Friday, September 16, 2011
Earth…
Samantha Darrow had been dreading going through her grandmother’s possession ever since the news from the hospital that the told lady had not had the strength left to survive the operation, but life had to go on, and setting things in order was the last great hurdle. It had to be done, and one Sunday morning Samantha made herself go to the house, and make a start on the heartrending process of distilling a loved one’s past into “keep”, “sell” and “throw out”…
It wasn’t the most productive of day, but Sam had at lest made a start, rearranging the two unused bedrooms in the old house so that she could go through the clothes and old books without tripping over something and breaking her neck. As long as she kept busy, she found that her emotions could be kept in check – she could save any crying for when she got home.
(Continued)
“C’mon, Miss – it’s not like we ‘ave all day…”
Pratisha Westerly would have shot a withering glare over her shoulder at Detective McCabe, but it was already taking all her concentration to force the corpse to give up its secrets. Interfering with the dead went against everything she had ever been taught, went against the very Spirit of The Earth, but the message clutched in the dead body’s one remaining hand could be too important for her to show any weakness now…
(Continued)
…the square cleared rapidly as the small red-clad figure scampered into view, officers of The Queen’s Constabulary hot on his slender, spiked heels. Good, thought Shimmer Starfyre, sliding to a halt at the foot of the fountain, stopping short of knocking over one of the fleeing flower-seller’s baskets. If this is where it’s gonna happen, then at least no-one innocent’ll get hurt…
(Continued)
The very moment I first heard the Rainbow song “Snakecharmer” – and it wasn’t that long ago, such was the struggle to find “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow” on CD – it just cried out to become the “official” theme-song for any and all future Adventures of Glitterthorn. Today, in fact just an a hour or so ago, I heard the news that the voice of that song – rock legend Ronnie James Dio – has been taken from us, and now goes beyond to seek his own Rainbow In The Dark.
Ronnie, thank you. Rainbow, Sabbath, Dio – none of it will ever sound the same again.
Starbreaker returns.
For years, the elven heroes aboard the living starship Starbreaker have been fighting to defend their home-world from The Faenri Sisterhood, but now that the Faenri have withdrawn to consolidate their territories following the destruction of their home-planet, what lies in store for Wraith and his companions? A power vacuum has come into being… and who might be in a position to fill that vacuum?
Also: who is the dark figure lurking in the wings – a friend, a foe, an uncommitted onlooker? And what is the truth surrounding the mysterious organisation known as The Alternative…?
The Glitterthorn profile page has been updated with a comprehensive list of previous appearances.
The profile pages for The Challenger and Glitterthorn have received extensive updates.
The profile page for The Traveller has now been updated, with History, Abilities and Accessories and Appearances data.
The next day…
“This morning, on Breakfast America, the big question on everyone’s lips – just what happened in the sky last night? The Government is staying tight-lipped, the scientific community are refusing to comment, but according to sources, the Air Force appear to be about to make some kind of statement on the matter, here at Nellis Air Force Base, just outside Las Vegas…”
Lee shivered inside his armour as he watched the television broadcast on the screen lining the inside of his helmet. Last night had been easy – the press was an entirely different matter; had they failed the night before, none of this would have mattered, or still existed, but today, the world wanted answers, and The Challenger was going to have to give them…
(Continued)
Six days later.
“…after another night of spectacular ‘fireworks’, public concerns continue to increase – just what do these displays mean? It has been suggested that this is an overture to a renewed attack by the mysterious ‘Zeta-Men’ who plagued the whole planet earlier this month, and caused world-wide upheaval both during their reign of silent terror, and in the days following their sudden disappearance, which left the remaining two billion of Earth’s population struggling to come to terms with a drastically changed world…”
Lee watched the news reports with a mixture of amusement, and anxiety. This was what he had been preparing for – an incident that required the intervention of someone in command of technology and powers – and mankind’s seemingly in-bred aversion for the sky, the result of generations of Durash Fortain’s psychological engineering which he put in place to stop them questioning their existence, had blinded them to the ever-advancing menace from the stars. Only one person on the whole planet had any chance of stopping the devastation threatened by several thousand tons of rock hurtling towards the Earth, drawn onto a collision course by the energy fountain…
There it was, plain as anything – as direct a challenge as there could ever be. Lee had to make his choice, make the right choice, or millions of people, perhaps all of them, were going to die.
It wasn’t a hard choice to make.
(Continued)
