AoaRD #6: Daedra and Dragons

Every two weeks, Baker Street Holmes tells the story of Urbal gro-Dushnikh, an orc who just wants to be a blacksmith, even though it seems Skyrim has other plans. You can follow his journey through these journal entries with new entries every two weeks. Enjoy!

Flashback     Part One     Part Two     Part Three     Part Four     Part Five

29th of Last Seed, 201

Why are things so complicated these days?  This entry was supposed to be simple: I went on my usual route, made some maces, came home.  Why can’t my life ever actually go according to plan, at least for a couple days?

I left the evening of two days ago, intending to make for Dushnikh-Yal so I might have a head start in the morning.  About half way there, with the sun starting to set, a dragon come out of nowhere.  I saw the last one dead!  A second dragon in Skyrim in as many weeks?  Unheard of since long before my people came to these lands; one was impossible enough.

I am as brave a warrior as any Orc, but no Orc in his right mind would face off against a dragon in single combat, unless he was seeking to have Malacath take him.  There was a river near by and I dove in before he could land.  A little protection from both fire and vision.  And they say Orcs are dumb.  The current was strong, so I just swam with it.  Took me over three waterfalls, but my armor is strong and I was barely injured.  When I landed in the pool at the bottom of the third waterfall, I saw there was a cave hidden behind the falls.

Inside there was little of interest, save a metal carving of a dragon’s paw with claws made of emeralds and a note declaring the door ahead was sealed because there was some horrible tragedy and many died beyond it.  The claws might be worth something, so I admit I took them, but I did not disturb the tomb.  I was taught to respect the dead.  That didn’t stop me from eating a late dinner and getting some shut eye before setting out in the wee hours of the morning.

Dragon was gone when I got up, and I made my way towards Falkreath.  Just after sunrise, I spotted this dog.  I kid you not, it talked.  Not really with a voice, it still barked and such, but it talked to my mind, I guess, sort of?  I really didn’t understand what was going on.  He “says” he’s Clavicus Vile‘s dog.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t mess with Daedric Princes.  I’m considering returning at some point to reunite them, because it never hurts to have a Daedra less inclined to cause you trouble.

Later, I randomly stumbled upon a mine I didn’t recognize and when in to see what ores I might mine.  There wasn’t much of use and bandits everywhere.  Pretty much a waste of time.  But I came across this dimpled orb in a chest, it probably was about the size of my fist, maybe a little smaller.  I snagged it to sell (the bandits probably just stole it anyways) and what do you know: more voices in my head!  A Daedric Prince directly this time.  Meridia.  Wants me to bring her the orb.  My head is getting a little crowded these days.

I got to Whiterun mid-afternoon, made my maces and hoped in the back of a wagon bound for Markarth so I could sleep off some of the trip.  I did not sleep well.  A month ago in Skyrim, this would have been the only paragraph in today’s entry.  What is Tamriel coming to?

Urbal gro-Dushnikh

Even more dragons…Dragonvale, a pretty awesome app.

As we may have previously established, I absolutely love dragons. That’s why, when I saw this app for free on my iPad, I just had to have it. Dragonvale’s a pretty awesome app that’s got quite a lot of different things for different people. Plus, while in-app purchases can be made, they aren’t necessary to still enjoy the app and get the full enjoyment out of it.

Dragonvale works on a pretty simple premise: you own a theme park or, I guess, more of a zoo. And you have different dragons that you can raise. There are the basic element dragons: fire, plant, cold, water, lightning, air, earth, metal. There are also hybrid dragons, containing multiple elements (such as the mountain dragon, which is a earth and cold type). There are also some special types of dragons: the rare dragons (sun, moon, solstice, rainbow), the treasure dragons (which they just introduced, and at the moment includes the gold dragon) and the gemstone dragons (which are based on the birthstones of the present month) You can buy the basic dragons with simple money (called dragoncash, because you collect it from your dragons, who hoard money like no one’s business) and then you can buy the hybrid dragons with things called gems (the gemstone dragons actually hoard gems instead of dragoncash, it’s pretty useful). Gems are a bit rarer, and while there are a few ways to earn them in the game, mostly you can buy them in an in game purchase.

Now, before you look at me funny, because I did say that you don’t need to make in-app purchases to enjoy the game, let me explain. While you can buy the hybrid dragons with gems, once you reach a certain level in the game, you can breed dragons. For me, that’s the more fun element of the game. You take some combinations of dragons, trying to breed others. Each single element dragon has an opposite type, that they can’t breed with. Fire can’t directly breed with cold; water can’t directly breed with lightning; plant can’t directly breed with metal; air can’t directly breed with earth. This creates an additional level of challenge when trying to breed a dragon that is a dual type of opposite elements.

The other main element to the game is decorating and designing your park. They offer all kinds of buildings and other cute little things you can use to make your park look pretty. Some of the buildings include Treat Farms, where you can buy food to feed your dragons, the Coliseum, that has a daily event your dragons can compete in for prizes. You also can connect with friends in the game, and visit their parks, give them gifts, and get gifts from them.

I included this picture of the Copper Dragon, because I personally really like it. There are a wide variety of dragons available in the game, and new ones are introduced on a semi-regular basis. There are also a fair amount of limited edition dragons, that are only available for a certain amount of time before they go away.

I should also mentioning the leveling up system a bit. Like most games, you earn XP. for various things, like hatching a dragon, or building a building, so on and so forth. Once you reach a certain amount of XP, you level up. Different options unlock once you hit certain levels. For example, the metal dragon isn’t available until you get to level 14.

A recent addition to the game is the Dragon Track, where you can actually race your dragons, and you can spin on a prize wheel afterwards, with different wheels for gold, silver, and bronze.

The biggest problem with this app, for me, is the amount of habitats you’re allowed to have. You have to build habitats for your dragons to live in, obviously, but you can only have a set amount per level. The amount increases when you level up, but, not at a fast enough rate, for my tastes. You end up being stuck with more dragons than you have space to put them sometimes, and you have to get creative, or sell the dragons. But that’s a small problem, honestly. And can be circumvented easily enough.

Unfortunately, Dragonvale is only available on the Apple OS, for the iPad, or the iPhone. I haven’t yet heard about it being released for the Android, but I know that there’s a huge demand for it. Perhaps it will be soon?

That’s all I got for you today.

Until next time,
Angel out!

Olympic Fantasy Sports

With the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, I thought I’d take a few minutes to discuss some “sports” that I thought would be pretty cool to see actually happen, but that would probably not make it into the Olympics for various reasons.

(And in case you’re wondering, that is the official Countdown Clock, in Trafalgar Square. I took that picture myself on my recent UK vacation.)

Everyone loves the Olympics (or, at least, I know I do, so I assume everyone else does as well). It’s pretty awesome to see the different countries competing at all the different sports. But, unfortunately, there are some sports that we will probably never see in the Olympics, mostly because they live in the realms of Science Fiction and Fantasy stories.

1. Quidditch

This sport comes to us from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, created by J.K. Rowling. For those who don’t know, it features teams of 7, playing on broomsticks. Three Chasers try to score points with the Quaffle; the Keeper protects the goal posts; 2 Beaters hit these other balls called the Bludgers around, trying to knock other players off their brooms; and the Seeker tries to catch the Golden Snitch, a little ball that moves incredibly quickly. Catching the Snitch ends the game, and scores 150 points for the team who’s Seeker caught it.

While this has been made into a real sport, and is incredibly popular on college campuses (I’m sure some of the other writers in this blog could tell you a bit about how it works), it’s still probably not one likely to ever be seen in the Olympic Games. For one, there’s no consistent way to handle the Golden Snitch. I know I have seen at least two different ways of playing that ball (either by having the Seekers chase a cross country runner, or by hiding a tennis ball and having the Seekers look for it). Even if it did make it into the Olympics, until we discover the ability to actually fly on broomsticks, Olympic Quidditch would never look as cool as the way it was portrayed in the Harry Potter movies. I mean really, it’s pretty awesome.

2. Pro-Bending

Anyone who’s been watching The Legend of Korra on Nick this summer is familiar with pro-bending. For those of you who aren’t, here’s a short clip showing it. Basically, a team of 3: a water bender, a fire bender, and an earth bender (benders being people who can manipulate that specific element) battles against the other team of three, trying to knock them out of the ring. There’s three rounds, and the best of three rounds wins. Essentially. It’s pretty awesome to watch, and would make an awesome addition to any Olympic games. Unfortunately, it’s never going to happen. Unless we suddenly develop the ability to manipulate the elements, which really, isn’t likely. Unlike Quidditch, there really isn’t a way to make Pro-Bending happen in real life.

3. Dragon racing

While this isn’t (to my knowledge) a specific sport from any series, it would still be pretty awesome to see Olympic Dragon Racing. Dragons are pretty dang cool, and rather impressive to see fly. (For more about my thoughts regarding dragons, click here.)Well, they would be if they existed. I know this is a slightly weak discussion of this particular sport, but, I can’t think of much else to say on it.

So, dear readers, I’m going to poll you. What are some sports you’d like to see in the Olympics that most likely never will be for some reason or other? Go ahead and leave comments, letting me know.

Until next time, then,

Angel out!

Kanto Region Day 1

Mewtwo vs. Jacob Black! Hagrid vs. A Chimera! Kratos vs. Dr. No! And a Dragon vs. Pit! It’s the first round of match-ups in the Kanto Region of the Tournament of Champions.

If you haven’t read the introduction, click here.

We’ve got four great match-ups to look at today, so lets get right to it. Here is the breakdown of the first four match-ups of the Kanto Region.

1. Mewtwo vs. 32 Jacob Black


I know that #1 seeds aren’t at risk of losing in the first round, but this match-up is laughable. Mewtwo is a Pokemon capable of incredible psychic power. He can read minds, decimate buildings, and is incredibly intelligent as well as being the most powerful Pokemon of the original 150. Giovanni’s Power Suit gave Mewtwo more power than ever before, so he’s definitely bringing that to this fight. It’s hard to see any non-magic user bringing Mewtwo down, but there’s no chance a love-struck Werewolf from Twilight of all things. He’s a competent Werewolf, but as a general rule, Werewolves aren’t clever; they’re too clouded with rage to bring a good battle strategy to the table. Mewtwo is way too powerful, and way too smart. He’ll take Jacob out easily.

16. Hagrid vs. 17. Chimera


Now I know what you’re thinking: at first glance, Hagrid doesn’t have a chance in this battle. Hagrid, the half-giant keeper of the grounds at Hogwarts has never been known for intense battle capabilities. He does have access to the most basic of spells, but that won’t be enough to take down a Chimera, a mythological creature with the body of a lion, the head of a goat (that can breathe fire because…Greek Mythology) and a snake’s head for a tail. Even if we assume Hagrid has a good deal of strength as a half-giant, that won’t be enough to take out such a savage beast…until we remember that taking down savage beasts is what Hagrid does best. He’s the caretaker for the school, capable of taming just about everything. I think he’s able to subdue the Chimera just long enough to leave it vulnerable, then take it out. I’m taking Hagrid in a mild upset. Which leads to our next battle…

1. Mewtwo vs. 16 Hagrid


Mewtwo takes this one easily as well. Hagrid has no resistance to psychic powers, and Pokemon don’t really fit into the Hogwarts breeding cycle. Mewtwo probably is getting bored of easy battles at this point, so it’s time to see who his next challenger will be.

8. Kratos vs. 25. Dr. No


Oh Kratos, you deranged, mass-murdering lunatic, they really gave you a softball on this one. I guess it’s to pay you back for such a low ranking. I mean, I know he doesn’t have his god powers yet, but he’s still one of the most deadly men to ever walk the face of the earth. Just think of how many times this man has escaped Hades. The forces of hell can’t contain this badass, and I’m supposed to believe he’ll be threatened by Dr. No, a Bond villain with metallic hands and a crazy mad-scientist vibe? This isn’t a “who can build a better death trap” competition! I want fighters. Kratos has used stronger men than Dr. No as cue tips. Kratos wins this one without breaking a sweat.

9. European Dragon vs. 24. Pit


Upset alert! As Angel in the Mirror pointed out in her article about her dragon collection, there are many different types of dragons. After asking the RA for clarification, I’ve confirmed that this dragon is the traditional black dragon that breathes fire and hoards treasure after kidnapping princesses and the like. That plays perfectly into the hands of Pit, who is incredibly underrated in this tournament (characters from more obscure video games suffer this fate a lot, unfortunately). Pit is a hybrid of Mario’s athleticism, Link’s ability to enhance himself, and Samus’s firepower. He has a bow blessed by the goddess Palutena that is super strong, and he has the ability to fly for extended periods of time. In other words, he’s perfectly suited to take out a dragon. I’m taking Pit on this one. Which means…

8. Kratos vs. 24 Pit


I’ve gone back and forth on this one at least twenty times since I started writing this article, and that’s not including all the times I thought about this match-up when I was originally planning out this series. I think Pit’s flight plays a big factor here. I mean, Kratos has range on his weapons, but Pit has more range, and he can fly away more quickly than Kratos can catch-up. That being said, Kratos likely only needs one hit to take Pit out (he’s just a kid, after all), whereas Kratos can likely take several of those arrows with his sheer strength and resilience. The winner of this match-up depends entirely on whether you believe Pit can fight a perfect fight…and I just don’t see it happening. He’s too young and inexperienced on a battle field. Kratos’s bloodlust will take advantage of the most minor of Pit’s slip ups, and I think that’s the difference here. Kratos gets the win in a much closer match than the seeding would indicate. This leads to our final match of the day…

1. Mewtwo vs. 8. Kratos


Mewtwo wins easily. I’m sorry; I know you guys were probably looking for a more climactic final battle for this round of games, but we all know Kratos is weak against Psychic manipulation; that’s how the whole premise for his series started. Mewtwo is the master of mind manipulation, and his psychic powers will more than overpower Kratos. If he was in his god form, he might stand more of a chance, but for now, Mewtwo advances, still searching for his first tough opponent.

Agree with my predictions? Disagree entirely? Let me know in the comments what you think, and if we get enough votes, I’ll let you know how the fan battles turned out. Come back tomorrow for the next four match-ups in the Kanto Region!

The Second Confession: Dragons Everywhere!!

Lots of people collect things. Some people collect action figures, others collect trading cards. Me? I collect dragons.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved dragons. The mythology and lore behind them, their portrayal in fantasy, the presence of them in pop culture. Because, really, dragons are pretty cool. They hoard all the treasure, live in caves, and are really, really tough. Well, at least in the European tradition. But Chinese dragons are also cool for various other reasons. And, yeah, okay, European dragons are usually evil. But….they just look SO COOL. (case in point: an Order of the Stick evil dragon. It’s black and purple. What’s wrong with that?)

So, before we get into my exact reasons for why and when I started exactly collecting dragons, and what I mean by that (soooo many dragons……it’s wonderful!), I thought I’d give a brief background on the different types of dragons.

European Dragons: Most people, when they think of dragons, jump to Medieval Europe, and the concept portrayed of a dragon there. They’re the big serpents who breathe fire, have four legs and wings, are really hard to kill, hoard treasure, abduct maidens, and generally get killed by knights. That’s been  the general portrayal of dragons since the Arthurian time. There are a lot of other European portrayals of dragons, though. There are Germanic dragons, Celtic dragons, Slavic dragons, Italian dragons…..the list goes on and on. Among the different European types, there are several variations, from the number of legs to their general attitude toward human beings. For example, in Slavic mythology, dragons are depicted as being possibly male or female, and they tend to represent the forces of agriculture. The male and female dragons are in constant battle with each other. The female dragon destroys crops, as the hater of mankind, while the male dragon defends man and the crops.

Chinese dragons: While European dragons tend to be a malevolent force, Chinese dragons generally are signs of good fortune, strength, and power. They look a bit more snakelike, and are revered, rather than feared. They tend to look much more serpentine than their European counterparts, with no wings.

While the lore behind them is fascinating, the usage of dragons in modern day fantasy culture is something almost completely new. Some universes do still portray dragons as deadly and dangerous. Harry Potter is a good example of this. So many people think Hagrid is crazy for wanting a pet dragon, and it is common knowledge that Gringotts is guarded by dragons. However, there’s more to the story there than people realize. While dragons are dangerous, people do still work with them, or exert control over them. Charlie Weasley studies dragons in Romania, and I can’t think of anyone who’s read book 7 who doesn’t feel bad for that dragon they “rescue” in Gringotts. (No spoilers, so, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, go read book 7).

Other modern stories show people working with dragons, or at the very least dragons and humans co-habitating and getting along. Entire universes show people getting to know dragons in different contexts than before. The universes built by Christopher Paolini’s Eragon  and Ann McCaffrey’s Dragons of Pern series (which I admit I haven’t read, but at least the Pern series is on my list of things to read) exemplify the concept of a dragon and a human being bonded to each other, a dragon and its rider. Avatar the Last Airbender also roughly alludes to this phenomenon. The D&D universe even has characters in the role playing games who are half dragon, and half human….implying some very… interesting character backstories and some even more interesting relationships between humans and dragons.

Perhaps the recent movie and children’s series How to Train Your Dragon (which I’m actually watching while writing this post; go figure) best characterizes the shifting attitude towards dragons. At the beginning of the movie, the height of achievement in the village is to kill a dragon. But throughout the course of the movie, and through one silly little viking child who is too scrawny to kill a dragon, well, *spoilers* the attitude of the village shifts, and instead of killing the dragons, the villagers work with the dragons. And it’s rather adorable. As is Toothless. */spoilers*

Well, now you’re all caught up on dragon backgrounds, on to discussing my collection!

I began collecting dragons probably a few years ago. I had gathered various things that had dragons on them, like pictures, or figurines, or even jewelry. At one point, I decided to just keep collecting dragon things. I have books, pictures, drawings, figurines, and candles. All of them dragons, and different types of dragons.

 This above picture is my little dragon stuffed animal. I forget what I ended up naming him, but I bought him at Marscon this year. He has wires in his wings, so they can be repositioned. He’s the most recent addition to my dragon collection.

 These are some of my figurines, and one of the two candles that I have. (Ignore the panda, the Buddha and the Dali plushie in the background). The candle was one of the first additions to my dragon collection. The rest have been other accumulations throughout time. I got the red one and the little blue one at Otakon summer of 2011, and the steampunk one (far right) at Nekocon 2011. I honestly don’t remember where I got the little one……..

And this picture, which sadly didn’t come out very well, due to the flash and the plastic covering, I got from a Chinese street vendor in San Francisco. It’s also sideways, but it features two Chinese dragons around each other. So yeah, pretty awesome.

I leave you all with a few recommendations.

1. One series that portrays dragons very well, in my opinion at least, that may not be well known:
The Unicorn Chronicles, by Bruce Coville. While the series doesn’t focus on dragons, they are still a fairly large portion of the plot, and very well handled. This series was probably one of my first few encounters with dragons as a kid, and I completely loved it. It might get overlooked because it, well, is mostly about Unicorns, but, like I said, dragons are an integral part of the plot line, even if minimal.

2. On the side of collecting things, I firmly believe that you should always be on the lookout for whatever it is you’re collecting. You never know where you might find a new and exciting piece for your collection.

3. Here are some fun links, to more dragons. I thought I would share them with you.
Dragon. Not Lizard.
Dragons in Avatar: The Last Airbender
In case you haven’t seen this….you should.

Well, that’s all I got for you now. Angel out!