Old Habits Die Hard Part Six, some old habits never die Options

[haute ecole rider]

Hello all, and welcome to the final thread of Old Habits Die Hard. Those of you who are familiar with the Main Quest know that we are fast approaching the end game. Only three more artifacts to obtain, then we can recover the Amulet of Kings and light those Dragonfires and see Martin to the Dragon Throne at last. Right?

For those who are coming late to the party, here are the links to the other five threads:

Chapters 1 − 7: From the Prison to finding the Path of Dawn.
Chapters 8 − 13: From Dagon’s Shrine to Bravil.
Chapters 14 − 18: From Sheogorath’s Shrine to the start of the Grand Tour of Cyrodiil.
Chapters 19 − 22: From Leyawiin to Skingrad.
Chapters 23 − 25: From returning home to Anvil to the final Mages Guild recommendation.

Here in this last thread we will see the Main Quest through to its tragic conclusion. Some questions will be answered, including who is the man Julian loves? Other questions will be raised, including what’s next for Julian? Those of you who have suspected a second story in the making, you are correct.

After a year and a half of writing this story, I am happy to bring this to a close, yet I am sad to bid it adieu. Hopefully I won’t let any and all of you down as we wrap up.

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Jun 26 2011, 01:10 AM

[treydog]

There may be a more elegant method of “de-forumizing” a story, but… I simply copy and paste the individual story installments into Word (one at a time), do some formatting and font adjustments, and then use Mobipocket Creator to convert it to Kindle format. Can PM in more detail if you like.

There is a value in getting to read so much of your work at one time- mostly because it is all wonderful. Although Julian maintains her “old habits,” she also learns new techniques and skills. But those changes happen at a believable pace- especially given Julian’s experiences.

The whole subplot with the corruption in Bravil is brilliantly drawn, with wonderful characterization throughout. I am busy trying to cast the roles of Phillida and Camillus in my head- a task made easier because they leap off the page.

“His quiet voice brought back memories of distant avalanches in the snow-covered mountains of Skyrim.”

Right there, for example.

And, of course I preened (and blushed) at the mentions of the “Solstheim case.”

“Hiding my face in my tumbler, I shook my head. There’s three more along the roads they don’t know about. Yet. After swallowing a mouthful of the refreshing liquid, I lowered my tumbler to see stunned amazement on their faces.”

This short passage says so much in so few words.

Then the idea that Mehrunes is attacking elsewhere is another of those “head-slap” moments that makes perfect sense- as soon as someone else thinks of it.

The meeting with Ocato was another of those moments that has a beautiful cinematic quality- your descriptions are crisp and the dialogue reveals much about the characters.

The mechanics of the sigil stones is an excellent bit of magecraft, again making perfect sense.

“I’m a recovering drunk,” I shook my head. “Water would be fine, if you have some ready.”

Julian’s bluntness, contrasted with Janus’ charm, is such a treat. In fact, the whole “Interview with a Vampire” scene is wonderful.

The portrayal of the oafish mages of Skingrad was welcome comic relief from the string of Gates, even as Julian’s nightmares remind us that she has had little about which to laugh.

But- we also see there is more to Vigge- and if he keeps eating sweet rolls, there will be a LOT more to him…. I can understand his addiction, though. To Julian- and to cinnamon.

“Green sparks flickered along its slender blade as the disgusting material fled from my fingers and the refresh spell blooming from them.“

What a wonderful sentence this is!

“I suppose there are not that many white-haired Redguard women traveling around Cyrodiil closing gates and rescuing housecats.”

Ya think? ROFL.

You show your talent for writing fully-realized characters once more with the bookish Erthor.
And then, we get a glimpse at Julian’s depth during her introspection at the Aetherius Stone. That whole passage just sings.

If I tried to highlight everything that is wonderful about Julian’s return to the city of her youth, I would have to quote the entire chapter. Barring that, I will note this paragraph:

“If not for those goblins thirty years ago, the man standing before me repairing my cuirass would have been my brother. But if not for those goblins, I would never have joined the Legion. So my brother would not be repairing a cuirass for me. If not for the goblins, who would be following the path I have followed these past few months?”

And her welcome home is the sort of thing that Bethesda could have scripted easily enough if they had thought of it. Simply add a “where are you from” question to the character creation at the start of the game…. More important, it adds tremendously to the feeling that she has a history, with all the weight that carries.

Which we see as she tells her story- or most of it to one of the few folk with a right to know, Varel Morvayn.
And, again at the perfect moment, you lighten the mood-

“Reputation?” I repeated. “For what? Rescuing housecats?”

Pardon me while I gush over the flashbacks in the Mages Guild… Passages like these are the absolute heart of this wonderful story.

“Oh, so you stole your mother’s ribbon, as well?” His left brow rose. I stared at that wayward feature, and tried hard to lift my right brow in imitation. I couldn’t quite do it.

And now we see where the training of that useful quizzical eyebrow began!

You effectively capture Countess Umbranox’s melancholy without dwelling upon it. And it resonates with Julian’s own pain and determination.

The introduction of Blanco is another outstanding piece of writing, with wonderful descriptions and gentle humor.

Going to stop there for now- as this has gone too long already. But I am still reading and still catching up.

Nit section:

21.1- Phillida refers to the “Mystic Dawn.” Is that an error on his part, or should it be “Mythic?”

22.4- “No, I’m getting too old to keep fighting like this for much longer,” I answered. “My mother was an alchemist, and I’l like to learn what she knew.” Vigge must have scared the “L” into Julian’s contraction in the second sentence- “I’d.”

22.7- “Kvatch and Skingrad has a long history of helping each other, Julian,” he responded. “I’m only honoring that history.” Vampires and “V’s” I suppose. The two counties “have” a history.

22.8- “A blonde Imperial woman, quite attractive with her upswept hair and elegant green silks in spite of the fine lines that belied her age…” “Belied” seems to give the impression that the lines disguised her age, rather than indicating it.

23.4- An “a” and “an” manages to switch places on you during the flashback-

“Your mother wouldn’t make such a amateur mistake…”

His forbidding expression dissolved into an puckish grin…

23.5- The Daedra also manages to distort Carahil’s form of “to be”- “Maybe,” Carahil shrugged. “There are so much we don’t understand about Oblivion.”

23.6- “And one of my young cousins serve in his court.” “One serves…”