#i spent WAY too long getting the images for this and photoshopping them XD

[blackjackkent]

All right - resuming Rakha's playthrough, but kicking it off with a non-Rakha drabble this time. Because I've realized that there's one distinct benefit of the fact that Rakha is allying with the Emperor - it allows me to give a very specific and legitimate reason why Lae'zel might let her guard down enough to be captured by Orin. >:)

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Lae'zel growls, pressing the edge of her blade fiercely into the surface of the whetstone. Restless agitation fills her, frustration and - yes, anger too, much as she hates to admit it. The party's encounter with Raphael in Sharess's Caress plays over and over in her mind. 

The devil offered them a way forward, a path to rescuing Prince Orpheus - the Orphic Hammer. In trade, he asks for the Crown of Karsus, the device that keeps the ghaik elder brain in check. A reasonable trade, Lae'zel thinks… but Rakha rejected it.

The anger flares in her abruptly. How dare she? Rakha knows how important Orpheus is to her - to all of the githyanki people! And yet she rejected this path forward, turned away from Raphael and all that he offered. 

After all I have done for her! Lae'zel seethes, her young mind afire with the unfairness of it. Has she not stood watch at Rakha's bedside in the darkest hours of the night? Bared her sword on Rakha's behalf against a thousand enemies? Loved Rakha without reward or recompense in spite of the beast that lives in her? 

And in return, she is tossed aside while Rakha's affections stay with Wyll, and Minthara, and the cursed ghaik that lives within the Astral Prism.

It isn't fair. And it is not right. And there is no other choice - she will do what must be done herself, if Rakha will not.

No one else in camp is watching. Most are already asleep for the night. Rakha is, as always, consumed with her own torments. There will not be a better time, and the decision is made; she cannot allow herself to waste time agonizing over it.

She clips the sword to her back, hefts her pack over one shoulder, slips out the edge of the camp through the rotted buildings beyond. She does not know where she will go, how she will begin to find the House of Hope on her own - but honor demands that she must try, no matter how much it rips out her heart to leave Rakha's company.

A voice greets her out of the dark.

"Lae'zel of K'liir. T'lak'ma Ghir - my sister."

Lae'zel's eyes widen. "Jhe'stil Kithrak," she says respectfully. "I did not know you had come--"

"Quickly, child," he says, ignoring her words completely. "There is no time. We must find the House, we must seek the Hammer, for certainly your companion will not."

"Yes. Yes!" Relief floods Lae'zel, that she will not face this task alone after all. "I am at your service. Say where my blade will strike."

"Come--" he repeats urgently. With a gesture he draws her forward, into the shadows, out of view of the camp. "Come away... and the wheels shall be put into motion."

Something in his voice shifts as he speaks the final words. As she turns to move past him, to fall into step, his hand closes on her shoulder, and his grip is like sudden iron. She grunts involuntarily with pain. "What--"

"Good. Good. Such easy prey in the end," he murmurs - and as he speaks now, his voice shifts upward in pitch, twisting, turning, and she can feel the way his fingers lengthen against her back.

She realizes what is happening only a half-second too late; she starts to turn and then a blow catches her at the base of her neck and her whole body goes numb. Slowly, majestically, like a great tree felled from its base, she pitches over and lands facedown in the dew-damp grass.

She hears Orin's maniacal giggle from somewhere above her, and the trotting footsteps of two or three others circling around her. More long-fingered hands grasp at her shoulders and begin to drag her through the mud like a sack of meat.

"Such a tender morsel," Orin purrs from behind her. "Its broken heart blinded it... but now it shall see, and see, and scream, and SCREAM... yes, we shall play an excellent game, little flesh-bit, but all in good time. First, I have need of your face..."

Lae'zel tries to scream, to cry out, to warn the others before she is dragged out of range-- but her tongue is frozen in her mouth. The bitter realization runs like ice through her. I am a fool, she thinks, rage flooding her immobilized body. Duped like a child, all my faith and duty used against me.

And Rakha will pay for it. She believed what she was doing was right, but the fact remains - blinded with anger, she turned away from her companions with disloyalty in her heart, and now Rakha will pay the price. Perhaps, indeed, Rakha will die and believe that it was Lae'zel who struck the blow.

No. No. NO NO NO NO NO NO--

She is almost grateful when one of the doppelgangers strikes another blow and unconsciousness swallows her.

[ssjthug]

By  Ashleigh Davenport  for her book. VuDu Legends.

“ I’m about to be the proud momma of a full-fledged graphic novel in a few months, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic! The Kickstarter campaign is up and running with a #make100 option available, and I have hunkered down to get the pages ready for print. It is going to happen this time!”

Hey, I just now saw this kickstarter. its a couple of days left and no where near it goal. Maybe y’all can try donate and spread it around enough that if it failed it show the creators they its still a lot more ppl and gave it another shot for a better Campaign. make this viral. Thanks XD

Name: VuDu Legends (VL)

Started: Some time ago… Type: Fantasy, Dark Pages: Ha!

Overview: VuDu Legends takes place in New Orleans and revolves around the actions of the current VuDu practitioners. Although they have to hide in the beliefs that VuDu is bad they are only there to benefit the living world and protect them from the many threats to their supposedly peaceful lives.

Premise: After being taken in by VuDu’s highest family and being trained in the art of VuDu, KC becomes the Damu, assistant to the next Witch Doctor. Her loyalty to the people of New Orleans is challenged when a creature, formed from the Darkness, vies for her power.

Characters

Kenna (fire) Cyan (Blue)

Gender: Female Age: 27 Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana Favorite thing: Chocolate

About: Kenna is usually quiet and tends to more observant of her surrounds than most. Her protective nature can come off as defensive, but actually, that’s not the case.

At a young age, Kenna lost her father in a tragic fire. With no one to take her in, Kenna spent her teen years on the risky streets of New Orleans. Her rough experiences as a “street rat” provided Kenna with a keen intelligence she could not have gained living in a healthy home.

One day as Kenna visited the grave of the famed voodoo queen, Marie LaVeau, Kenna chanced upon the queen in her spirit form. Marie LaVeau felt Kenna’s power and guided the young girl to the home of Cassandra and Damian LaVeau.

Cassandra, too, felt the power of the young Kenna and took her into her family. Kenna trained as a Damu(assistant) to Cassandra, honing Kenna’s ever growing, yet destructive powers. As the prominent voodoo family in New Orleans, the LaVeau home was the best place for Kenna to be.

Maurice (dark-skinned) Otieno (born at night)

Gender: Male Age: Unknown Birthplace: Unknown Favorite thing: Power

About: Maurice is often getting into trouble or found hovering around a brewing cloud of mayhem. He is the bane in most situations; be it working to break contracts or messing with the local humans. Look for trouble, and you will more than likely find Maurice.

Damian LaVeau

Gender: Male Age: 26 Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana Favorite thing: Fighting

About: If there is any reason to fight, Damian is often the one to find it. In line to be the next Witch Doctor of New Orleans, he can be an overly pompous and big headed. Beware of his displeasure!

Cassandra LaVeau

Gender: Female Age: 79 Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana Favorite thing: Cooking

About: If you are hungry, there is no need for an invitation to dine with Cassandra LaVeau. She is the current VuDu Queen of New Orleans and has been for 60 years. Looks great at 79! She comes from a long line of VuDu (voodoo) practitioners and is the granddaughter of Marie LaVeau. She is currently training her grandson, Damian LaVeau, to become the city’s next Witch Doctor and KC as his Damu (assistant).

Stephen Thompson

Gender: Male Age: 28 Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri Favorite thing: Unknown

About: Stephen is an ordinary man with an extraordinary problem. Feeling like he has nowhere to turn for help, Stephen looks towards the LaVeau family in New Orleans for an answer. To him, Vudu (voodoo) is the ultimate cure for healing a particular ailment plaguing his family for generations.

Marie LaVeau

Gender: Female Age: Unknown Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana Favorite thing: Playing with the living

About: Marie is the first in an excellent line of voodoo practitioners who have reigned supreme over New Orleans for uncountable generations. Though little else is know about Marie, she is well known as a powerful priestess. Her granddaughter, Cassandra, is the current living Queen of New Orleans and her great-great-grandson, Damian, is next in line to the throne. Little else is known about Marie except she finds it quite fun to play tricks on the living and loves “playing cat and mouse” with her heir, Daimon and his Damu, KC

Baron Samedi (or BS, his preference)

Gender: Male Age: Unknown Birthplace: Unknown Favorite things: Tobacco, hot pepper infused rum, and any obscenities possible.

About: BS is the foul mouth, chain smoking, and binge-drinking Death Loa and husband of Maman Brigitte. He and his armies dig graves allowing you passage to the domain of Li Grand Zombi. If your grave is not open, you will wander the abyss between life and death. That’s why you should never, ever, make the digger angry!

Maman Brigitte

Gender: Female Age: Unknown Birthplace: Unknown Favorite thing: Reading

About: This hot-tempered Loa is the wife of Baron Samedi. She rules over the tombstones which crown the graves BS digs. Don’t make her angry because stones can have a rather physical impact when dropped from the right height.

Li Grand Zombi

Gender: Male Age: Unknown Birthplace: Unknown Favorite thing: Unknown

About: Li Grand Zombi is the patron spirit governing voodoo in New Orleans. As souls are found, he brings those lost to the Gates. Also, as the Loa of destruction, don’t be impulsive for he is not to be called into the living world lightly. Many cities have crumbled and fallen in his wake when Li Grand Zombi was summoned for reasons deemed menial by him.

Name: Ashleigh Davenport Born: April 26th

“I have been an on and off artist for as long as I could remember.  It wasn’t until I sent my script for VuDu Legends to the copyright office did I realize, “What I have going on in my mind will not show up on paper.”  I figured I would find someone else to do what I was not very well trained to do.  It took almost three years but, I found Michael on Odesk.com, and it was on from there.  After countless reference pictures, Easy Paint Tool Sai tutorials, and 187 hours of relearning what the buttons in PhotoShop were, I was able to add WORD BUBBLES!  Don’t laugh I am very proud of myself

Well, again thank you for visiting my comic and I hope you enjoy.” 

Images speak where words may fail.

Hi to all. I am John Michael B. Natividad. I’m known in the business world as Michael Natividad, comic and manga artist. I live in the Philippines where I was born in San Juan City, Manila on the 8th of May, 1991. Throughout my life, I have enjoyed watching anime, reading anime and comics, and am a casual RPG game player.  These activities are my hobbies, but my passion and livelihood is drawing.

The love of art runs deep within my family’s bones. I have many family members who have a great appreciation for the world of art, but I believe my gift came from my father. He is an interior designer and a master in his own right. As a young boy, I remember my him working diligently, creating his masterpieces for all the world to appreciate. Although my art has manifested in a different way, I believe that his creative spirit is also mine.

I am a self-taught artist. I embrace the traditional comic and manga styles with an added twist of impressionism thrown into the mix. Others say my work ebbs and flows through each panel; a transitional wave progressing page to page. To me, my art style and graphic perception are heavily influenced by a manhwa artist for game Magna Carta, Hyung-Tae Kim. His art is akin to mine and how mine may be perceived as his technique has laid an impression on my own.

Another great artist yet exists and he, too, ignited my heart with a flame of desire to pursue my passion in art. After college, I met Sir Harvey Toliboa at a comic convention. His love for the drawing was the encouragement I needed to put myself out there and to focus my sights on becoming a success in the comic art industry.

In the beginning, when I decided to choose art as a career, I was a conceptual artist. Finding this line of work unsatisfying, I became a freelance artist and established my own online-based business with its ever-growing clientele. My business goal is to bring my client’s visions to the visible world; see what is in their mind’s eye and to my greatest abilities, give it a visual life.

While working with Ashleigh’s VuDu Legends, I feel I have created a pictorial world accentuated by textures, flowing form, and graphic appeal. This comic is an amazing concept, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Ashleigh by helping her to realize her dream of showing her world of VuDu and all of its diverse characters to you, the reader.

Although I spend many hours drawing for my clients such as Ashleigh, I, like all great artist, have my visions and dreams. At present (and always) I am working on bringing my world into the physical plane to share with you what I envision in my mind’s eye. I honestly cannot wait to share my world with all of its spirit and forms with all who wish to see!

So I want to thank everyone for taking a moment out of your day of work and play to read my bio and do, please, enjoy VuDu Legends by continuing to follow the story and its progress at VuDu Legends.

Visual of Costs