Tag: topic:magic

Agent Revisited

Agent revisited
Copyright © 2023 Ashlyn Nafina

Summary: An elite, shape-shifting agent takes on a mission that has even the big brass scared. A series of surprises leads to a change of perspective for the agent, and the beginning of a revolution for the world.

Notes: In recent days, I’ve been working on a visual novel version of this story. So a lot of changes have been made to the story itself. I think that some of those changes should really make it back into the original, so that’s what this is.

This is a rewrite of the original story based on some visual novel work that never did get finished. I’m hoping to release some of the assets from that game effort, including the soundtrack that is already available on SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

This story is woven through several different perspectives and time periods, which will hopefully not be too confusing! Each section specifies the perspective.

Original notes below:

The amusing back-story of this story: Me and a group of friends were planning to release an RPG (video game) and spent a while coming up with a world and characters for it. We never did get our act together to build the game, and I was a little lukewarm on where the story was going anyway. Later on this emerged based roughly on the world, so I guess you say that it’s fan-fiction for a game that never was. It takes place a thousand years after the RPG would have.

Keia: Present

Five minutes, thirty-six seconds.

It’s all the time I’ve got to make a decision which could be the most important decision I’ve ever made in my long, long life. Could be the most important decision that any of us has ever made. It shouldn’t be me making it. I don’t have that kind of authority, moral or otherwise. But here I am.

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A New Story

A New Story
Copyright (C) 2020 Ashlyn Nafina

Summary: This is the final installment of the Agent / Lost Tribe trio, written for this compilation. The first story really focused on Relia, while the second focused on the Ba’hari. This last one introduces the Carads in a real way.

Timeline note: This story was actually written around 2018 or so, but it’s never actually seen the light of day. So I’m going to go ahead and leave the date for this post as today, to avoid confusion about what’s new on the site.

Multimedia fun: There is also now a nice Darkwave/Vaporwave song about Jadze here, if you’re interested: The Synth Proclamation

One

I swirled my drink around lazily, watching the ice make little circles around the bottom of the cup, then looked back up at the stage. Jazeh looked like a young, vulnerable girl, standing up there, singing her soul out to the crowd. Her brown hair fell in artful waves around a dark face, and her silver dress dazzled the audience with its reflections of the stage lights. Her voice’s pixelated harmonics ran all over the place, building into inspirational chord progressions over the beat and the scratchy guitars. I had to admit, it was pretty catchy. The crowd was eating it up. Few would care who or what she was in this place as long as she could sing.

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Posted on by Ashlyn Nafina

Lost Tribe

Lost Tribe
Copyright (C) 2020 Ashlyn Nafina

Summary: This story is the sequel of Agent. Rather than follow the exploits of the group that Agent was about, this one is more of an adventure story that follows Keia’s personal journey of exploration as she travels around the world to try to find anything about her people.

Timeline note: This story was actually written around 2008 or so, but it’s never actually seen the light of day. So I’m going to go ahead and leave the date for this post as today, to avoid confusion about what’s new on the site.

One

Spin. Thrust. Dip. Crane Wades in the Rushes. One with the ground, one with the sky. Cat Stalks the Mouse. Flowing, stance to stance. Hold the Ball.

Keia el Rahim, previously Agent Five Two Three and recently joined member of the Ba’hari resistance, spun as a dervish, practicing her Ka Te. It was cold yet; the early morning sun still had not taken the wet ocean chill from the air in the port town of Belio. She wore only a wide strap across her chest and the white flowing pants in which every student of Ka Te, high or low, always practiced. Her red eyes faced an unseen opponent, her shoulder-length turquoise-sky-blue hair flying behind. Her cold feet shuffled across the sandy concrete floor under the vine-covered ceiling trellis. Keia was too caught up in the moment to notice her audience of one.

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Ghost

Ghost

Summary: Geek grrl Lydia has had dating troubles for years. When she finally finds the perfect girl on a dating site, said girl goes mysteriously missing. It’s up to Lydia to find out what happened, and the chase leads her to some unexpected and surreal places.

Notes: I’ve wanted to write this one, well, all my life, to be honest with you. I had the first inklings of it back in 2005, but I can’t say much more without spoiling it, so I’ll just put a second note after the story that you can read later.

I’ve also been inspired by some of the more ‘hip’ and ‘modern’ fiction I’ve read lately, and the story itself is written in a really informal tone, and in a sort of experimental style. Some parts are first person from various people, some are third person, some are IM conversations and movie scripts.. it’s a bit of a wild ride. A little more of experimenting with the art of writing rather than just telling a story.

[1 Year Ago]

<lyddie> so i met this incredible girl

<feenixfox5> <groan> Not again! =) So what’s this one like? Where’d ya meet?

<lyddie> 😛 yeah, yeah, yeah. not *all* of them will turn out to be crazy

<lyddie> someone i met in some ’net personals of all places

<feenixfox5> Hey, whatever works. =)

<lyddie> she’s sweet, she’s cute, she likes pottery and geeks

<feenixfox5> ooo, nice!

<lyddie> yeah. what could possibly go wrong? 😉

<feenixfox5> I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that.

<lyddie> her name is penny

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Flying With the Angels

Flying With the Angels
Copyright (C) 2018 Ashlyn Nafina

Summary: A swan mythology by way of an “ugly” duckling story.

Notes: I’ve always had a fascination with mythology and big stories, and I enjoy writing mythic stories myself. I had a friend who was very much into swans, so I wrote this story while thinking of her.

Timeline note: This story was actually written around 2011 or so, but it’s never actually seen the light of day. So I’m going to go ahead and leave the date for this post as today, to avoid confusion about what’s new on the site.

Once upon a time (as all good stories begin), there was a duck. She was not just any duck; for this duck wished to fly higher and higher, and higher still — so high that she could loop around the moon and reach the stars.

Teana, for that was her name, was unusual in some other ways; and that is the true start of the most interesting part of her story, and the beginning of ours.

“What interesting feathers you have,” her friends would say.

“They’re not like any I’ve seen,” they said.

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Posted on by Ashlyn Nafina

Agent

Agent
Copyright (C) 2018 Ashlyn Nafina

Please note, this is an old version of the story, left here for legacy. Find the new one at Agent Revisited!

Summary: An elite, shape-shifting agent takes on a mission that has even the big brass scared. A series of surprises leads to a change of perspective for the agent, and the beginning of a revolution for the world.

Notes: The amusing back-story of this story: Me and a group of friends were planning to release an RPG (video game) and spent a while coming up with a world and characters for it. We never did get our act together to build the game, and I was a little lukewarm on where the story was going anyway. Later on this emerged based roughly on the world, so I guess you say that it’s fan-fiction for a game that never was. It takes place a thousand years after the RPG would have.

Timeline note: This story was actually written around 2006 or so, but it’s never actually seen the light of day. So I’m going to go ahead and leave the date for this post as today, to avoid confusion about what’s new on the site.

One

Five minutes, thirty-six seconds. It’s all the time I’ve got to make a decision which could be the most important decision I’ve ever made in my long, long life. Could be the most important decision that any of us has ever made. It shouldn’t be me making it. But here we are, and here I am.

Continue reading →

Posted on by Ashlyn Nafina