#legend of krito

[andresfpena]

Meet Lily! She is the main character of my book series, The Legend of Krito the King. SURPRISE! Krito is indeed an important character, but the way he fits into Lily’s story will come into play later. For now, allow me to introduce to you, the youthful, light-hearted, nervous mess of Liliana Lumen 🤣

Despite growing up with no magic in a world where magic was common and taught at an elementary level, Lily was never quite satisfied with her stock in life. How she longed to be something more. As it turns out, there’s more than meets the eye and her lack of magic has proved crucial in keeping her hidden from the gods who have a vested interest in wiping her from existence. Why? Well… her father never said. And her mother was long gone. When the underworld attacks her home, Lily feels she has no choice but go out and make something of herself, joining the fight against the underworld even if it’s against her father’s wishes, setting her on a path steeped in secrets, contracts, and blood…

[lifejustgotawkward]

365 Day Movie Challenge (2017) - #247: Fedora (1978) - dir. Billy Wilder

How exactly does one describe Fedora? Is it a compelling fantasy conjured up by the same genius who created Sunset Blvd. nearly three decades earlier, or is it just a long, strange dream that never quite feels real?

Wilder returns to the realm of the mythic Hollywood actress, telling a tale of a celebrity who, like Norma Desmond, has a legend that overshadows her own life. Marthe Keller plays Fedora, the mysterious and seemingly ageless icon who is an amalgam of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Hedy Lamarr and probably some other European superstars from the golden age. Like Sunset Blvd., Fedora begins at the end: the opening scene shows the title character’s shocking death - is it suicide or an accident when she is hit by a train roaring through a French railway station late at night? - but the story soon backtracks to two week earlier. We learn that the reclusive Fedora is sought out by producer Barry “Dutch” Detweiler (William Holden) with the hope that she will play the lead role in his new adaptation of Anna Karenina. Dutch has a personal connection to Fedora since they shared an intimate night on a beach thirty years earlier, but when they meet again on the island of Corfu in 1977, she does not recall their previous encounter.

What follows is a sort of thriller as Dutch attempts to figure out whether Fedora is being held hostage by her companions, including Dr. Vando (José Ferrer), secretary Miss Balfour (Frances Sternhagen), menacing chauffeur Kritos (Gottfried John, one of my favorite actors who worked with Fassbinder in the same era) and a domineering, elderly Polish woman known as the Countess (Hildegard Knef). As Dutch unravels what he believes to be a conspiracy taking place in Fedora’s villa, he is helped by a gregarious hotel manager (Mario Adorf, whom I adore both in this film and in Fassbinder’s Lola).

Despite the enjoyable tension that builds in the first half of Fedora, it all dissipates in the second half when we are shown the answers to Fedora’s secrets in flashbacks. This is perhaps the only way that we (or Dutch) could have gained such information, but the method causes the film’s pulse to flatline. (There is also a bizarre subplot involving Fedora’s obsession with Michael York, who I guess was a pretty good sport to agree to appear as himself in the film.) The conclusion is not satisfying, but there is a definite delight in watching William Holden’s déjà vu performance of another Joe Gillis type of role - I had no idea that in the late 70s he was capable of running as much as he does in this film! - and there are several splendid below-the-line elements, including the score composed by Miklós Rózsa, cinematography by Gerry Fisher and costumes designed by Charlotte Flemming. Fedora is strange, but for disciples of Billy Wilder, it’s a trip worth taking.

[andresfpena]

Hello all! Um… I’m just gonna wing it and see where this goes. My name is Andres F. Pena and I’m an aspiring author writing a series called the Legend of Krito the King. I’ve been working on this story for quite a bit and I’m nearly finished with the manuscript for the series’ first book, The Secret of the Seal. So, with that, here’s a little glimpse of the world Avenra, more specifically, the Kingdom of Desmaria, the setting where we meet our main character, Lilianna Lumen, and the various people and creatures that inhabit this frigid northern land!

If you guys are intrigued! Stick around cause there’s more where that came from! Farewell for now, or as the Desmarians say “Vieg Ohven!”

[andresfpena]

Tea time with Lily and Erin but wait… who’re those guys in the background 🤔🤔

Meet Theor and Levi! These two “loories” come from the slums, called the Loors after the warehouses in which giant sea serpents are butchered and prepared. As such, the nickname loorie is applied to anyone from that part of town.

There’s Levi, the snarky, bombastic skeptic with a penchant for mischief and a short temper

And Theor, the golden retriever, big teddy bear that looks out for the people he cares about, even if it means taking a punch or two.

Together, these make up Lily’s core friend group and, alongside a few latecomers that warm up to Lily eventually, help her overcome the challenges she will face. That said, there’s all sorts of antics that are bound to happen.

[andresfpena]

“You should come to the Belly with us later,” Erin leaned her shoulder against the old closet door. “There are all sorts of stuff to do. Eat, drink, play some games.”

“The Belly?” Lily asked.

“Belly of the Beast. That was the mess hall we saw on our way here. It’s good fun,” Erin reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of dice, “Especially if you’re lucky.”

Erin Valkir. Cool, calm, collected, and ready to take ass and kick names. Lily’s closest friend and the first to genuinely reach out to her as she tries to stumble her way through training for the Order of the Covenant.

[andresfpena]

The Night the Underworld Returned, Chapter I of the Legend of Krito the King: The Secret of the Seal

Death is colorless. It smells of smoke and echoes the screams of men, women, and children. The hellish flames consumed the darkness and clouds of ash suffocated the moonlight she was used to taking comfort in. Even though she was miles away, Liliana Lumen could still make out the burning buildings. The anxious stomping of her father, Leros, meant he was getting ready to leave their farmhouse to join the fray. The jagseals they tended to bellowed ceaselessly from within their pens in distress. Even they knew something was afoot. The fear that seized her chest as she watched hordes of winged creatures descend into the burning capital city of Destraburg kept her from looking away. She jumped back when an explosion erupted from one of the spires that made up the city’s skyline and it came crashing down. An igni stone illuminated her lantern with a mellow hue of orange. Liliana turned to it and screwed the lid shut, suffocating the stone and quieting the fire. She sat back down on her bed, finally moving away from the window that stood above it. After taking a moment to catch her breath, Liliana turned towards her bedroom door and stared at it, dreading the thought of seeing her father’s empty bedroom across the hall.

[andresfpena]

Excerpt of Chapter II: The Covenant’s Call

“Long ago, in a time left to the yellowed scrolls of our past, settlers from lands abroad and oceans below settled a northern island of our world, Avenra. Life was hard and the biting winters proved difficult for these settlers but their patron goddess would provide. Destria, the Maiden of the Deep, the Queen of the Oceans, the Eternal Pearl, the Abyss-Mother, took the settlers into her bosom and cradled new life into their lands. Through her blessings, the seas were tamed, the lands were conquered, and six realms arose. To the north, the tribes of Hydria and Yuulengard, to the east and west, the houses of Midfel and the clans of Vestlandia, and to the south, the guilds of Southerfel and the Halenmark Isles. Though they fought for strength and honor within their lands, there existed a balance and this land came to be called Desmaria. That balance, however, would not come to last.

​In the setting suns of the Elder days in the Third Age, war came to Desmaria from below. Five warlords of the underworld rose at the behest of their patron, Grigori, the Exiled God, the Shackled Heart, the Earth Eater, who long wished to rise from his prison in the underworld and conquer the lands above. For nearly a hundred winters, strife, suffering, and oppression gripped Desmaria and that long sadness was called the Fell War. Many believed then that the Maiden had forsaken them and turned to the Exiled God for mercy or worship. They would soon discover that the Maiden would never abandon her children and from her cloister, she created a savior whose name was Krito Dessaras.

​From the oceans he came with an army and tested he was against each of Desmaria’s six realms. Together under one banner, they formed the Kingdom of Desmaria and began to drive back the underworld from their lands. The warlords would not go easily, however, and in a final battle, the newly crowned King Krito defeated all five warlords: the Blood Queen, the Lunar Demon, the Fell King of Werebeasts, the Lord of Undeath, and the Iron Queen, in one fell swoop. Rather than executing his enemies for their deeds to the people of Desmaria, however, King Krito, ever our noble and rightful ruler, extended a hand of mercy. Two of the five accepted. The Blood Queen and the Lunar Demon stood beside King Krito and together, they continued to turn the tide of the war and sent the hordes back to their rotted underworld.

​That was the beginning of the Covenant. It was a grand order of Desmaria’s greatest warriors fighting under King Krito’s banner but it was also a promise of unity and trust under the leadership of our king to protect our home from those who sought to destroy it. Never would the Exiled God threaten our country again. The choice to stand defiant against a god was not one to take lightly, however, and King Krito would need to gather more allies to fight alongside him. Allies that believed in his promise, his Covenant and it is within these pages that his story is told. The legends of Krito the King and his travels in search of the world’s most powerful heroes are here told in stellar detail using recently discovered manuscripts by scholar and author, Reigan Kurpolik, who recounts the tale of the six Fables, the inner circle of King Krito’s Order of the Covenant: the Blood Queen, the Lunar Demon, the Grey Champion, the Storm Valkyrie, and the Mage Twins.

​Lily stopped reading and closed the book.”