characterconsultancy

As an aspiring dungeoneer you have applied for, and been invited to, the castle of Dunshelm, made legendary by its enchanted dungeon. Upon arriving you are ushered into the castle's humble yet cosy anteroom and welcomed by its newest master, Sir Escart. You appraise this man, who is Treguard's successor. Escart is a tall, broad-shouldered man in his mid-40s with thick auburn hair, a distinct limp and a cane ringed with iron bands to provide grip (and, you note, proof that this man cannot be fey), and the same care-worn appearance and Saturnine gaze of one who is no stranger to magic. You reflect that he must have impressed Treguard with his knowledge, moral values, and approach to fey, monsters and magic, otherwise he wouldn't be here. You also feel that this is somebody who was selected for his presence, and you can quite imagine him facing down a sorcerer without flinching. However, his response to you is pleasant if reserved. You fancy you can also imagine him being humble when

In a typically sunny and bright corner of California there is a zoo. Like many zoos it has a wide variety of animals. I'm your narrator and I'm going to tell you the story of one of these animals.I could tell you the story of the lions, who never got the chance to hunt like lions are meant to... but that would just be the story of a group of bored big cats who saw their keeper (who kept them entertained as best she could with the limited resources available) as their psychological and emotional lifeline, and the only person saving them from going completely insane with tedium.Or I could tell you the story of the elephants, who still remembered the old songs of their ancestors and passed them down from one generation of captive calves to the next; deep, rumbling melodies meant to travel over much bigger distances than the elephants had access to in their little round enclosure. Somewhere along the line they had forgotten to pass on to their calves the fact that wide, wild spaces like