Angel is based on my third successful 'Oblivion' game character. First came Severus Snape (over 700 hours.) Then Sarrah (over 500 hours.) While writing about this unique Breton child mage character in the 'gamesas-Oblivion-General-Forum', a spontaneous RPG erupted and for a full evening of rapid-fire posts from several participants I saw the magic of a forum based RPG. I was talked into starting an RPG based on Angel. When the RPG died in the middle of the third thread, (as they mostly seem to do) I was already caught up in the story and so the 'Angel Fan Fiction' was born.

I played Daggerfall when it came out. I played Morrowind when it came out. I intend to borrow from those games as well as 'Oblivion'. For that reason, I won't be doing the usual chronicle of quests.

In the RPG, Angel was introduced as the object of an ancient prophesy;

One is ancient and recorded in runes;


The other is an Ayleid plaque;


The prophesy revolves around a unique Dwemer artifact which can amplify an illusion spell by thousands of time. The artifact attunes itself to only one person at a time. Sitting in the private collection of Angel's wealthy father, it attuned itself to Sarrah, Angel's older sister. When Sarrah died, it attuned itself to Angle. With it, she could command entire armies. The artifact is known to have caused the disappearance of Angel's parents. She is trying to investigate the artifact to find out what happened to them.

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In the last chapter, Angel acquired a mage's apprentice. Mar-Deena is the ten year-old daughter of Angel's Argonian friend Swims-On-Land. Angel also had a birthday; turning thirteen.

****************************

Story continues

"I'm cold Aunty Angel." Mar-Deena declared.

"Ok. Go upstairs and sit by the fire. I'm going to put everything away and then I'll be up to start dinner. If Duncan arrives you can send him down here."

In the basemant chamber where she conducted her alchemy practice, Angel applied her broom to the various powdered substances that littered the floor from Mar-Deena's enthusiastic use of mortar and pestle. As she worked something caught her eye. In a dark corner of the room, a small object, lighter than it's surroundings drew her and her broom to deal with the offending litter. Unable to make out what the thing was in the gloomy corner, she picked it up only to discover it as the exposed corner of pages in a familiar book. With shaking hands, Angel carried the last journal of Dulver Fyr, into a pool of torchlight.

With the same reverence due a holy relic, Angel touched the worn leather of the front cover. Inside were the last written words of the gentle, eccentric genius that had become her friend. Dreading what she would find, Angel leafed through the pages until she had found the last entry. It was a note indicating the dimensions of a section of filigreed scroll-work sketched just above the writing. There had been no opportunity for Dulver to reveal those last dramatic moments of his life.

Conflicting feelings warred over respect for Dulver's privacy and The desire to know if he had learned anything about her parents' disappearance. In the end, curiosity would have won but at the decisive moment, she heard approaching footsteps and Duncan appeared in the doorway.

Seeing the strain in Angel's face he asked, "Are you ok?"

Angel nodded without speaking. Holding up the book she said. "Dulver's journal." There was only the merest hint of a hitch in her voice to betray her slipping control.

"You really liked him."

Angel nodded again.

Hurting from the sight of Angel's pain, Duncan went to her and put his arms around her protectively. If it were possible, he would be a wall against anything that ever threatened her but how could he shelter her from things like this?

For an instant, Angel relived the anger she had felt. Then, the realization came that she was now hopelessly in love with the man who had dispatched Dulver's assassin.

"If we get married and have a son someday, we could name him Dulver." Duncan offered.

"No," Angel answered. "It would always be a reminder to you of the part you had in all this."

In Duncan's answer was the wisdom of those that live close to the soil and to the processes of life and death, "Angel, babies have no guilt for events that took place before they were born. You forgave me and I pray that the Divines and Dulver forgive me too. If you wish it, we will call our firstborn Dulver."

***

"A boat ride?" Mar-Deena exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Ooh, I've never been on a boat before."

"I've chartered Captain Oaken-Hull's boat for a week. You'll need to pack enough supplies to continue practicing your alchemy and penmanship. Duncan will take your luggage down to the dock when you're ready."

"Where are we going?"

"Just out to sea. There are some experiments my friend Dulver wrote about that he said would be safer if they were done at sea. They would have a very bad effect on local animals if they were done here."

***

"AUNTY ANGEL! AUNTY ANGEL!" Mar-Deena called down from the rigging where she was chasing Hauls-Ropes-Faster from rope to spar and back again. "THERE'S ANOTHER SHIP COMING."

"DECK THERE," Hauls rendered up the ancient formula for a lookout sighting, "SHIP OFF THE STARBOARD BOW. LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE CLOSING."

"CAN YOU MAKE OUT WHAT SHIP?" Captain Oaken-Hull's booming voice, which had shouted orders over the roar of a full gale now shattered the soft swishing of the boat's progress through the water.

"PIRATES!"

***

"Don't you worry lil' missy, I've dealt with this pirate before. They'll come aboard, make a few faces and demand ransom. I'll pay them and they'll be on their way."

Standing beside Captain Oaken-Hull, Angel laughed as a fat ornately dressed pirate missed his timing in transferring from their ship to a boat. He was hauled into the boat by the crew with his dignity totally awash.

"Don't laugh lil' missy. That there is their captain. He's a mean'un. We don't want any trouble."

Sobering immediately Angel called Mar-Deena to come stand next to her where she would be protected as long as Angel lived.

As the pirates boarded, it was clear that their captain was in a foul mood. Sloshing as he walked, He made his way to Captain Oaken-Hull. Looking down he saw the open stare of the two girls. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" He shouted.

Now frightened, Mar-Deena open her mouth and a scream issued from it that caused everyone around her to clap hands to ears. The pirate captain's cutllas flew from his hand and arched through the air coming back down at the front of his bare foot and neatly severring the big toe. Grabbing the cutlas and shaking with pain and rage the captain pointed it at Mar-Deena and shouted, "I'LL RUN YA THROUGH!"

Before anyone could react, Mar-Deena did a back-flip over the rail and disappeared below the waves. At the same time a greenish bolt flew across the deck from one of the crew and Angel felt the numbness of paralysis.

As her vision cleared, Angel found herself laying down. She stood up, surprised that the pirate crew which were standing around her made no move to stop her. She spiked the air with her hand but the magicka would not flow. She lowered her hand to examine the long bracelet that was now clasped around her wrist. She recognized the infamous Morrowind slave bracelet from pictures and descriptions during her Arcane University studies. Until it was removed, she would be helpless.

Congratulations on a new thread and your resounding success! We knew you could do it. :celebration:

It was great that you reviewed the background for Angel's quest with the golden egg.
This story was a wonderful mixture of information, philosophy and adventure on the high seas.
That I truly fear for Angel's predicament, is testimony to how fully and endearingly you bring her to life.
I can't wait to see what happens next! I'm fascinated by where you are taking us.

:whisper: I did notice a few minor editorial items -
-The desire to know if he had learned anything about her parent's {parents'} disappearance.
-in Duncan's answer was the wisdom of those that live close to the soil and to the processes of life and death, {You began the paragraph without capitalizing the first word.}
-Captain Oaken-Hull's booming voice, which had shouted orders over the roar of a full gale now shattered the soft swishing of the boats {boat's} progress through the water.
-Before anyone could react, Mar-Deena did a backflip over the rail and dissapeared {disappeared} below the waves.

An awesome day has arrived. Thread number two. :celebrate: Congrats!!

The introduction was lovely, explaining quite a few interesting things about our child-mage.

Duncan and Mar-Deena are perfect additions to the story arc, allowing you to bounce their personalities off each other.

The conclusion was a shock. Captured....This is truly a turn up for the books.

I have to go with Winter Wolf on this one - shock! (And of course, CONGRATS !!!!) Awesome Write Master Po !!!!

I echo the above.

I'm shocked. Simply shocked.

Wow, again. Very good writing.

Here is artistry on display- sadness, humor, adventure, and a surprise ending- and all contained in a tightly-written installment. You have my full attention... and my anxious anticipation.

Acadian;
Angel continues to steadfastly stand her post awaiting the arrival of a Mystic Bowgirl.
Fixed (I think.)

Winter Wolf;
Such a joy to see you sticking with Angel as she enters her new home in thread number two.

mALX1;
Sorry about the shocker. It could have been worse. It could have been raining.

hauteecole rider;
Time was, when a glimpse of stocking
was looked on as something shocking
but now who knows?
Anything goes.

treydog;
Thank you my friend.

Thanks to everyone for the congratulations and well wishes. Surprise; no one commented on the fact that Angel acknowledged that she is hopelessly in love with Duncan, I'm adding a new feature; little quotes from the original RPG.

**********************************************************
"Time is eternal and yet there is no time". "Darkness like a pit". "A silence more profound than the grave".

The words of Master Pheng reassured her that she was still alive and merely paralyzed. In her earliest days of alchemy training she had come close to this once from a spill but she had never before been so totally under.

"If you give in to the fear" Pheng had said, "it can prolong the effect and even become permanent." Angel focused her thoughts on her list of spells. "Yes," she though, "My Dragon Skin spell is the best simply because it costs no magicka to cast. There was certainly an advantage to being a Breton. `Flare' is only an attention getter but it helps in focusing a summoned creature when they don't know who to attack. Ah; Attack. What a horrid thing; to have to kill some poor creature simply because they are too mindless to know better. Someday I will learn to use my magic to quiet their fears."

Excerpt from post #9, Thread #1 'Angel' (The original RPG.)

**********************************************************

"Aunty Angel," came a whispered voice.

Angel rolled over to see the source of the words silhouetted in the cabin's large rectangular port-light. Beyond the figure, a star filled night sky could be seen.

"Mar-Deena, I'm sorry. I didn't think there would be trouble like this."

"Do you need a magicka potion? I have some in my pack."

"No Angel answered. "They put a slave bracelet on me. I can't cast any spells. It's closed and locked and it's too tight to slide it off."

"Where is the key?"

"You can't get to it. The pirate captain has it."

"Don't worry. I'll get it."

"No!" Angel put all the force she could into that whispered demand but it was too late. Mar-Deena had once more disappeared.

As the following minutes passed, Angel listened for the shout that would signal that Mar-Deena had been discovered. It was with vast relief that at last she heard the little scuffling sounds from outside.

Mar-Deena had barely entered the cabin when they heard the sound of a key being jiggled into the cabin door, Mar-Deena dove under the bed covers beside Angel. A pirate stuck his head in and looked around. "What was that noise?"

"What noise?" Angel asked in a shaking voice.

Satisfied that she was too frightened to attempt any tricks, the guard closed and locked the door once more.

"You are a solid block of ice," Angel said still holding her voice to a whisper. She commenced rubbing Mar-Deena's body to stimulate the circulation. "I'm glad you changed your mind about that key. I don't want you hurt."

"Maybe a flare spell would help." Mar-Deena said, dangling the now open slave bracelet between thumb and forefinger.

"I should have know," Angel said. "Your father is the best pickpocket in the world."

"And I'm the second best," Mar-Deena declared. "Um, there is something I want to tell you. You know that poison that causes yellow stains when you spill it?"

"Huh? Oh. Yes?" With a growing concern Angel asked "You didn't.."

"No," Mar-Deena interrupted, "I didn't poison him. I just poured some on his pants; you know; kind of in the front; you know; near the top of his legs."

The shattering of Angel's tension brought a laugh which once more drew the guard back into the room. He stopped for a moment, seeing Mar-Deena sitting beside Angel and waggling her tongue. Gathering his wits he rushed to the bed to capture the argonian runaway. He was again stopped. This time, by the golden aura that swept up his hand from Angel's touch.

***

"COME OUT YE SCURVY DOG." The swaggering pirate taunted his captain through the closed door. At last the captain appeared, and hobbled out onto the deck.

"You see that men?" The pirate pointed at the yellow stains. "The man has become a coward. Frightened by a little girl. I say it's time we elect a new captain."


"Frightened by a girl says ye?" The enraged captain repeated. "I'll show ye a thing er three." With that he drew his weapon and clumsily lunged toward Mar-Deena who sidestepped the attack and stomped on the wounded foot. The cutlass clattered to the deck. With a howl of pain, the captain hopped backwards holding his injured foot until the railing upended him and he disappeared over the side. A thundering splash sent spray raining back onto the deck.

"Back to the ship men," Angel said, accompanied by touching a finger to her earlobe.

"Back to the ship men," the rebellious pirate echoed.

Captain Oaken-Hull watched the pirates until they were well on their way. Shaking his head, he turned to Angel. "I'm afraid our troubles are not over. I would have put back to port yesterday if it had'na been for those pirates. All we can do now is trim sail and ride out the storm."

For the first time, Angel became acutely aware that the pleasant breeze was rapidly becoming a strong wind.

***

A new sound was beginning to demand Angel's attention. Along with screams of gale force wind in the rigging, the crash of waves against the bluff bow, and the pop of wood forced momentarily out of its designed place, there was a distinctive splashing sound now coming from lower down in the ship. With all of the crew on deck tending the sails and securing equipment from thieving waves, Angel struggled to remain upright as she made her way to the lower deck. At last, opening a hatch she was dowsed with water.

Captain Oaken-Hull's face was grim as the ship's carpenter reported a started plank. Angel had already been given an explanation of the term. It meant that as the hull twisted from the force of tons of water, the fastening at the end of some hull plank had given way. The plank had sprung outward allowing water to pour into the hold.

"We're fothering a sail over it," the captain shouted above the gale. "Someone dives under the ship to get a rope slung under her. Then, we use the rope to pull several lines across the bottom. The lines will be used to pull a sail down over the leak. We'll have lines on the upper side too to control the position and keep the sail flattened out. It won't completely stop the water but it should slow it down enough to keep ahead of it using the pumps."

As the captain finish the explanation Angel noticed a rope snaking out of a coil laid out on deck and passing over the side. "Where is Mar-Deena?" Angel shouted above the wind.

Wordlessly, Oaken-Hull pointed to the rope feeding over the side.

"But with the motion of the ship she could be crushed down there"

Oaken-Hull turned away with bowed head. "It's our only hope."

***

By way of greeting, Swims-On-Land called out from the dock, "Hey, is that a toy mage I see?"

Before Angel could remember the new joke she had dreamed up for Swims Mar-Deena called back, "Hey, is that a pocketful of wooden Septims I see?"

"Look at that," Angel commented. "He's wearing a Mages Guild Robe-of-the-Apprentice. It looks pretty good on him."

"That reminds me." Mar-Deena said. "What was it you whispered to Daddy when you said I could be your apprentice?"

"I told him I would give you mage training if he would give me pickpocket training."

Whew! You were right, Mar-Deena to the rescue !!! Awesome Write, Master Po !!

Whew! I'm with mALX! What a relief that Angel is once again unfettered. :twirl: What a pleasure to read!

The snips from the old RP are most welcome.

That Angel loves Duncan is a logical extension of the signals she has telegraphed, and therefore did not generate surprise perhaps?

This was a wonderful adventure on the high seas. :toughninja: I got a kick out of your nautical parlance and indeed, felt quite at sea on the old wooden sailing ship.

As always, I love the understated way you imply Angel's use of magic. Mar-Deena is quite the handy one to have around!

:lmao:

Just one picky thing: "I should have know {known}," Angel said.

what an enjoyable episode on the high seas! Argh! Argh!

I especially liked what Mar-Deena did with the yellow stuff. Made me roll off my chair trying to stifle my belly laughs!

Epic read. The salt water, the spray, the creaking of the planks. Almost makes the convict in me want to come out.

Your writing is so lovely. Just the perfect blend of description and philosophy. Indeed it is food for the mind and soul.
Mar-Deena. What a cute kid. A born superstar!!

Angel might find herself pushed to the rear by the next Bobby Fischer.

No wonder Swims brought Mar-Deena to Angel- who better to train one prodigy than another? Loved the clever method of handling the pirate captain (and crew), plus the use of Mar-Deena's Argonian abilities.

The story is so lovely that I hesitate to clutter your thread with my punctuation pointers, but the English instructor trapped inside my head will not give me any peace otherwise.

Mostly they are in an area with which I struggle, getting the quotation marks (and other punctuation) to go where they belong.



Missed a close quote after "No," there.



Go ahead and terminate the question with a question mark- "What noise?"



A missing open quote- "I didn't?."



No apostrophe here. The way I always remember is to say "it is," every time I write "it's." And if I do not mean "it is," I leave out the apostrophe.

So many boo-boos. It seems the harder I try the worse it gets. I even read the story out load before I post. The problem is, I see what I expect to be there instead of what is actually there.

Do not beat yourself up. That is what happens the more you look at a document. The less of it you actually see. It is because our brains see words as single units, and not as individual letters. That is why we can tell what a word is even though it is misspelled. But it is also why we misspell them in the first place and never notice. Worse, the more you look at an entire document, you begin to see entire phrases and sentences that way, making it harder to find repeated words, too many commas, etc... This is why editors have jobs after all.



I finally caught back up again. Congrats on sticking with Angel to Thread #2. Writing may be enjoyable, but it is also a chore, long hours of toiling away on the forge of the keyboard, hammering words into shape with your mouse.

Lots of fun! That is what reading Angel always is to me, a fun ride with my favorite 13 year old Breton. Your knowledge of sailing really comes through. For a moment I was half-expecting to see Captain Horatio Hornblower to sail over the horizon on the HMS Lydia!

mALX1;
It was your describing Mar-Deena as hyperactive that inspired the sea adventure.

Acadian;
Thank you. I'm afraid my experience with pirates is limited to books and movies but I thought the whole thing sounded fun enough to give it a shot.

hauteecole rider;
"Avast thar ye swabs. Yer gitten pixels mixed in wi' me gunpowder." KABOOM. "Summun bring me some frish skivvies."

Winter Wolf;
As Angel enters the first stirrings of romance and responsibility. Mar-Deena has taken her place as the outrageously curious moppet. Nevertheless, there is a place for both of them for (hopefully) a long time to come.

treydog;
I thought maybe the story needed to include a few sea-dogs. Thanks for the corrections and don't worry. They are welcomed always.

SubRosa;
Thanks for staying with us. Sadly I lack C. S. Forrester's depth of knowledge about all things nautical but this story was still fun to write.

Story continues;

*****************************************************

"William Nightshade." Angel repeated the name trying to take in this new turn of events. "And this is Vlad; my bodyguard."

Turning to Vlad she said "And I was quite ready to scold you for running off but I see now that you have rescued me with the aid of your trusty mop" as she spoke that last part, she began to giggle...

...Breaking the seal, Angel read the contents and smiled her broadest smile. "Gentlemen" she announce. "the Arch-Mage is coming to Skingrad along with a retinue of University scholars. Do you dance?"

Post #29 & 30 Thread #1 'Angel' (the original RPG)

*****************************************************

Duncan spoke the words of invocation, calling on the Divines for approval. "We pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred family honor to preserving the Divine's blessings. Let no mortal man steal them from us."

As the joined hands released, Angel raised her bowed head to anxiously survey her dinner table and the guest arrangements. At the head was Duncan, dressed in black velvet and looking to be at the height of manly bearing. To his right was the lovely but subdued Mrs Oaken-Hull. On his left sat Deeny; now tugging on his sleeve for attention. Next to Deeny was the good Captain himself in a simple burgundy outfit and across from him; Swims-On-Land. Opposite Duncan, Angel anchored the foot of the table in an elegant Blue velvet dress.

"What exactly are the Divine's blessings?" Deeny was demanding to know.

Wrapping an arm around the shoulder of the 'Little-Pinch-Of-A-Hero', Captain Oaken-Hull expounded loudly, "Well the most important one is that no one else should have the say of whether you live or die."

"Really, Heinrich, such talk of serious things." his wife chided. Leaning forward to speak past Swims, she addressed Angel. "This is a wonderful meal dear. I must get your recipe for spiced apples and I love what you've done with that bergamot sauce." Mrs Oaken-Hull was rewarded for her praise with a smile that reached down into her cool reserve and brought forth a warm, answering smile.

"Yes," Duncan entered into the education of Deeny, "and that means you have a right to defend yourself."

With her hand on Oaken-Hull's arm, drawing his attention, Angel said "I thoroughly agree. That's the most important one."

Responding to the reference to food, Swims now entered the mounting babble. Addressing the captain's wife he asked "Have you ever used milk thisle in a sauce or just as greens. Along with mushrooms, and served with potatoes and gravy ....

...a right to own your own property...crispy smoked boar strips with...they can't just haul you away in the middle of the night without cause...she had those pirates eating out of her hand..could I have some more of that delicious...Tamika's or Surile Brothers?...I love it when the bread is still warm from the oven...

***

With her feet propped up on the custom footrest Duncan had carved for her, Angel held hands with her beloved and basked in the warmth of the fireplace. Deeny had taken the Oaken-Hulls down to the sub-basemant to see the infamous secret chamber. Swims had stepped out for a pleasant evening stroll along the waterfront.

"Whenever you're ready, you can come up and harvest whatever you want. I have potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and I've put out some aloe vera."

"Haven't you ever wanted me to just stay when I come up to the farm?" Angel asked.

"Every time but, you know it's too soon for that. You'll get stronger from now until you are around seventeen or eighteen. As long as we are together, I don't feel any need to rush things." With the sudden thought that his own words had evoked, Duncan felt a pang of self doubt. "We are together aren't we?"

For the first time, Angel spoke the most magic of all spells, "I love you Duncan." She said simply before looking away in fear of rebuke.

Quickly Duncan's response came to reassure her, "I love you too."

Lovely dinner party!

And a deepening of Angel's and Duncan's relationship. Even more delicious than the dinner!

Some nits: :brokencomputer:

It's Divines.


It's height.



It's addressed/addressing.
And the darn opening quotation marks took a hike!


A period disappeared here.


And I see looking decided to capitalize itself.

A sweet interlude in its deceptive simplicity. :twirl:

Yes, very sweet.

The only trouble with teenage love though, is that hormones often speak more loudly than reality at that time of life. Only time will tell with Angel and Duncan.

There seems to have been a whole section there where I missed all of the spell checker's red underlines. When I ran the editor they all popped up. Fixed

Ahhh. More Angelic goodness, served up with some wonderful grits! :liplick:

I see Angel prefers the same beautiful style gown as did her older sister, blue velvet. I found that very significant and lingered over the bittersweet images it conjured. I suspect you did also as you wrote it.

So, it's Deeny now? How naturally clever.


This is one of the best examples of 'bobg' that there is. No one but you can do this my friend. I am in awe.

Angel and Duncan's mutual declarations at the end of this story truly brought an innocent smile of delight to my face.

Deeny is tugging on the sleeve. A beautiful image that says so much about who she is.

I am in no doubt what Angel thinks about Duncan. The poor guy would be fertilizer for the vegetable patch out front by now if she didn't love him.

I am loving this Mar-Deena addition to the story !!! She brings life and energy with her just walking into a room!

The dinner party was an absolute delight- the way you wrote it transported me right into the center of the swirling conversations.

We also had plenty of descriptive goodness to make the scene come alive.

And Duncan's farm family practicality is put to good use. Plus those most magical of all words. Just lovely.

By Hermaeus Mora's carpal tunnel why has it taken me so long to discover this thread? I will post more after I have gone back and fully caught up. But for now, after reading of yellow stained pirates and that remarkable dinner party, I am psyched over what I'll discover with Angel!

WOW. thats all i can say: WOW. after reading the first thread and catching up to this one, i can say thay you, bobg, are truly and amazing writer.