My Creative Space

What make and model of vehicle has the most sound advice?

In case you didn't know, I designed a word puzzle that is a mashup of word find and Jumble. Since I'm not a good artist, I'm using Bing to make the images, but I design each puzzle. You can go and print out the ones I've finished for free on Google Docs: .

My partner and I are going to be moving soon. I probably won't be as active for a few weeks....[[|:-)

To be part of my upcoming Spies & Spoils set. This is how I'm designing cards right now since I don't have a PC. Help me get a new one by buying me a coffee or donating directly via Cashapp: $minus1digit.

Card Name:  Diplomatic Favor

Card Type:  Token Enchantment

Rules Text:  

This custom Magic card is from my 10th set, Return of Kaoss. Not the most clever name, I know. When I get a PC again, I plan to use this image I made with Bing….[[|:-)

Spellbane - Whenever this creature strikes a player, that player discards a card.

Starbrood is a meta-star system–a trinary star system with three supermassive stars orbited by eleven Earth-sized star systems, ten of which are inhabited by one or more fantasy races. There is no magic or pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, but there is faster-than-light travel, psionics, as well as other fantasy elements.

Ebbing Tide is like a run-on preface, not meant to be a required read for the main story, but allows you to learn more about this incredibly densely populated setting.

Start with Part 1: https://www.tumblr.com/minus1digit/794538899127009280/ebbing-tide-part-1?source=share

Ebbing Tide: Part 3

“Edem, come along now.” Vagen said with annoyance in his tone. Edem had been lagging behind a lot this morning as they made their way along the beach. They were almost around Walker’s Bend and Vagen was anxious to see if anything had changed, not to mention if the fish were still biting there.

Vagen looked out to the ocean as he heard Edem jogging to catch up to him. He pulled on his backpack strap to reposition it a little as he turned his head to watch his son slow to a walk by his side. He smiled at Edem, but Edem’s smile was quite lacking.His smile waned to a lip curl as he roughed up his son’s hair before putting his hand around his outer shoulder. “You know, son, one day you will pray for a simple existence such as we have.”

Edem scoffed and then blew a raspberry making Vagen chuckle a bit.

“Go on,” he said, giving his son a slight nudge forward, “go see if that spot has changed any.”

Edem got a big smile as he ran off. They were nearing the end of Walker’s Bend marked by a large and tall boulder that sits on the edge of the beach and the thin forest that lines the highcliffs. Vagen smiled as his son eagerly ran around the end of Walker’s Bend and disappeared around the boulder. He regripped the fishing poles in his hand and let out a joyful sigh as he caught up.

Vagen smiled again as he rounded the boulder and could see his son pretending to be a starvessel flying and ducking under the exposed root they had inspected the day before.

Instead of getting closer to his son, he diverted toward the shore, wanting to get started fishing sooner rather than later. He waved to his son to follow him, and after slumping his shoulders and visibly sighing, he did as he was told.

Vagen walked up to where the morning tide had reached earlier and set the fishing poles and his backpack down, then kneeling to get a few things out of the backpack. Edem soon reached his side with a solemn step.

“Now, Edem,” Vagen said, giving his son a calm look, “how come you don’t like fishing?”

Edem curled one side of his lip and looked down and away as he answered, “I don’t know. I guess it’s just boring.”

“So, then, when you crashland on a watery world, how do you think you’ll survive?”

Edem shot his father a defeated look before looking out to the ocean. “By fishing.” He said defeatedly.

“That’s right, son. If you plan to be a Star Captain, then it would be important to know how to fish, and how to fish well. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, father.” Edem said, again in a dejected manner.

“Good, then I have a proposition for you. I want you to first hook and bait the rods, then I want you to take this sketchbook and draw a stellar map of Starbrood with an itemized list of each star. Your stellar cartography skill will be tested far more often than your ability to fish.” Vagen smirked as he watched his son’s face brighten up as he pulled out the sketchbook and a small pouch of drawing charcoal.

“Okay, father.” Edem said with a smile.

He smiled bigger as his son set the book and pouch down to grab the rods to prepare them. He then handed him the tackle box, and after his son opened it to grab a hook, he grabbed the reel he had planned to respool.

Vagen then sat and began to unwind the reel, watching how his son tied the hooks and then attached a lure to each one. He was proud to see how efficient he had become at the young age of 8. He worried about his son’s aspirations. To him, there’s no job more dangerous than flying in space. However, he and his wife both have noticed something special in Edem.

Edem brought the rods to his father and smiled at him as he picked up the book and pouch and ran off back over to the exposed root, using the outermost part as a back rest.

Vagen smiled again as he set the reel down and grabbed the rods to cast them then shove the handle into the wet sand. Then it’s the waiting game, and he grabbed the reel and sat closer to the rods to be ready.

After about twenty minutes, Vagen could hear his son running up to him as he was nearly finished respooling the reel. He was disappointed that there had not been any bites yet, but he was happy that his son finished in a sufficient amount of time. He had just graduated writing school the year prior. He waited until his son was close and slowing to a stop before asking in a faux surprised manner, “Finished already?”

Edem waited until he was at his father’s side before responding, “Uh huh.” He then presented his father the sketchbook, open to his rendering of Starbrood.

“Well, then, let’s see.” Vagen said as he inspected the drawing. Vagen took a moment before saying, “This looks pretty good, son, except that the asteroid belt is outside of Kelvar, not Terra, but otherwise, you nailed it.”

“What is that?” Edem asked.

“Well, you’d have to tell me. You’re the one who drew it.”

“No, father, look. What is that?” Edem asked, pointing not far above the ocean’s horizon.

Vagen strained to see a small object heading their way, but definitely losing altitude at the same time. It took him a moment to realize that there was smoke trailing behind it, and after a moment, he could see that it was a heavily windowed aircraft of some kind. It was growing in size fast and so he told his son to grab what he can and run behind the large boulder.

Vagen could feel the adrenaline and fumbled with one of the rods and decided to leave it behind as he took off just as they were able to start hearing the craft, and it definitely sounded as though it was crashing.

Edem was safely around the boulder and Vagen got to it just as the craft hit the water a few hundred yards from the shore. As Vagen turned, he saw the craft had skipped off of the water and then landed again right at the shore. They both ducked behind the boulder as sand and water had been flung in all directions as the craft burrowed into the beach. The tremor nearly knocked them off of their feet.

Afterward, they both slowly crept up to the craft. Neither of them recognized its style, but they both froze in fear when they could see its occupants.

To be continued....[[|:-)

Starbrood is a meta-star system–a trinary star system with three supermassive stars orbited by eleven Earth-sized star systems, ten of which are inhabited by one or more fantasy races. There is no magic or pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, but there is faster-than-light travel, psionics, as well as other fantasy elements.

Ebbing Tide is like a run-on preface, not meant to be a required read for the main story, but allows you to learn more about this incredibly densely populated setting.

Go read Part 1:

Ebbing Tide: Part 2

Jrbsh awoke with a fright, scrambling from laying on his backside to his hands and knees. He was on the metal grate flooring of a passageway. It was hazy, but the smells quickly had him realize he was still on his ship.

Jrbsh is but a slave on this Orkk vessel. An enfeebled Hoblyn that does the same duties an ergbot would normally have. He may have what most would consider a miserable existence, but compared to most Hoblyn slaves, he gets treated well.

[Hoblyn - Wingless, bat-like humanoid similar to a goblin.]

It took him a moment to really come to. The air felt light, but due to the implant in his lung, he can breathe when there’s no air at all. At least, for an hour. There had been an accident that punctured his left lung, and after having been decompressed in the portage bay one too many times, his captain and owner chose to give him a false lung he’s had to have refilled twice now.

Jrbsh rubbed his stinging eyes, now tearing up and making it even harder for him to see. The emergency lights are on, and with the haziness, their light does little to help him. He still felt a bit woozy, but he managed to stand using the railing that lines every wall. He had to steady himself and it took him a while to focus on the navigation panel to understand where he was. Jrbsh doesn’t know how to read, but has learned many symbols and letters he sees while working.

After a moment he gathered that he was on the bow of the ship on the third deck just below the bridge that spans two decks. His head started to pound as he made his way to the bridge to assess what’s happening. He thought it odd that he had yet to see anyone as he made his way to the ladder in between the lifts. He took a deep breath as he grabbed on and looked up. It seemed like so far to go, and as he climbed, he could feel the strain in his muscles as though he was somehow depleted.

He didn’t take the ladder because he knew the lifts weren’t working. He took the ladder because he’s not allowed to use the lifts, and it was hard for him to understand why it was so hard for him to climb the ladder he has climbed an innumerable amount of times. As he neared the second deck, he noted how quiet it was. There were alarms sounding off, but not the hustle and bustle of a crew trying to correct them.

Jrbsh got a sinking feeling as he got to the bridge that was even hazier, and then the feeling sank even lower as he saw his captain face down on the deck. He gasped lightly before rushing to her side that her head was facing. Luckily, he could see that she was still breathing as it fogged up the shiny, metallic uniform on her forearm laying close to her face.

He quickly shoved her on her upper arm, but she didn’t stir. Not even after he called out to her. The panic struck hard as he strained to look around to see that the other bridge crew were slumped over their stations, or also on the deck, unconscious. He began to hyperventilate until it made his throat hurt from breathing unscrubbed air that his false lung is filtering.

It was all starting to get to him. However, since he managed to calm his breathing, he was able to consider what he could do to fix this. The problem is: he doesn’t know the first thing about how to run a ship. Laundry, no problem. Cleaning the deck with a hand brush, child’s play. Buffing the handrails, easy as pie. Other than his duties, it’s all literally rocket science to him. Still, he was willing to try.

He walked up to an unmanned station, but wasn’t tall enough to reach any controls let alone see the monitor. Kelvaran starvessels are designed to have you stand at your station with the exception of the captain and the pilot. The pilot looked dead, and Jrbsh often faints at the sight of dead bodies. He took a careful breath as he searched for a way to climb up onto the station.

He managed to climb the light fixtures on the front of the station and inadvertently pushed several buttons and moved some levers as he got close enough to the monitor to touch it. To his delight, it was working. Unbeknownst to him, all Kelvaran vessels are protected against EMPs despite that weaponry being outlawed. Even still, it wasn’t strong enough to protect all the systems, most importantly the environmentals.

Jrbsh carefully studied the screen. There were a lot of red marks and numbers, including one that he recognized which was the symbol for air. He pressed that line, but what came up was unreadable to him. He tried to study it, but other than the ‘X’ in the top corner, none of it made sense to him. He touched the ‘X’ to back out, and as he rested that hand to the side of the monitor, he pressed another button. He noticed this one light up and blink with a dull orange color. He was a bit mesmerized by it for a brief moment until he felt a rumbling, threatening to knock him off of the console.

Another alarm suddenly blared as the protective cover over the bridge windows began to open, slowly showing him that they are in orbit of a beautiful blue and green planet.

An androgynous voice suddenly sounded off, “Bridge separation in 30 seconds.”

Jrbsh was wide-eyed. Not only in wonderment, but now of fright. It had him frozen in place until he felt the launch of the bridge separating from the main hull and, not only catapulting the bridge toward the planet, but also Jrbsh off of the console. He managed to land on a crewmate and he quickly scampered off and over to the captain.

He wrapped his arms around her exposed arm, closed his eyes, and prayed for their survival.

Starbrood is a meta-star system–a trinary star system with three supermassive stars orbited by eleven Earth-sized star systems, ten of which are inhabited by one or more fantasy races. There is no magic or pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, but there is faster-than-light travel, psionics, as well as other fantasy elements.

Ebbing Tide is like a run-on preface, not meant to be a required read for the main story, but allows you to learn more about this incredibly densely populated setting.

Ebbing Tide: Part 1

On Terakala, a world in the second star system, Vagen Rootrutter, a Tarpan fisherman, and his son are walking along the beach that they walk every day. Unlike most other worlds, many still live pre-FTL lives as Tarpans are the most reluctant to want to travel in space. They walk it not only to fish and for fun and relaxation, but also to reach the town North of theirs along the highcliffs that parallel the coast.

[Tarpan - Mole-like humanoids similar to gnomes.]

It’s a sunny early Autumn day, and as they come around a bend, they both notice the severe erosion that had to have occurred the night before. They had fished that spot the evening before. Vagen’s son, Edem, quickly ran over to the exposed root of a tree, looking as though it’s holding on for dear life. Edem vaulted himself up onto the top of the biggest part of the root now running parallel above the ground. He turned around to face his father. “Where did all the sand go?”

Vagen furled his brow as he slowly approached, not only in consternation, but also in a bit of annoyance at his son’s careless question. He should know it must have gone out to sea. He glanced out at the ocean for a moment before getting close to his son. “Looks like the ocean was hungry.” He said with a giggle and a playful nudge, nearly causing his son to fall off of the root.

Edem giggled and then said, “Woah,” before grabbing his father’s arm. “What do you think happened?”

Vagen once again looked out to the ocean. The tide was calm, giving no clues. “I’m not sure, son. The Ebon Moon isn’t full right now. I don’t know what else could cause such rapid erosion.”

“If you can’t see the Ebon Moon, then how do you know what phase it’s in?”

“Well, when the black daisies are blooming, that means it’s full, which occurs every 27 days.”

“Do you think it could’ve been a starvessel?” Edem asked as he mimicked the sound of one while jumping off of the root and pretending to fly for a brief moment, then running around with arms spread.

“That’s a good question, but I think a starvessel would’ve destroyed this root. This is very concerning. I think we’ll have to report this to the Rootmaster.”

Edem stopped in his charades with wide eyes. It had been months since they visited his great uncle Winder, the Rootmaster. “Really? Can we go now?” Anything but fishing.

“Now, son, you know we need to catch dinner first. We’ll go after breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” Edem said, extremely dejectedly.

“Besides, this will be an excellent spot to fish right now.”

It was, too. They ended up catching enough fish for dinner and the next day’s meals.

Deep in the highcliffs, Vagen and Edem slowly travel down an ancient torch-lit lava tube. Twisting and turning, they eventually reach the Rootmaster’s chamber. A large magma-carved hole in the earth, now riddled with tree roots that the Tarpans have coaxed to grow through the chamber. After many decades, a Rootmaster can read the roots and can tell you about things going on all over the highcliffs and the forest beyond.

Edem couldn’t control his elation and tore himself away from his father’s hand to run and greet Winder. “Grunkle!” He exclaimed as he launched himself into the old man’s lap.

Winder quickly wrapped his arms around the boy, spry for an old man. “Ohhh, how is our future Star Captain, hmm?”

Anyone can be a captain of their own starvessel, but a Star Captain commands an entire fleet. “I’m good, Grunkle, but we saw something on the beach yesterday.”

“Oh? And what did you see?”

Vagen interrupted as he got close, “I wish you’d stop egging him on. We all know he’ll most likely never become a spaceling. It’s much easier to just be a Broodling.”

“No harm in the boy having dreams. Now tell me, what did you see?”

“There was some heavy erosion that occurred overnight by Walker’s Bend, and the Ebon Moon is still waxing right now.”

“Yes, there was a strong disturbance the other night. I did not get very much useful information as all of the roots screamed that night.”

“What do you think it was?” Vagen asked seriously.

“Considering the evidence, I can only imagine that it was otherworldly. I’ve heard rumors that the Traeon also Screamed, and we are very close to the Traeonic Eclipse. Still, something doesn’t add up. The other Rootmasters are on their way now for a meeting. Perhaps you’d like to join us, Vagen?”

“I would like that, yes. How about you, Edem?”

Edem’s face brightened slowly into a big smile as he looked at both of them back and forth a couple of times before exclaiming, “Yes!”, while pumping his fist into the air, garnering a chuckle from Vagen and Winder.