The Presence Of Being - a MrC CJ - The End

[penguin007 27]

another cliffhanger bugger I'll miss the update Im on holiday tommorow

Will

[MrCinatit 30]

The Black Knight’s black steed stood calmly at the edge of the graveyard.

     The Black Knight slowly walked amongst the rows of stones, until stopping before one of the statues.

     The Black Knight stood before the statue for several minutes, perfectly still.

     The Knight pulled his sword out, thrust it into the ground tip first, and put both hands on the hilt. He then stood still for several minutes, looking at the statue.

     Garis, Bistrom and Mr. Crowley stood still and silently, watching him, about 100 yards away.

     The Knight pulled the sword out of the ground, and walked through rows of stones again, until again coming to a stop at another statue, this one much larger.

    Again, the Knight thrust his sword into the ground, put his hands on the hilt, and stared at the statue for several minutes.

     The Knight again pulled his sword out of the ground, and walked back to his steed, walking briefly through a pond with a statue in the middle. For a brief moment, he turned and looked at Garis and Bistrom. Garis’ blood ran cold.

     The Knight rode off into the distance.

     “He has been here many times,” Mr. Crowley said. “I know not who he is. Some say he is the very black devil who haunts our nights. Some say he is death itself.” He turned and smiled at the others. “But, others say the same about me, with my black dress and white horse.” He chuckled slightly.

     The three walked towards the statues the Knight had visited earlier. Wild bushes surrounded one. Mr. Crowley sighed. “I do not remember these yesterday. I shall have to take care of them later.

     They walked a little bit further, until coming to a mermaid statue, surrounded by water.

     “I invite you to fill your flasks to the brim with this,” Mr. Crowley said. “The many travelers who have come through here have said it is the purest, most powerful and best they have had in all of the lands.”

     Garis cupped his hands and took a sip. He felt magnificent. He looked towards the desert. For some reason, it did not look so ominous after his brief drink.

     “I know you must be going soon on your journey,” Mr. Crowley said. “But, I have one more thing to show you.”

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

cowcorn - lol, this is true. Guess we will see no more of him.

penguin007 - Maybe I got one in time before you left....

Thanks for looking, everyone. It is appreciated.

And, as always, comments, critiques and questions are not only welcomed, but encouraged and appreciated.

Take care.

[sEAhAwk fAn121 0]

dang it! more cliff hangers! im about to fall off! great update! mabye the statues were his friends or something along those lines

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

*I knew that fog was up to no good...*

Well the plot is getting thicker than that fog a page back... and thicker than porridge that has been left to go cold in a pot.... and thicker than the budget sheet for the war on terror...

OK - enough of the comparitive similies....

Fog... sand... wind... what next... Fire? Flood? Famine? Fear? Flagrant flaunting of f words?

Arrrrrrrrgh!

*runs to hide in the off-topic section...*

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Another chapter in the story. We know a little bit more about the Black Rider, eh...

Oh well. Looking forward to more cliffhangers.

As for that icecream... I have it here. Come and get it now.

[penguin007 27]

just in time thanks mysterious character is he the opposite of the gravekeeper white and black horses the opposites

Will

[Fred_Ginger 1]

Oh, MrC, you are such a tease!  All these mysterious goings on and no explanations for anything!  (Am I whining?  I think I am, sorry!)   Hurry with the next update, remember I'm an old person and I could expire from the stress of waiting! 

[MrCinatit 30]

They stood at the edge of a pit. It was deep – farther than they could see.

     “All are welcome in my final green home,” Mr. Crowley said. He smiled softly. “It must sound crazy, but I talk to the stones all of the time. I sometimes think they enjoy it.” He turned his back on the stones. “But…” He turned towards the pit.

     “Sometimes, there are lost souls. They are rare – but they happen. I have seen many. Too many. Their bodies, minds and souls are so enraged and entangled in bitterness, there is no way they can untie themselves from it.” He sighed sadly. “Do not let yourself be pulled into the pit of despair. Once you reach the edge, you will keep on going, and you will never find your way out.”

     He turned away from the pit. “I wish you good luck on your journey, Garis and Bistrom. And I hope your end will be one of joy – even one of Mary,” he said with a smile. Garis and Bistrom smiled, shook his hand, and went back into the desert.

     As they walked, Bistrom spotted the Black Knight in the distance, watching them. “I wonder what dark secrets, hate and loath lie in his heart and soul?” he asked.

     “I wonder how he will make it in this heat and that black armor,” Garis said.

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors

I will do replies laters, as I am kind of posting this on the fly. What's new, right?

But, thanks for looking, folks - it is appreciated.

And, as always, comments, critiques and questions are not only welcomed, but encouraged and appreciated.

Take care.

[Fred_Ginger 1]

Garis is so practical, wondering about the "Black Knight" in his black armor!  Are we sure he is a bad guy?  After all, some of us wear black all the time but are not bad people, we just don't like to wear colorful things.  I'm beginning to think he is acting more like a guardian than a menace....

[homeandaway 1]

woah! - the golden model of an egytptian king looks amazing! you so do produce amazing cliffhangertastic work mate! im so eager to know your apssion towards it! cantw ait to see more, be safe

[MrCinatit 30]

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

No update yet - replies (might try tonight, assuming I am not bumping my own journal).

sEAhAwk fAn121 - *glances at update above, and after your comment* - whatever you do...don't fall off the cliff! As for the knight at the graveyard...I think you might be right

abcvs - fog is kind of like a black hole - but brighter. But, neither of them can be trusted, and you know that if you are in the same neighborhood, they are most likely up to no good. Even worse, fog will sometimes have these dudes called FogWalkers, who make people disappear and other dastardly things - I read about them once, somewhere...

Shadow_Assassin - "Piece by piece, layer by layer, a fringe character is revealed, almost as if his armor is being stripped away..." I would like that, but it is kind of cheesy.

And I could seriously use some ice cream right now. But it would probably melt once leaving the fridge.

penguin007 - hmmm...you might be onto something. The helpful grave keeper. So, if the Black Knight is the opposite...hmmm.

Fred_Ginger - Now you know how I feel when watching Lost, 24, The Office, and Heroes. Any TV show writer who keeps throwing cliffhangers at us like that are a bunch of jerks...hey! Wait a minute!

MrCinatit - Byte me, I'm a cookie.

Fred_Ginger- Of course, his comment about the black knight and the sun is in no ways foreshadowing or anything - just saying.

BTW, I wear black a lot, too - goes well with me. I well a lot of Red - but that is not because I am angry all of the time...just a Reds fan (though they do their best to test my patience a lot of times...but that is another story).

One's clothing does not always make one's personality.

Always.

homeandaway - That is one of two statues included in a statue pack Pegasus uploaded a while ago - still one of my favorites, and I have used both many times here and there. I tried to find it right now, but could not - I will take a longer look when I have more time.

Thanks much for looking in, folks - it is appreciated.

And, as always, comments, critiques and questions are not only appreciated, but welcomed and encouraged.

Take care.

It is hot here.

CNN was interviewing one of their reporters, who was talking about safety in the heat. He meant to say "drink light fluids"...but it came out "drink lighter fluid."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Please do not drink lighter fluid. It will not cool you down.

[simzebu 20]

No... Quite the opposite...

I love the warning they put on lighter fluid: "Contents may be flammable." Well I should hope so...

Anyway, great update, MrC

[MrCinatit 30]

For days, they walked in the hot sun. They only took occasional drinks from the water they had taken from the mermaid pond, and the water made Bistrom and Garis feel good.

     But still, Sol beat down on them relentlessly. As far as they could see, Gaia was covered with sand.

     They had been walking on the dry, hot sand for five days. Garis looked to the sky, which appeared white from Sol’s bright glare. He squinted. He could see birds circling lazily in the sky.

     “Buzzards,” Garis said quietly.

     They walked further, and then heard a ruckus like they had never heard before.

     They climbed over a dune, and saw a large, completely black monolith, sticking out of the sand on a small concrete slab.

     Several monkeys, who were screaming at it, surrounded it. Meanwhile, on an opposite ridge, another collection of monkeys screamed at the monkeys down below. Sometimes, the monkeys on the ridge would throw poo at the monkeys by the monolith.

     “Ah! Yes! Hello! Fancy meeting you here!”

     Garis and Bistrom turned, and found to their surprise a vulture sitting in the sand next to them.

     “Uh…Garis…am I hallucinating?”

     Garis gulped. “I hope so.”

     The vulture turned his head to one side. “You do not recognize me?”

     “You are a vulture.”

     “Oh, my now…that is not a very friendly…oh, that is right, I am a vulture, I keep forgetting about the bloody curse. Never mind, long story – it is I, Smidgeon.” The vulture saw two confused looks. “From the city by the sea.”

     “Oh…yes…Smidgeon. Yes. I hardly recognized you,” Garis said.

     “I’ve been getting that quite a bit.” He was silent for a while, looking at the scene below.

     “What is going on down there?” Garis asked.

     “Well, it seems this – object has recently appeared in the desert. The monkeys down below do not like it, and are showing their displeasure. The monkeys on the ridge do not like it, either – but also do not like the monkeys below – so they are yelling at both.” They watched the scene below for several minutes. Then, Smidgeon shrugged his wings. “Well, they are nothing but a bunch of screaming monkeys.”

     Bistrom sighed. “Garis, I am becoming very tired of this.”

     Garis agreed. They set up their tent and crawled in, agreeing to continue in the evening.

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors

simzebu - Whatever you do, don't use the non-flammable lighter fluid - or, as I call it "aftershave".

Thanks much for looking in, folks - it is appreciated.

And, as always, comments, critiques and questions are not only appreciated, but quite welcomed and encouraged.

Take care.

Once, by mistake, I turned my ceiling fan on in reverse. Instead of blowing the air around, it sucked everything in my apartment into a centralized vortex. Normally, this would not bother me, but I had just broken in those house slippers perfectly.

[Fred_Ginger 1]

Monoliths and monkeys throwing poo?  Okay, Mr C. I know it's very hot there but I think you're in serious trouble!

Here's a thought, try writing about someplace cool and comfortable and maybe that will affect your heat wave?

[cowcorn 11]

Is there any chances one monkey will pick a bone and break a skull with it while the rest of the monkeys sing the intro of Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathusra?

[MrCinatit 30]

They awoke the next morning.

     It was still very hot.

     The monolith was gone. The monkeys were gone. The vulture was gone.

     ‘Was that a dream or a hallucination?” Bistrom asked.

     “I think it was a sign that we should only hike at night,” Garis said. He stared off into the distance.

     “He is still out there,” Bistrom said. The knight stood on a dune in the far distance, still looking at them. He was still on his black horse. “Do you think he will ever leave?”

     Garis shook his head. “I do not know. I do not even know what he wants.” He sighed. “But, she is also out there, Bistrom. Mary is still out there – and she needs me. I only hope we get to her before he gets to us.”

     Bistrom nodded and sighed. “I am with you.” The two began their trek. “I did not think we would sleep that long, though.”

     Sol again beat down on them relentlessly.

     They agreed to continue until Sol was at its highest, go to sleep again, and to only travel at night.

     And still, Sol beat down on them.

     They crossed empty desert.

     They crossed dunes.

     They crawled over sandy cliffs.

     They passed a dry canyon.

     And still, Sol beat down on them. They did not walk long before they decided to rest.

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

Fred_Ginger - You know what is worse than the heat? The idiots who jog five miles in the heat because they feel they have to. Do those people have no common sense? (NOTE: If you happen to be in the wonderful town of Piqua, OH and you happen to see an idiot who looks just like me jogging in this stuff, it is not - I repeat NOT - me! No! Really! I mean that! Do I look insane?

*ahem*

OK, I will say it - "Shaddap, Mr. C.!"

cowcorn - The monkey sat on a pile of stone

And he stared at the broken bone in his hand

Strains of a Viennese quartet rang out across the land

The monkey looked up at the stars

And he thought to himself

Memory is a stranger

History is for fools

And he cleaned his hands in a pool of holy writing

Turned his back on the garden and set out for the nearest town

Then he tossed the bone into the sky...and it turned into a spaceship! Then a bunch of other stuff happened, and a robot killed some people, and then the guy turned old, then into a baby, then...

Arg. Guess I need to say it again..."Shaddap Mr. C! Eat some Ben And Jerry's Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream Ice Cream."

Yeah...I think I will. But...

Thanks for looking, folks, it is appreciated that you would take your time to read the delusioned ramblings of a madman.

But, as always, the madman does appreciate comments, critiques and questions - as well as encourages and welcomed. Sometimes, he will try to pay you in sticks, twigs and bubblegum wrappers.

Take care.

Next time, I do a journal that takes place on a polar cap. knowing my spectacular timing, it will be during the heart of winter.

[androidboi 57]

sorry for cussing but... <blankity blank>!! that's fantastic.

[Fred_Ginger 1]

Mr. C, this desert is getting so tedious!  I have to make sure I have a bottle of water when I search for your CJ.  Move it along now....

[cowcorn 11]

So much desert. I'm really a winter guy so I'm kind or worried I'll start melting soon. Hey here's an idea for a future mirage: A giant worm could errupt from the sand... Or maybe the black night could put a mind control beast in their head.

[homeandaway 1]

woah! - do they walk into a mini Sahara? LOL.. great work once again my good friend, love the sim city shots and storyline to go with it!

[MrCinatit 30]

They awoke that night.

     The air was still.

     Luna was at her peak, high in the sky.

     Garis looked into the distance. He could see the dark horseman, standing on a dune, looking at him.

     “Does he ever rest?” Bistrom asked him.

     Garis shook his head. “I do not know how he does it in the hot sun. That black armor…” He sighed. “Let us continue our travels.”

     They stumbled around in the dark desert.

     They found they had to stop occasionally, getting their bearings back.

     “Luna is not the apt guide I had hoped,” Bistrom said.

     Garis nodded. “One would think that after spending so much time looking at the stars, I would be able to better use them as a guide.” He sighed. “I guess those years in the valley did not help me.”

     They both sat atop a dune, looking down at the sandy land below.

     “So, do we travel during the day, or during the night?” Bistrom asked.

     “I guess during the daylight, we seem to be a lot more competent at getting around,” Garis said with a grin.

     They could still see the knight below, moving away from them into the distance.

     Garis sighed, and looked to the sky. He had done it hundreds of times when he lived in the village, but he silently cursed himself for not being able to remember the patterns of the stars.

     He felt a nudge in his ribs, and turned to give Bistrom a glare.

     Bistrom pointed to the land below. Garis looked.

     Trails of glowing yellow ribboned through the desert, for as far as they could see.

     “Where did they come from?” Garis asked, mesmerized.

     Bistrom shook his head. “I don’t know.” He paused. “They came after the Black Knight left. Do you think…” He let his voice trail off.

     Garis shook his head. “I do not know.” He said. “I do not know.

     Sol began to rise over the horizon as Luna sank over the other side.

    

     His rays began to bathe over the landscape, sipping away the yellow ribbons from their sight.

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

I will do replies later - I have been working on a bit of development right now - so far, I have only laid out the basic transportation networks out.

But, thanks for looking in, folks - it is appreciated.

And, as always, comments, critiques and questions are not only appreciated, but quite welcome and encouraged.

Take care.

[penguin007 27]

I've missed loads that knight sounds a strange person

looking forward to more

Will

[Cleaner475 150]

awesome update, very nice story, as Will said, I can't wait for more

looks awesome ,

Richard

[Fred_Ginger 1]

Wow, that green stuff is the ugliest green!  It is a really sick color (and not in a good way sick!)  looks posionious...

[cowcorn 11]

Great update.The color effetcs are nice... and wierd.

[sEAhAwk fAn121 0]

sweet! yeah sometimes i have that bug ingame also atleast i think its a bug lol! great updates it seems i have missed some

[Shadow Assassin 336]

But still, Sol beat down on them relentlessly. As far as they could see, Sol was covered with sand.quote>

I think that sentence is wrong... for some reason.

And well... drinking lighter fluid... no thanks.

[SpecialEddie 3]

The last time I've posted in this CJ, it was March, and it had something to do with snowballs. Thing is, you update late at night, I update my CJ in the early morning. We barely miss each other.

But right now, it's pretty late and I decided to venture into the murky realms of CJ section Page 2 and found this little gem I haven't seen in a while. After a few hours of reading and catching up on about half a year of missed storyline, I am proud to announce that I am once again SpecialEddie: devoted Presence of Being reader. 

Hmm. Let's see. I can definetely see many parallels with your story and other fantasy novels/tales. The most obvious in the first half of the CJ is The Giver. Then it goes into the territory of LOTR and the Hobbit, as well as the Holy Grail...and just recently 2001: A Space Oddysey.  I'm not sure if you've watched Spirited Away, but there's a lot of connections with that film as well in this CJ.

To sum up what I've read:

 Strange isolated islands, mysterious city, epic journey, lost love, misty dream sequences, knights on horseback, Asian-themed towns, knights standing UP, knights with swords, and monkeys throwing poop at an obelisk. All the makings of a great, epic story.

 “Well, it seems this – object has recently appeared in the desert. The monkeys down below do not like it, and are showing their displeasure. The monkeys on the ridge do not like it, either – but also do not like the monkeys below – so they are yelling at both.” They watched the scene below for several minutes. Then, Smidgeon shrugged his wings. “Well, they are nothing but a bunch of screaming monkeys.”quote>

I'm not sure whether to take this CJ as a deep example of literature with deeper meanings and symbolisms with every subtletly, or a parody of the fantasy/Sci-Fi genre (as shown in the quote above--an obvious gag concerning 2001). Either way, it makes for damn good reading.

"It's good to be back."

Shadap!  

[MrCinatit 30]

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

Sorry about the lack of updates. I am certain my crashing problems are pretty much because of some plugins which are not agreeing - however, I think I have found a way around that. I have been working on a couple of large city tiles (one will probably be vanilla - just so I can see if the crash problem is plugin related lol).

However, I did decide to replace my junky graphics card with a much better one - it has been very good to SimCity, as well as a couple of others, and my system should now be ready for the likes of SimCity Societies, Spore and Cities Unlimited, as well as whatever else they throw at me.

And, now, replies.

truflip99 - Thanks much. Hope you don't mind the edit job.

Fred_Ginger - I hate to say this, but we still have a lot of desert ground to cover - but we have some things here and there in those updates to (hopefully) break the monotony. And, the updates are a bit better now that it is not insanely hot.

cowcorn - If we had giant worms, could they ride them? And if they do the mind control thingies in their minds...what if Kahn drops them in the middle of a moon?

homeandaway - Thanks.

MrCinatit - shaddap.

penguin007 - Usually when I think of black knights, I think of silly gits guarding bridges spanning little creeks, but unwilling to accept when they have been defeated. Fortunately, the black knight always wins!

Oh! Wait...that might not be good here....

cleaner475 - Thanks much. Hopefully, more updates will be coming soon.

Fred_Ginger - I cannot remember what cheat I've used to bring it up - I always seem to bring it up by accident whenever I am trying to take a picture. But, I kind of liked the effect - I think it is either a radiation effect (a leftover one that Maxis abandoned, but left in), or slimy green effect that once again, Maxis created, but kind of put aside.

cowcorn - Thanks very much...the effects come with me being bored with IrfanView, and coming up with an idea for a journal long after I have taken shots of the city (takes a little while to go back into the city, so taking extra shots later on is a pain).

sEAhAwk fAn121 - I am not sure if it is an abandoned cheat, a not-so-spectacular cheat, or a bug...but it seemed to work.

Shadow_Assassin - Well...if Sol were covered with sand, then perhaps that would explain where all of the sand on Gaia came from!

Oh, okay...fixed...thanks much

SpecialEddie - I will admit that I have not read The Giver (BTW, it is being worked into a movie - some small details here). You are very right on LOTR (two guys traveling) and Holy Grail (Smigeon and the black knight). There are also traces of Heart of Darkness, City of Dreams by Talking Heads, Mr. Crowley by Ozzie Osborn, Deliverance, Can't Get It Out of My Head by Electric Light Orchestra, Dreams by Molly Hatchet, as well as the synopsis for a soon-to-be-released movie whose name I cannot right now recall.

In other words, like everything else I do - a mish-mash of my salute to various popular culture items, and my own warped mind. This usually results in a warped journal lol.

I hope to post an update later today - but I will not make any promises.

However, thanks for looking in, folks. It is appreciated.

And, as always, comments, critiques and questions are not only appreciated, but quite welcome and encouraged.

Take care.

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Well now, I confess that I have been a bit remiss in keeping up but not too far behind ... thank goodness...  as for that stuff coming from the monkey's behinds and the green primordial ooze stuff you just never can tell which way this story will twist next....

Eeek... what have they done with the old man?  For starters there is way too much hair coming out from his ears...