BreathTaker

Every time!

I was thinking of having both circles next to each other with the Infinity Snake twining between the two.

My tattoo artist and I are planning out a combination tattoo combining the Wheel with the Double Eye of the Almighty. (Plus my Steel Inquisitor Skull Shoulder piece.)

Ok, really quickly. I have weapon names for most of Bran's weapons. Gungir: Of course the name of the spear of Odin, crafted by dwarves and given by Loki. Bran named it after a Svalding war hero. Balmung: Odin's sword in the tree that Sigmund was able to draw but was broken by Odin and Sigmund's son Sigfreid reforged (A mix between Excalibur and Andruril) Bran's father Marik's long sword. Jotunfist: Couldn't find the Norse word for fist but basically "Giant's fist". Bran's grandfather's war hammer. (Also, basically Perrin's Power-wrought hammer) Allenir: It's a knock off of Perrin's "Hopper" hammer but in axe form. Also Bran's grandfather's. Svalin: Norse mythology, the shield that keeps Midgard from burning up from the sun... so I guess the Ozone. Bran's Svalding shield carried with Balmung. It is painted red with a Raven in the center. Anyone want to help with enchantments that aren't OP? I will be working on armor too but I've only got another half hour with computer access until tomorrow. Also, Bran only rarely uses Allenir and Jotunfist. He normally carries Gungnir and Balmund with Svalin on his back into battle. He's obviously an expert spearman but is well versed in Long sword usage with a shield and Hammer/Axe fighting. His short sword technique is good but against and expert swordsman he doesn't really stand a chance.

I'm pretty sure my Sister-in-Law has called me Lord Tyrant before. That along with a couple Firefly quotes and Supernatural quotes from me (Both Mark Sheppard quotes) such as "I'm above you, better than!" and "I'm the bloody King of Hell!" when she told me to visit there. I've been kinda mean lately.

Hey Joe, you could probably post your point of view of the whole thing. I loved Fen's POV.

I'm still down with the beat downs. Even though it does seem we were all captured by the Edassian beast.

While Bran waited patiently at the gate of the Palace, smiling to the guards who were clearly uncomfortable at the idea of a supposed Paladin standing before them, he heard a sound he had hoped he wouldn't. Boots. And a lot of them by the sound. Fen, go look and tell me what you see. He sent to his Familiar who was gone and back in a matter of moments. The wolf sent him an image of about sixteen men marching towards them. "You, soldier!" Bran looked at one of the guards, "Grab me and extra spear or sword , quick, there are men coming who mean to do murder." Unconsciously the man jumped and ran into the guard shack. While the guard was gone Bran turned to the court yard and removed his jacket, revealing bare arms covered in tattoos. Both arms bore the knot-work that was popular in Svalding art, from his wrist up to his biceps where they opened in to a circle surrounding a Svalding styled spread winged raven on his right arm and a Wolf's head in the Nessei fashion on the left. The guard who had gone in to the shack ran back out with a long spear, not as good as his own but good enough. Bran caught the spear in mid air before looking over his shoulder and telling the men to be ready to fight. He spun the spear around, testing its weight and took up an offensive stance. The guards formed a line behind him, drawing swords or lowering halberds. Moments later a group of Inquisitor's troops rounded the corner marching in perfect unison in two columns of eight. They halted as one at the sight of a few guards and one tattooed barbarian with a spear. Bran bared his teeth in a snarly grin and yelled, "Come and taste our steel, you filthy hrafnasueltir." The leader of the Inquisitors shouted for his men to charge and with battle cries the enemy descended on Bran and the Guards. The Paladin lunged at the first soldier to reach him, knocking away the attacker's sword and bringing the spear back to slam in to the side of his head, dropping him almost instantly. Bran moved like lightning, armor was goods and all but it weighed a man down and nothing felt as good to a Svalding as being outnumbered and unarmored and walking away with you alive and the enemy dead. Bran moved to his next target, stepping over the unconscious mound at his feet with a grace the belied his size and slamming the butt of his spear in to the chest of a dark man who came up to the Paladin's chest. The soldier's mail shirt probably would have broken to the tip of the spear, skewering him, but a crushed sternum was guaranteed to hurt and left the man open enough to allow Bran to relieve him of his larynx. ~~~~~ Soon, ten Inquisitorial soldiers were dead and five more were wounded. These guardsmen were excellent fighters, Bran had only killed four and had left an equal number either bleeding or knocked out. Only their leader remained, standing to the side with the bodies of three dead guardsmen at his feet and blood dripping from his curved sword. The man made eye contact with Bran and nodded, this was between them. Paladin and Inquisitor. It was odd how the two religions wanted the same thing, loyalty to their gods, but went about such dramatically different ways to achieve their goals. Bran waved off the remaining guards and stood up straight. I may need your power against this one, Old Friend. He sent the thought to Fen who stood at his side, invisible. With a snarl, the Paladin charged at the Inquisitor at the same moment that the Inquisitor stepped towards Paladin with an icy calm. Bran's spear head had been broken off earlier in the fight so he was forced to pick up one of the short swords laying around him. Bran wasn't as good at sword fighting as he was with a spear but he was still an accomplished swordsman. Apparently not accomplished enough. The two met in a clash of steel, fury on one side and coldness on the other. Polar opposites. For minutes the pair fought, parrying and dodging for their lives, weaving in and out of reach of each other before coming back together. Bran was good but the Inquisitor was better. Bran stabbed with his blade, aiming directly for his opponents heart but was batted aside with hardly any effort leaving himself open. The Inquisitor took advantage of Bran's opening and swung for the Paladin's head. Fortunately Bran was able to lean backwards in time, but not before earning a gash across his cheek. The Paladin had to act, and fast. He quickly scanned the courtyard and found what he was looking for. A dead soldier lying next to a spear about ten paces behind his foe. With a smile he ran at the Inquisitor with renewed vigor, performed an over head chopped which was predictably parried by a high swing, leaving the man's nose open to introductions with Bran's forehead. For the first time, the silent warrior he had been facing had made a sound. He shouted in agony as pain exploded in his face causing him to stumble back a few steps, Just a few more feet, be ready my friend, Bran sent to Fen. Again the Paladin pressed the attack, swinging his short sword with speed lent by heightened adrenaline. The Inquisitor blocked most of the blows only receiving light slashes on his forearms from the ones he didn't until Bran had his quarry right in front of the spear. The Paladin parried a thrust and planted a booted foot hard in the other man's chest causing him to stumble back far enough for Bran to toss his sword up and catch it by the tip. He whipped the sword at the dazed man who just barely managed to block it and at the same instant he kicked the spear up into his hands. Now Bran yelled in his mind while he made the appropriate hand gestures and spoke aloud, "Mighty Argon, give me your blessing!" The Paladin's spear burst alight in a golden flame as he attacked his enemy once more. Now, the Inquisitor stood no chance. He was able to block a few of the swings and thrusts but not more than what struck home. In a matter of seconds the man was bleeding furiously from multiple cuts and tears on his arms, face and hands. Bran smacked the Inquisitor in his already broken nose with the butt of the spear causing the man to step back again. In one fluid motion the Paladin took a single step forward, knocked the sword out of his opponent's hands and rammed the spear deep in to his chest. The man's eyes went wide with shock and he coughed up blood as heart beat it's last, the light leaving both his eyes and the spear. Bran released his weapon and let the Martyr's warrior fall to his back, the haft of the spear sticking straight up in the air like a flag-less pole. He turned to his allies and saw the shock in their eyes. "M'lord, yer bleedin', bad," One of the men said, pointing at Bran's stomach while one of the other guards whistled in amazement. Bran looked down at himself and realized that he was indeed bleeding. His arms were covered in scrapes and cuts, his stomach had a deep but not mortal cut going across it, his hands, legs and ribs were similarly slashed and scraped. And there was the painful cut across his cheek that needed mending. I need a little more power from you Fen, He thought to his wolf before gesturing in strange patterns and saying, "Lady of Life, I call upon you to ask for your healing." A faint light shone around the Paladin as his wounds began to knit shut, the wound in the cheek and on his stomach didn't close completely, leaving scars, More to add to the list, he thought to himself. Both he and Fen were getting tired, two spells in almost as many minutes after fighting for who knows how long had a way of draining a man and his Familiar. But he was not done yet. First he walked to the wounded and laid hands on them, praying to the Virgin for healing, one at a time until the three wounded men were hale enough to get to a medic. After, he moved to all of the dead soldiers and said a prayer for each one, closing their still open eyes. This was the way of the Paladin and these men fought bravely for a cause they believed in, that appealed to the Svalding in him. Finally he made his way to the dead Inquisitor and repeated an old Svalding prayer for a man who had fought bravely and to his fullest capability but had fallen none the less. "May you'r Martyr receive you," he said before removing the man's belt and sheath and strapping it on to himself. He bent down and picked up the sword that had been like an extension to the Inquisitor, cleaned it on what remaind of his shirt and slid it home. When he turned around the man who had left for the king had returned and his friends were recounting what had happened. "The King will see you, Bran the Blessed." He bowed and led Bran into the castle.

I'm going to post right now, sorry I haven't been on. I went to Vegas for New Years and got stuck there an extra night due to weather between there and home... plus I've been devouring Towers of Midnight so it's been hard for me to tear myself away.

I've always wanted to make a ship captain only so a crew member could come up and say "Cap'n, we're hump'd." I posted, now it's in your hands Creator. I figured the king could recognize my emblem on the hilt of the dagger and agree to see me or something like that. And if you want to cause a ruckus for your boys and me outside go ahead, it'll give me a chance to work on my fight scenes.

As Bran ran through the alleys he came up with what was probably the best option for the city and it's inhabitants. Once the Paladin decided what was going to do, he turned the corner and headed towards the King's palace. After about ten minutes of searching he found the front gates of the castle, guarded by eight soldiers with swords and halberds at the ready. One man, clearly the leader, stepped forward and challenged the man who looked like a blood stained ruffian jogging towards them. "Halt, sir. Who are you to be coming to the castle gates in such a manner? Covered in blood and dressed like a beggar?" Bran smiled at the challenge, clearly the man cared to defend his king. "I am Bran Mariksen, Paladin and Banner-General of the Legion of the Gods. I demand a meeting with your king immediately in order to save your city from being burnt to ash." The sergeant looked at Bran hesitantly, it was an awful big title for someone to lie about and he had heard stories of "Bran the Blessed" being a hulking, bearded Svalding. This man seemed to fit that description pretty well. "Very well, but let it be known that if you attempt to harm the King in any way, we will strike you down." You could try boy, and die doing so. Bran nodded and reached under his coat, grabbing his long bladed dagger and handing it to the man who was picked to deliver the message to the king, "Give this to him, he will recognize it."

Hey Joe, you're running with me. We will be heading to the King's palace probably today. I'm not going to post quite yet because I was up till 1 in the morning playing poker at the casino so I'm pretty beat. Merry Christmas everyone.

Hey S, do you think Bran should head for the prison or to his horse and boogie? Actually, I think I might make a break for the palace and talk to the king. Ideas?

Hugi and Muni and supposed to Huginn and Muninn, "Thought" and "Desire" in old Norse. They were Odin's ravens who would travel the world everyday at sunrise and return to him at sunset and tell him what they saw, that is why I named Bran's nephews and spies after them. Although they talk the same I might do something from their combined perspective showing that Hugi is more thoughtful for how people feel and how they think, Muni can read people's desires better than his brother but isn't all that great at figuring out other people's logic behind things. Also, having my familiar's name be Fenrison(sen?) is perfect since my character is an Odin knock-off. Geri and Freki, both meaning "Ravenous" or "Greedy One" in Old Norse were the sons of Fenrir. Both of those wolves served Odin as well.

Hey Seonid can I get some info on the Svalding? I would like to know if they are tribal or not. I would also like to know if maybe they worshiped something similar to the Nordic pantheon so I can use some of their oaths as a habit that Bran never shook (I know Bran is a Gaelic name but I wanted to use it ((It's the root of my real name which translate to Little Raven from what I gathered.))) Also, tattoos, do they usually have any and what do they look like if they do? Some of you may know I love ink. Maybe you could just post that here since Cloud is also using a Svalding.

We can bump into each other while I'm running through the alleys. We don't have to fight but we can definitely interact. I'm trying to go for a mix between Gareth Bryne, Mat and Perrin with my character, not usually eager to fight but an excellent fighter and leader none the less.

I don't plan on describing Hugi and Muni directly. I might describe a person noticing something but I won't be very specific, after all I did say they were utterly forgettable.

Bran walked quietly towards the main square of the city, Fen trailing behind him still invisible to the naked eye. Just as he entered the square he heard the proclamation against the Inquisition. Chaos erupted almost immediately. He saw a group of three civilians mob the nearest Inquisitorial guard but they didn't stand a chance against a trained soldier and his ceremonial spear. The Paladin leaped in to action, drawing his long bladed dagger from beneath his coat and blocking the long shafted spear from splitting the last man's skull, narrowly. The surprise behind the Inquisitor's helmet was obvious, it was even more so when Bran stepped towards him and sheared his lead hand from his arm. In the Paladin's eyes, it was his duty to protect any who couldn't do so themselves no matter their religion. Bran yanked the spear from his enemy's single shocked hand and spun it through the other man's neck. He turned to the next opponent and began to dance in the way that Svalding men were trained from childhood. He attacked with a straight forward yet aggressive thrust called Charging Stag and turned it into Diving Falcon as the spear was reflected upwards. The long blade came down into the clavicle of the now dying inquisitor. Searching for his next mark Bran felt a familiar tingle between his shoulder blades and saw what he was looking for. A tall man in slightly different robes from the other guards was standing on higher ground and wore no visible weapon but his hands were moving rapidly in the practiced motions of a spell. There was no way Bran could cross the courtyard in time to kill him so he did the next best thing and hurdled his spear as hard as he could. The long weapon glided through the air like an over-long arrow straight at the heart of the Mage but before it made contact the man reached out and deftly caught it in both hands. The Paladin's planned had worked, either to kill the man or simply stop his hands from completing the final motions of the spell. Either way the spell was broken, the Inquisitor's Familiar must have warned him with enough time because even with the heightened senses of someone casting a spell that would have been a tough catch. The Inquisitor looked right at Bran, knowing it was he who tossed the spear. "Time to go," the Paladin said to Fen as he turned and made for the same alley he came from moments before.

As a side note I just read the "Has loaded dice" in your title... and upon further review of your picture you have loaded devil dice...

Because they're idiots and thought, "Hey, look.. ruins! Let's go hide in there were it's totally not haunted and infested with trolls!" and the rest of the group went "YAY! WE'RE SAVED!" ? I'm down if only because I wan't to smack one of the novices upside the head.

I overall loved the movie as a "Not Hobbit" movie, more like a Skyrim/LotR/WoW fan movie. Let start from what I remember: Smaug died and I (not quietly) went "And... roll credits." It was only half a joke but it seemed too blunt to me. Other things happened and Kili defended the humans for like a second before going and putting on armor ready to fight them... I mean what the hell just happened? It turns out I'm not going to do this in order, most of my issues have been stated already. Good: Everything was beautiful, BILLY CONNELY WAS DAIN!, HE RODE AN ARMORED RUSSIAN BOAR! THERE WERE ACTUALLY DWARVES! (Most of you know how much I love dwarves... no not like that...) Wizard throwdown was mostly awesome (Some of the moves were very obvious) Thranduil's sword and armor were pretty cool. There are a lot of other things but they weren't awesome enough for me to remember right now. Bad: Galadriel looked not only horrifying but weird at the same time when she went all glowy, she's supposed to be terrible and beautiful. Sword clashing sounds sounded cheesy. Legolas' many quick time events, (The weird chain eyed troll... I'm pretty sure someone was replaying PoP). Thranduil's gear while awesome looked like modified ebony armor and broadsword. Giant rams taken right out of WoW. When Thorin didn't stab Azog through the ice I was like "Stab him, stab him, sta... ooooh now you're dead." Billy Connely was all CGI. The giant graboid things were absolutely ridiculous and so were the bats. There are many more things but those were my main complaints.

My wife and i went to the 7pm premier of the Hobbit since I missed registration for my poker tourney... worth it! There were somethings off but all in all awesome.

I'm down. Something with more than just smashy-smash. Duke is a lot smarter than he acts, he just hasn't done it yet.

Well we just basically put down a cult so how about a retrieval?

Well Joe, Fen should be Tingle-no-see right now haha. Also, I just read the post and I loved it.