Howdy!  Welcome to my Elfwood page.

If you're one of the older Elfwooders, you may have seen me around before.  I had a page here several years ago and left, but now I am returned!  Huzzah!

At any rate, a little about me.  I'm a theater education student attending college at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, USA.  I hope to one day be a teacher.  When I am not at school, I reside with my parents and brother, as well as 2 cats, a dog, 15 hamsters (yes, 15) and several fish.  In my spare time I do a lot of knitting, which I recently taught myself how to do.  I work during the summertime as a wench at the Colorado Renaissance Festival and it's some of the best time of my life.  I also started working at a haunted house this year, and that was a blast.  I hope to do it again next year.  This summer (2008) I will be working as a technician for some theatrical shows at a nearby amusement park. 

Update: 23 October 2008.  Long time no see.  I took down the first 4 chapters of the new story that I had posted here, mostly because I've changed a lot of stuff since then.  I am not yet finished with the story, but I am close, and this one is super long.  It's actually the best thing I've ever written, I think, and that being said I'm not entirely sure I will post it up here in its entirety.  (By the way, it's titled "Holding Faith.")  If anything I will put up maybe 1 or 2 "teaser" chapters, and if anyone is interested in reading more, I can e-mail it.  I'll decide what I want to do with it.  Cheers.  Zoë.

By the way.  I thought you might enjoy this, for those of you who have read Return to Me/Of Love and Blood/Memory's Deeping: I just remembered how I started some of the characters.  Originally (meaning, about 6 or 7 YEARS ago), the "Return to Me" story was written in reverse.  Kaelimine was the Prince, Analaeia just a commoner.  A bad guy named Ayrin Harktree (hmm) staged a coup that overturned Kaelimine's father and he went into hiding, while Analaeia started an underground resistance, hoping he'd come back...similar to the same plot, not quite the same.  I believe I originally got the idea for the two of them from "Star Wars: Episode II," because there's quite an epic love story involved in that, with the exception that Kaelimine does not turn into Darth Vader, aw yay!  The whole "meadow" thing they have evolved from that.  Ayrin later morphed into a roleplaying character in which he was a vengeful Bladesinger, much more akin to his current status though much more...mean, I guess.  He was extremely distrustful.   Kiyralynn was also started as an incredibly brutal roleplaying character, a priestess of the god of vengeance, but she never smiled, never saw any joy in her life, etc...but she was badass.  Oh the things she could do.  And Ti'lan started out in the ORIGINAL writing of "Of Love and Blood", and was just a character who died in the 3rd chapter or so.  He was never even mentioned in the original "Return to Me."  Funny that now I can't imagine that story without him in it.  Crazy how far they've all come, huh?

A brief summary of my stories:

"Return to Me": (complete) Kaelimine is the Captain of the esteemed Wingéd Riders, protectors of the King of Cairndale.  Analaeia is the niece of the King of Cairndale, and is in love with Kaelimine.  Unfortunately, Kaelimine is not the only one vying for her heart: the wicked, ambitious Royal Advisor Tyaro also has his eye on the King's niece, and he holds no reservations in killing to get her--and the Crown.  But despite Tyaro's cruel ways, the force that splits Analaeia and Kaelimine apart may be just strong enough to unite them once more.

"Of Love and Blood": (complete) Four years have passed since the end of "Return to Me", and Kaelimine and Analaeia are now married. When an old rival appears from a neighboring city, begging the help of the Wingéd Riders, Kaelimine has no choice but to leave his wife. The only trouble is, Analaeia is suddenly hearing voices in her head and seeing strange visions, and the only person who can help her is Kiyralynn, the mysterious priestess who once saved Kaelimine's life. But what Kiyralynn discovers is unsettling, and may lead to a bigger problem than what Kaelimine had originally anticipated.

"Memory's Deeping": (complete) Picks up directly after the end of "Of Love and Blood."  Ayrin and Kiyralynn are traveling north to the shrine of Arvoreen after a disastrous spell robs Kiyralynn of her health, but secretly, she fears she has lost her faith and must make an apology to her god.  The way is not clear, however, and the two companions meet up with much more trouble than they were anticipating--both inward and out.  Warning: Major spoilers from "Of Love and Blood", so do not read this if you have not finished that story first!!

"The Breaking Storm": (complete) A sequel to "Memory's Deeping."  Cairndale has enjoyed six years of peace since Kiyralynn and Ayrin returned from their journey north, but it is not to last long.  Mysterious cloaked figures have become visible in the city, and after a murder attempt on Kiyralynn and King Taemar, then a vicious attack that leaves two Wingéd Riders dead, Kaelimine and Analaeia begin to realize that all the signs are pointing toward a danger that threatens the life of their beloved daughter, Aurora.  (***Includes a MODERATOR'S CHOICE on Chapter Three!***)

"**Currently Untitled**" (in progress) -- Despite having put almost fifty years between himself and the disastrous revolution in his home country of Evinmoore, Ayrin still finds himself bothered by disturbing dreams of it.  When his son Daedrien finds out about his dead half-brother, the headstrong youth makes a dash to Evinmoore to find out the truth for himself, forcing Ayrin and Kiyralynn to chase after him before he falls into the hands of the dangerous new regime.  After Ayrin is arrested, though, Kiyralynn finds a group of rogue Bladesingers who have been forming a resistance in his absence.  But Ayrin quickly realizes that not all of them are as loyal as they appear to be--and an alluring and dangerous woman who he once loved turns out to be the greatest threat of all.

"The Tiefling": (complete) Our modern-day world is not what we think it is.  Visitors from another world, those with the blood of elves and demons, are living alongside humans in a quiet and unobtrusive peace.  But when Jirel comes to Paris to claim a beautiful woman with the blood of a demon, he finds that he may be in for more than he has bargained for.

"Into the West": A one-shot story based on characters from a story a friend and I wrote some time ago.  Based on the lyrics from the song of the same name by Annie Lennox, it is about Tulnea, the King of Polae, who reflects on the passing of his beloved wife Tindomerel.  Had a Moderator's Choice back in the day. 

"The Garden Tryst": A one-shot flashback from "Return to Me."  In chapter three, Analaeia makes a demure mention of a certain incident in the gardens of the palace that had happened long before...and this is what happened.