Real Vampires are NOT fabulous-looking!

You are walking along a dark and abandoned street.  Heavy fog and a recent rain add to a sense of foreboding, but you try to reassure yourself.  You stop and glance back for a moment before continuing.  You are almost at your destination, you are almost there.  You hear a sound as if someone is walking behind, it sounds as if someone is trying to step in unison with your steps.  Stopping to listen, the steps cease as well.

You hurry along the rain-soaked streets, thinking of your warm room and the faces of friendly people in the inn that you have been inhabiting for the last few days.  You have to get there.  The sound of steps behind you become more pronounced as you move from street to street.  You start to see shadows against the oil lamps to the side and you glance to look.

There is nobody there.  There is nothing there, but the shadows say different.  Only a few more blocks to safety.  Only a few more hundred steps to the threshold of the inn and the inviting room in it.  It is not that far to go.  A shadow crosses behind you and you turn to look.  A shadow crosses to your left and you turn to look.  There is nothing.

The fog seems thicker now as you splash through puddles of rain water.  The only sounds coming from frantic shoes and a distant bell.  Only three blocks to go, that is all.  Only three blocks to safety and a welcoming environment.  You are almost there.  You are safe now. This is an experience that you will share with the others as you sit in front of the fireplace at the inn.  "What an experience!" you tell yourself as you turn the final corner and...

As things must be

The Eiotrii were safe.  I saved them myself from those who would destroy them.  For this, I would lose my status amongst my fellow geneticists.  My work was halted and my position was taken and I would never again develop experiments amongst my fellow research-mates.  I was banished from those who were my own people to wander the universe alone.

As for the Eiotrii, my people elected to allow them to continue.  Being a peaceful and advanced species, full of curiosity and with a need for learning and advancing, the Eiotrii had become a species whose progress was pleasing to my people.  Surely, sometime in the distant future, the distant descendants of the Eiotrii would transcend their physical forms as well and become as us.

I left my home and my people for the last time and returned to Eiotros.  I could never again manifest myself to them, so I moved amongst them in etherial form and watched them. For millenia, I watched their advancements.  Often, members of my people would return to Eiotros.  They continued to monitor the progress of the Eiotrii and that was pleasing.

I remained with the descendants of the Eiotrii until Eiotros and the heavenly bodies around it and further from it were no longer sufficient for them.  I watched as a great majority of them left Eiotros forever and spread out into the universe.  I watched them grow and evolve into other forms and species.  In time, Eoitros would become a forgotten place, populated by other species that would live there and call it their home.

They had succeeded as we had in our time.  The Eiotrii had become one of us.


***** ***** ***** ***** *****


Thank you for reading this little story.  It was told from Bilret's point of view as Bilret documented events throughout the discovery, re-development and progress of a long extinct species. The following are some questions and answers to who and what the beings in this story were...


Who are We, and who was I?

The being Bilret was a member of an ancient species, which after millenia, had transcended physical form and became a partially ethereal and near immortal species.  This species had the ability to move about by thought.  They still used physical machinery in order to complete their experiments, but they moved about by thought in near-ethereal form.

who were the ErhHumn?

Despite their name which was taken from the discovered cylinders, they were not humans.  Note that the letters that make up the name 'ErhHumn' was partially scratched off and they were letters or 'glyphs' that in fact did at one time read: Earth Human, but in actuality, they were remains that were collected by another species and labeled with their own ancient species name.

The 'other' unnamed species was one that had arrived on earth long after humans.  They were a dying species which by chance had discovered human dna material and had manipulated it in order that it become compatible with their own.  They used it to save their species.  In time, the influence from the human dna attributes would 'evolve' the Hybrids into a more bipedal and humanoid species.

The Hybrid species remained on earth and continued to develop their own civilizations.  In time, they would become the ancient ancestors of the beings that Bilret would call ErhHumn.

What about the Humans?

Despite the violent and greedy nature of humans, they did survive their own primitive ways and eventually became highly intelligent beings unlike their ancestors.  Eventually, they managed to spread out into the solar system and afterwards, were able to leave the solar system altogether.

What happened to the solar system?

Long after evolved humans left the solar system to populate other parts of the universe, the solar system still existed.  Long after the Hybrids arrived on earth and developed into what they would become, the solar system still existed.  Eventually, the time came that the sun began to fail.  It reduced in size, and the activity from it as it began to fade, destroyed the solar system.

Humans who had become an interstellar species never to return, as well as the Hybrids who populated earth afterwards never actually saw the end of the solar system.  By the time that the dying sun left the solar system in ruins, the ancient ancestors of the Ueitilh had already long destroyed the Hybrids.  The material that the Hybrids had collected, was actually their own Hybrid biology which they called EarthHuman, which to them did not mean Earth Human.

Was Bilret a member of a far ascended Human species which had populated a distant solar system?  Was it that they eventually and unknowingly returned to their own planet of origin?  Well, you can decide that for yourself.

Bilret's Decision

I surveyed the devastation for myself.  Destroyed cities and nations covered the main continent of Hhilei.  They would remain silent forever.  Destroyed underground and deep sea civilizations smoldered in ruin.  Not a living Hhil remained on the sub continents or on the thousands of islands.  The Ueitilh had seen to it.

I traveled to the heavenly bodies that orbited the asteroid.  As on Hhilei, the cities that had been built there were destroyed mercilessly.  Not one Hhil remained.  I traveled further around Hhilei and found the same.  These were the asteroids that the early Hhil had considered their deities, and in later generations had become extensions of their very home.  I sent many tiny collector vessels in search of Hhil biology, as I wished to study them further.

Through the devastation, I did note that the many millions of sub and microscopic species had been ignored.  The great beasts that lived in the sea and those that grazed in the fields had been left behind as well.  As I left Hhilei with a collection of Hhil atomic material, my attention turned to Eiotros.  What had happened to the Hhil was something that I did not wish for the Eiotrii.

With a thought, I traveled to the Ueitilh warships themselves.  I noted their massive war machines and great armored bipedal constructs.  This was also a violent and merciless species.  Perhaps, once in their history, they had not been so.  And now, the Ueitilh warships were on their way to Eiotros.  I returned to my people, and we continued to monitor their progress.  We knew that their intent was to destroy the Eiotrii.  That was definite.

We knew that it would not take them long to arrive and soon after, they would erase all that I had developed for so long.  Long before, while the Eiotrii were but a species of farmers and fishers, I had great expectations from them.  They became highly intelligent and quickly developed their technologies and sciences.  Their early vessels reached other asteroids and other heavenly bodies long before their extinct brethren had.

When the Hhil were developing industrial nations, the Eiotrii were well into developing stations on the many asteroids and exploring the solar system.  I was pleased with their progress.  When the first Hhil vessels landed on an asteroid that was not their own, the Eiotrii had begun to develop great mental capabilities, greatly prolonged their lives and had eradicated most of their diseases.

The Eiotrii had become a great and highly developed species.  They had come in contact with three distinct species in all of their time.  They were a peaceful species, as they had been from their beginning when the first ErhHumn had been developed within our research centers from the structures of an ancient biology and our bio-synthetics.  I remembered it well.

Now the Ueitilh were to soon arrive and destroy all of it.

Despite our way of not interfering with natural species and those that we were able to re-develop for our projects, I found that I could not allow them to do such a thing.  Others amongst our people recommended that I not interfere and I understood their position for I knew our way.  But I had decided to save my project as I had become quite fond of them.

As the Ueitilh arrived on Eiotros, they launched thousands of their forces upon the asteroid.  They descended upon Eiotros and began their intention of destroying the Eiotrii.  They proceeded to attack the great cities on all continents, seas and islands.  Other Ueitilh war vessels went out in search of populated heavenly bodies around Eiotros.  I made my decision.

I descended to Eiotros and manifested myself.

The Ueitilh witnessed my form as did the Eiotrii.

In their languages, I told the Ueitilh that this was not their right to do.  I proceeded to tell them that the Eiotrii were my people.  From the Ueitilh, came forth an ambassador to speak for them.  It proceeded to tell me all that I already knew.  I understood that the ancient ancestors of the Eiotrii were guilty of great actions against them.  It told me that for those actions, they had the right to destroy any who would try to destroy them.  It was their way.

I proceeded to declare to them that they had no claim over the Eiotrii, as the Eiotrii were at their very basic biology, synthetic in nature, and not truly descended from their ancient enemy.  This they understood.  The ancient enemy species that the Ueitilh had known had truly become extinct.  They would remain so forever.  This they accepted.

The great armies and war machines returned to their vessels, and I, along with the Eiotrii, watched them leave Eiotros forever.

The Eiotrii had been preserved, but they knew of my presence.  Because of this, their history would be changed forever.  By my actions, I had influenced their progress and history, which was something that we did not do.  I knew that my people would not allow this to remain unpenalized.  It was something that I had accepted as I could not allow the Eiotrii to be destroyed.

In an instant, I returned to my people who had been monitoring the events on Eiotros and my unacceptable actions.

My Eiotrii were preserved, but what would become of me?

Bilret - Elder Geneticist

Ruination

I did not agree with our decision but I did abide by it.

We watched as the Ueitilh arrived on the asteroid Hhilei.  We watched as the peoples of Hhilei assembled and defended themselves against the invaders.  We watched as the Ueitilh forces continued to devastate the greatest of Hhilei cities and their armies.  They lay waste to Hhilei civilization, from the great continent to the bases within the deepest of oceans.  The Ueitilh were merciless and thorough.

We monitored Ueitilh communications in hopes of understanding why they did this.  By this means, we quickly understood their reason:

In their ancient time, when the ancestors of the Hhil, who were the ancient ErhHumn, lived in a living solar system, their technology was so that they had populated most of the planets and moons closest to their planet of origin.  Eventually, they had a presence upon all planets and other bodies within their solar system.  In those ancient times, it seems that they became more arrogant.

The time came when the ancient ErhHumn came in contact with the Ueitilh.  At first, the two species learned from each other.  Ambassadorships were established as was trade.  Despite the distance and dangers of travel between their two solar systems, there was a peaceful mingling of cultures and sciences.  But it was not to remain so.

According to the historical knowledge of the Ueitilh, there came a time when the violent nature of the ancient ErhHumn began to manifest itself.  They believed that they had the right to dominate the Ueitilh and all other species that they came into contact with across the vast galaxy.  In time, they proceeded to attempt to take ownership of Ueitilh moons and some began to declare ownership of Ueitil itself.

A conflict between the two species began and the ErhHumn amassed a great force from across their solar system to invade Ueitil.  The conflict itself did not continue for long.  The Ueitilh were far superior in technology, and despite having shared much knowledge, the Ueitilh quickly defeated the ErhHumn forces.

Not long after, the Ueitilh invaded the ErhHumn solar system and proceeded to obliterate the species from every planet and moon.  From the military remains left on the many ruined moons and rock orbiting the cindered sun, it seems that small groups of ErhHumn had survived.  But these ancient peoples were doomed, as there is no evidence that they had the means to contact each other and eventually became extinct.

Over the millenia, the sun itself faded and it's power devastated the orbiting planets, breaking them apart.  Now, all that remained of the solar system was a radioactive cinder of a sun orbited by massive bodies of rock and ice.  It is unlikely that any surviving peoples were able to devise means to escape into the universe.  We understood why the Ueitilh returned to destroy the Hhil, as it seems that by their very biology, they saw the Hhil as their ancient enemy.  They did not forget.

All was now quiet on Hhilei.  We monitored the Ueitilh warships scanning the massive remains of Hhilei in search of survivors.  Some of the warships had begun their return to their own solar systems.  The Hhil was destroyed and the Ueitilh wanted to ensure it.  Then we noticed that Ueitilh scanners ceased scanning Hhilei.  They had discovered distant signatures far from Hhilei.

The massive Ueitilh warships had discovered Eliotros.

Bilret - Elder Geneticist

Invasion

As we pondered the fate of the Hhil, we allowed them to temporarily continue in their development.  Time went on and they continued to evolve in their own way.  Like their brethren on Eiotros, the inhabitants of Hhilei advanced in science and technology.  Unlike their brethren on Eiotros, the Hhil stubbornly focused their skills and abilities on developing more and more devastating devices of war.  They seemed to have such a hunger for conquest.

I was concerned as it was inevitable that this species on Hhilei would in time become a deep spacefaring species.  When that time came, I knew that they would come into contact with their brethren on Eiotros.  Already, they had the technology to gaze into the heavens and note distant Eiotros.  But their technology was still far too primitive to discover the Eiotrii themselves.  Certainly, they would make it their goal to invade and conquer Eiotros, for that was their way.  That is, if they survived to that day and not destroy themselves before.

As we continued to debate the fate of our second project, I watched them.  I watched as they quickly moved from heavy industrialized and polluted societies to the time when they first developed primitive space vessels.  I watched as they successfully visited one of the smaller asteroids that their Hhil ancestors had first wondered at in their sky ages before and believed them to be deities.

I watched as they honed their skills and technologies.  One by one, and with countless disastrous attempts, the Hhil visited and claimed the many hundreds of heavenly bodies that orbited around Hhilei itself and further out into the ruins of the former solar system that orbited around the ancient cindered sun.  I feared that their inevitable encounter with the Eiotrii was to come far too soon.

The ancient species had returned and we named them the Ueitilh.  The species that had caused the eradication of the Hhil's ancient ancestors had returned and their destination was the ruins that orbited the cindered sun.  We monitored their journey across the quadrant.  We detected that they traveled in vessels made for war.  Somehow they knew.  Somehow they detected the presence of their ancient enemy.

They knew of the existence of the Hhil.  Surely this ancient species was returning to destroy their ancient enemy again.  We must study Ueitilh technology closely in order to understand how they knew.  We watched as the Ueitilh forces arrived on Hhilei.  We observed the Hhil as they prepared against the threat from unknown invaders.

I noted how the various Hhil civilizations quickly put aside their violence toward each other and joined their technologies to face their common foe.  I was pleased at this.  But despite the arrival and intentions of the Ueitilh, we had yet to decide what we would do with the Hhil, the question remained.  Would we allow the Ueitilh to answer our question for us and allow the Hhil to be eradicated as their ancestors had been?  Or, would we remove the threat and allow our project to continue to evolve?

Some of our people say that we should allow events to unfold as they may.  It was a quandary that we had to decide quickly.

Bilret - Elder Geneticist

Those from Hhilei

We named their home Hhilei.  We chose an asteroid far from their brethren the Eiotrii.  We developed it.  We prepared it.  We ensured that they were fully compatible with their environment.  In the proper time, we deposited our second project upon it.  At first, the Bio-ErhHumn were content on their new home.  Soon enough, they began spreading out and quickly formed their own societies.

As many expected, this species became violent and cruel.  Early generations were quite warlike and many of the weaker tribes were mercilessly trampled underfoot.  Within three generations, we noticed that the Hhil, as we began calling them, had begun developing a class system.  We watched this progress with special interest.  Within the fourth generation, most Hhil societies adhered to a three class system.

The primary class consisted of the wealthy, which were those who held most of the control over natural resources and land.  They populated the richest kingdoms and controlled the most fertile of lands.  Early on, they set themselves over the other classes and made it a rule that they, over all others, were the chosen.  They were quite violent and used any means to retain their status.

Early on, the secondary class consisted of hill and mountain peoples and those who fought wars for the upper classes in their many kingdoms.  In time, the secondary class began specializing in armed might and became a military class.  As their technology and strength grew, they became more uncontrollable.  By the fourteenth generation, the secondary class had overtaken all others and became the dominant class.

The tertiary class consisted of all others.  They were those who had little or no property and therefore no influence of their own.  They built the great cities and monuments under the heel of the primary class.  They were manipulated and used by the primary class and were considered the most expendable.  These peoples were the workers of the many Hhil societies.

In later generations, the Hhil were developing complicated war machines of many kinds.  They had populated and fought over most continents and islands.  I was dismayed.  The Hhil were a violent and treacherous species and not unlike how their ancient brethren must have been.  We came to the conclusion that the original species was just too violent and warlike and that their end had come by their own hand.

Many in our scientific community, including those who had reservations from the beginning, believed that unlike the Eiotrii, we should not allow the Hhil to continue.  I admit that I began to believe the same way.  I wished that we had not begun the Bio-ErhHumn project.

It was not until the next development of the Hhil began to take place that we discovered the ancient truth concerning them.  It was a development that we did not expect.  Within the same quadrant, we detected another ancient species.  We dispatched some of our vessels to collect samples of this species and of their technology.  

Our suspicions were satisfied when we discovered similar genetic material amongst the alien ruins on the planet and asteroid remains orbiting the cindered sun.  We realized that at one time, the ErhHumns, who were the Eiotrii and Hhil's ancient ancestors, had become spacefarers.  Over time, they had populated the many planets and asteroids in their solar system when that solar system existed.

Eventually, they made contact with the other ancient spacefaring species.  We believe that whether the ErhHumn invaded or were invaded by the other species, in the end they were destroyed.  What a disappointing end to a species which had potential.  We do not believe that the species was destroyed by their own sun, as it would have obliterated the entire solar system, leaving nothing behind.

Afterwards, the question debated by our scientific community was: Where do we go from here?

Bilret - Master Geneticist and Biological Research Specialist.

The progress of our project

We have been observing our ErhHumns on their new home: the asteroid Eiotros.  Having populated the asteroid with a great number of sub-species, we are confident that the ecosystems will continue to diversify and thrive.  Soon after we named the asteroid, we began calling the new inhabitants; the Eiotrii.  We have documented that within two of their generations they have already begun developing complex civilizations.

Within the third generation, our subjects had already broken off into three distinct peoples.  The first group moved away from the others and built cities along the coasts and became coastal people.  Amongst them are the seafarers and those that work pastoral lands.  It seems that they have embraced a more peaceful existence.

The second group has chosen to populate the many islands that ring the smaller continents.  We are most interested in the progress of this group in that they have begun to split into smaller groups.  Amongst them are those who have built great monuments on their islands and have begun to mine metals and build simple machines.

The third group, and also the most populous, are those who have chosen to remain on the main continent.  They have built many great and complex cities as they have expanded outward across the continent.  Some of their peoples have inhabited the colder mountain regions and others chose the warmer prairie lands and valleys.  We have noted that of the three main groups, this third one has developed the most complex technologies.

We are very pleased in the Eiotrii's progress.  We have also noted that they have developed into a very peaceful species.  It seems that those of us that believed that the Eiotrii, or rather, the ErhHumn, would eventually develop into the violent species that the synth-organics had patterned from, are pleased that the Eiotrii have become an intelligent and very resourceful species.

Sadly, we cannot say the same for their counterparts, our second project which were those who we placed on the second asteroid that we named Hhilei.

Bilret - Master Geneticist and Biological Research Specialist.

Two Projects

Our project is becoming more and more curious and knowledgeable.  Because of this, our research-mates and myself have decided to introduce ErhHumn into a special environment.  It is a setting that we have developed using some of the biological materials that our excavators found on a series of broken asteroids.  Most of the material could not be reconstructed even by our synth-organics.

From the biological materials that were viable, we were able to reproduce a varied collection of foliage and smaller organisms.  We chose an asteroid in particular to place our collection.  We hope that ErhHumn finds it's new environment pleasing.  We are already in the process of developing more ErhHumns.  It will be interesting to see how they react and behave in each other's presence.

We are exceptionally pleased in that the latest cylinders retrieved by our survey vessels indeed contain viable materials that seem to be identical to the materials that the synth-organics mimicked in order to develop our ErhHumn.  This gave us something to think about.  We have decided that we would continue with our ErhHumn project, but we will also begin a second project that we will call our Bio-ErhHumn project.

This new Bio-ErhHumn project will be developed solely using the viable materials from our recent discoveries, while our ErhHumn project will continue to be developed using synth-organics.  Both projects will be housed on separate asteroids and far from each other.  I tell you, these new developments are quite exciting.

Some of our research-mates here, still voice concern with our first project, and much more so with our second project.  They say that we will be re-releasing a violent species back into the universe.  I myself am beginning to have reservations about our work as well.  Should we be doing this?

Bilret - Genetics Research Student in Ancient Extraterrestrial Civilizations.

Cindered Sun

Our survey vessels continue to scour the remains of broken planets and asteroid fields orbiting the cindered remains of that ancient sun.  Resistant to the heavy radiation, they have had much time to deploy and retrieve our excavators from several planet and asteroid surfaces.  We sent out hundreds of vessels in search of more biological material or more protective cylinders containing biological material that we hope to reactivate and study.

Recently, our survey vessels were able to locate several space-faring warship ruins on the surface of one of the more massive asteroids.  Perhaps the asteroid was used as a war base of some sort as the warships were equipped with primitive yet a great amount of weaponry.  Luckily, our excavators were able to locate several more ancient settlements on and around the further planet remains.

Some of our survey vessels are on their way back to our research facility with more of those protective cylinders.  I hope that we are able to retrieve viable material from them.  Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to have access to more material of the same species as our ErhHumn project.  If so, we may be able to complete it and if so, may even be able to reproduce the actual species itself.

Research-mates, by the time that you return, we may be well on our way in resurrecting an ancient and long extinct species.  Most of our people here at our research facility seem to be excited at the prospect of it.  We have devoted more of our resources to the ErhHumn Project.

Although, some of our research-mates who have studied ErhHumn and it's behavior, have said that we shouldn't continue with it.  They believe that a species that seems to have been so preoccupied with war and violence, more than likely had been the cause of their own end.  They believe this because of the fact that ninety-one percent of the ruins in the former solar system are military in nature.

Bilret - Genetics Research Student in Ancient Extraterrestrial Civilizations.

Reconstruction Project

Do you remember that collection of genetic material that our excavators discovered amongst the radioactive remains of that solar system orbiting that cinder that had at one time been a sun in ancient times long ago?  Well, our suspicions were correct.  It seems that that material was deliberately collected and sealed in the ruin of a primitive vessel that orbited the massive bluish gaseous planet, or at least what was left of it.

After our research, we were able to decode and reconstruct our little project, but not in its original organic form.  Unfortunately, the material itself was far too ancient to be reactivated and as a result we were only able to duplicate its genetic structure with the use of our own synth-organics.  You should see what our project looks like!

The microscopic synth-organics copied the genetic material's structure at it's finest degree.  They have formed a somewhat complex bipedal being with complex memory retention and a curiosity unlike any other genetic project that we have ever found before.  This must be what the ancient creature must have looked like in its time.  It is quite fascinating!

Unlike other projects that we have reproduced and studied from the organics we have found in this quadrant, this is the only one that has attempted intricate communication and thought capability.  We will continue to test and learn from it.  Perhaps one day we can reconstruct a completely organic version of this extinct being and adapt it's compatibility in order to populate one of our appropriate study planets.

Well, Research-mates, I hope that you find my ErhHumn project worthy of your attention when you return to our research facilities.  I named it after the unreadable and barely visible glyphs that were marked on the protective cylinder that housed the genetic material itself.  These glyphs have no meaning in any of our known languages.

Bilret -  Genetics Research Student in Ancient Extraterrestrial Civilizations.

Monsters on Black Velvet

Everyone knows what a black velvet painting is.  You've seen some about dogs playing cards, exotic long-tailed birds, famous musicians in tacky karate poses and even some with politicians as nautical commanders weathering the storm.  My question is: Have you ever seen one with monsters?  Yes, it's Monsters on Black Velvet.

Just in time for the creepy season, Monsters on Black Velvet immortalizes a select collection of midnight creeping critters.  Everyone knows about the standard werewolves, zombies, vampires and the like, but what about a piece of art that portrays ghostly knights, goblins, witches, evil dogs and other basic beasts taking a break over a few hands of poker?

Wouldn't you just love to cover your walls with fabulous black velvet masterpieces?  Whether they are about monsters, chickens, smiling celebrities, dogs and cats with big droopy eyes or comedians from the 70s, these masterworks are making a comeback and you can jump on board!

So get yours today!  It's kitsch-tastic!

Just one last thing: We don't like clowns on black velvet, you don't like clowns on black velvet, nobody likes clowns on black velvet.  So don't expect to see any here.  Why, they're just too creepy.

Old Man Tobias' Favorite Haunt

There was a time when the estate was owned by a mean and old and very rich ancestor of Michael's.  Not much is known of him, because in life he grew to be very secretive and in later years, preferred to live out his life behind the brick walls of his mansion.  Michael's grandmother often said: "Great Grandfather Tobias was as greedy as leaves are green and a man who was permanently angry and suspicious of everyone.

One day, he sold all of his interests, passed his banking business down to grandfather Victor and went into the house and remained there, on the third floor for the next forty-seven years.  He ignored everyone and life went on without him."

Now, old Tobias' spirit roams around the old mansion and surrounding estate, which has since passed down to Michael and Victoria.  Stephanie says that she always sees him on the third floor and always searching for something, before he notices her and chases her away.  If it weren't for Grandmother's stories and now Stephanie mentioning how much she didn't like him, old great great great grandfather Tobias would have been long forgotten.

It seems that Stephanie's friends, such as great great grandfather Victor, great great grand aunt Millicent, the twins without names and the others who remain on the grounds, they aren't very fond of old man Tobias either.

"Is he the meanest?"  Victoria asked Stephanie as she sat with her pile of books in the library.  "No, he's not."  Stephanie replies as she fumbles with yellowed-aged pages of a book.  "There are others who are much worse."

Stephanie's Locket

Old houses that were built long ago always seem to be favorite places for old ghosts.  They like to walk here and there in the dark and dimly-lit quiet hallways and long forgotten locked rooms.  Why they choose dark and musty places filled with aging books and dusty furniture over brightly lit studies and patios is a question that only they themselves can answer.

Little Stephanie liked the dark rooms of the estate.  As you can see, she loved reading by the fireplace and did do so for hours and for many years.  Early on, she started hearing the subtle voices from Michael's distant relatives as they called to her from shadowed halls and stairways within the house to share long hidden secrets with her.

When Victoria asked her about the unusual locket that Stephanie wore one evening, it wasn't a surprise that it had belonged to a great great grand aunt of Michael's who had once lived in the house and that the item had been long lost.  Victoria knew of it as she had seen it several times in a painting of great great grand aunt on a third floor hallway.

When Michael and Victoria found their little "sleepy reader" Stephanie playing with dozens of gold coins that must have belonged to Michael's great great grandfather who had been a banker in his time, well, they were perplexed as to how and where she could have found them.  It was all of the other long-forgotten and quite valuable watches, gems, coins and broaches that she had piled in the corners of her room, that finally drove them to ask her.

"Your great great grand ancestors gave them to me."  She answered.  "They like when we have little talks about the old days and the new days and sometimes they give me things.  They're so nice."

The Troll's House

Don't let people tell you that the swampland is safe like the new neighborhood realtors have been trying to do.  Remember how when we were young the old troll took up residence in that lake house and drove its residents away?  Well, it seems that things haven't changed.  The old troll may have moved away since you left for the hills, but his nephews moved in and took his place.

I tell you, if it's not one spiny skinned and long-lived creature in our midst, its two hard-shelled and green skinned ones taking it's place.  It makes one think that leaving for the hills may not be all that bad, even if there are wisps there.  But at least they don't eat your livestock and make a habit of trying to slay your night watch.

Well, I'm taking your suggestion and am about to load up my cart and make for the hills myself.  You can expect to see me soon.  We'll sit by the fire with some fried fish and ale and talk about old times.  Hopefully, the werewolves won't be home when I pass through the woodlands, since this is their convention season and they all love to attend.

-Your cousin, Otto the Chicken Rancher

One day, this is going to happen.

We watched War of the Worlds today.  We didn't watch the new one, we wanted to watch the original 50s version.  That reminded me of this image that I rendered some time ago, so I posted it.

We thought about it and after all that humans have done to each other over the centuries and continue to do to each other, we summed it all up in 2 words: greed, hate, greed, hate, greed and hate.  Well, you know that one day the aliens are just going to get fed up with all of it.

Eventually they are just going to come down, reveal themselves for who they are and then straighten everybody out.