreamweaver’s drinking problem. When she appears on international talk shows like Midmorning Xidwin and The Talk Show, it is rarely without a drink in her hand. But is alcohol a gateway into other drugs? In 4751, an episode of The Talk Show featuring Dreamweaver was never aired due to her being completely incoherent upon her arrival onto the stage. What could have possibly rendered this die-hard alcoholic speechless?

Drugs. Even the most powerful people in this country are susceptible to their influence. If Constance Dreamweaver, a class head at Evercrest Academy, can fall prey to their dark embrace, then your loved ones at the academy are in true danger. It is one thing to do chak behind closed doors, but with a woman like Dreamweaver being a head at the academy, she is also setting this example as an appropriate form of behavior!

She isn’t the only one, either. There are rumors that Primrose Griffin, the fairly new warden class head, is dealing drugs to mentors, students and class heads alike at the academy. While there is no concrete proof of this, rumors spout from some form of truth. Is Primrose Griffin really the problem at Evercrest Academy? Has she corrupted Dreamweaver into doing drugs, and is she on the way to setting up her drug cartel all across campus? Who’s to say that the other class heads will not fall prey to this plague? And when it does, what example does it set for the students? The children who are raised on this campus?

Evercrest Academy may not be as elite as we think it is. Be sure to keep tabs with your loved ones and be sure they are not falling plague to any drugs that can be circling around campus.

Holovisions are hot, and they have been since before the Dragon Era even began! With five thousand years of history behind them, it is difficult to keep track of what brands are happenin’ and what brands are, well, not. This year alone has come with new advances in static collecting technology, which helps keep jumps out of your viewing experience, along with new “no see-through” technology. Are these things really something to get excited over, or are they just marketing gimmicks put out by dying brands? (Dreei, we’re looking at you.)

On behalf of Tech Weekly, we’re happy to bring you the list of the five hottest brands in holovision this year. They’re worth the extra dollar, and even elves might look to change from their old Tsaynars in favor of one of these products.

Alkuva: This Alluumnian brand has been on the rise since the Seville War began. The older models are known for their awry static collectors, but the new static collection technology that has been integrated into their holovisions this year has really helped sort out that issue. If you have an older Alkuva with a broken static collector and you’re in the Xidwin communication grid, just dial 8851-78-52 and they’ll replace it with one of their new models. An upgrade? Absolutely.

This year, Alkuva has introduced their “no see-through” technology along with their advanced static collectors, which puts them centuries ahead of the competition. Tired of grainy pictures and seeing your grandmother’s wallpaper behind the screen? Alkuva fixes that with all of their newest models coming up in mid-Ariso. We’ve been lucky enough to see the technology at work -- the picture is as solid as an old television’s!

Lachan: Like Alkuva, Lachan has introduced a new static collecting technology. Unlike Alkuva’s external collectors, though, Lachan’s are built right into the holovision strip. This does create more jump in the picture, but the technology is innovative and worth mentioning; besides, their “no see-through” technology keeps the jumps from becoming too much of a hindrance. The Lachan solid screen tech has been around since the early 3000s, and they have long been the top holo brand because of it. Their “solid screens” are nowhere near the clarity as the upcoming Alkuvas, but they have continued to innovate in the thousand years they’ve been on top!

Their most current models are the most energy efficient yet, and don’t even require a battery start-up. External collectors are available on newer models for those people who are wary of the built-in designs, and their newest solid screen technology is still available on those! The 56″ holovisions have the special “crystal screen” technology which is akin to the up-and-coming Alkuva “no see-through” tech. On the crystal screen Lachans, expect to see your favorite actors in clarity like you’ve never seen before on a holovision!

Kulbv: For years, this Anbrian brand has topped the charts in countries like Oudnavi and its country of origin. It’s finally taking wing here in Alluum, although what has taken so long? Kulbv are different than the conventional holovisions we’re used to. Instead of a small black box that projects an image into the air, Kulbv holovisions are more correctly termed as “HD projectors”, as the picture is projected onto a black screen and mirrored to display a picture anywhere in the room. While they lack any new technologies, Kulbv holovisions are unique and on the rise. 

Unlike conventional holovisions, Kulbv also allow for the picture to be scaled to any size by a simple click from the remote. Their motto, “Display anywhere, any size”, has caught on in Alluum and clever marketing has them at the top of the sales list in holovisions in this country for the entire year.

Emeei: If you’re looking for a more classic approach, go with Emeei. These guys have kept a design and stuck to it for the past hundred years, and the “it ain’t broke, so I’m not fixing it” attitude has kept them at a steady place in the top brands of Alluum for the past few years. The Emeei brothers have made a few adjustments to their static collectors, and their newer models exhibit a clearer picture quality, but beyond that, an Emeei from a hundred years ago is no different than the ones now. For a good, reliable brand that will last hundreds of years, Emeei is perfect for you!

Kaynts: Last on our list, but certainly not least, is Kaynts. This Egivelyn brand is just coming to market, and they’re not short of any gewgaws or doodads. It comes with a special spell to tune into your favorite station for magic users, and a headset that uses brain waves to change channels for non-magics. It also includes a unique pausing feature, and the ability to draw on whatever you stop the screen on! Your kids’ drawings can hang in the air all around your home with a Kaynts holovision!

All the added features lead to a much bulkier set in comparison to the other brands. Kaynts also involves a built-in collector, which is a small antenna that comes out of the set itself. Unlike the other brands, the Kaynts holovisions only come in one size: 36 inches. Their spokesperson says that they’re exploring larger options, though, so keep an eye out for Kaynts in the coming months!

If you roleplay at Shadelings and love your characters enough for them to have ask blogs, just tell Pony and she’ll put them in this masterpost for you! All characters from students to class heads are welcome, along with any famous people around Alksheist that are written about in magazine articles.

Constance Dreamweaver, eraser class head

Kalall Formeweaver, sorcerer class head

Lollipop Grande, intermediary class head

Primrose Griffin, warden class head

Prophet, divine mentor

Blessed Smitty, eraser student

This blog is here to record all of the magazine covers and articles from around Alksheist. Keep up with the plot by reading IC articles, or just see what the gossip is about your characters from all around the world. If you’ve stumbled across this place and are intrigued by the roleplay, you can read more at the wiki.