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Updated: Feb 9, 2023


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Field Notes from Diamonds Hadder: On the topic of meeting Erza.

ree

It was early and Lord Zabble was busy doing his morning things, lighting candles around the castle and putting books back where they belong… he has a few magic books that wander the hallways through the night.. they can certainly startle you as you turn the bends and twists of the lower hallways… he often says “Some magic is hard to keep still”. He has a little sense of humor that perhaps he finds more amusing than others, but it doesn’t seem to stop him from trying a joke or two. He’s rather intense when it comes to the art of magic and is always eager to weigh in on the topic of anything related to the fine art of spell casting and conjuring things from thin air. It’s obvious why his reputation proceeds him, as his knowledge is second to none. It’s said that below the lower tower there is a room filled with books that he’s memorized and that the room so large you could fit a Trillion dragon in it. It’s a joke of course. If you don’t know, a Trillion dragon is a mythical beast the size of a mountain. There is a temple in Remdon entirely built from fragments of Trillion dragon bones.. and the entire city of Remdom sits on the only partial skull ever found of a trillion dragon. Lets just say Zabble’s mind is a lot like an internal library and he often boasts about his ability to remember everything he reads and hears. He often taps his temple as you speak to him, which is his way of acknowledging that he is retaining your words and placing them in one of his internal chambers of his memory. I almost forgot to mention “Skylark”, a Fanglor that Zabble found in the hills above BOK when he was young. Fanglors are wonderful companions who live a very long time and have been known to be incredibly loyal to their masters. To the point of even starving themselves to death upon the passing of their keepers. They also are quite lovable and playful although I wouldn’t let their cute pointed ears and tender nature fool you, they may have the heart of a lion and even resemble them at times, but they have the appetite of a dragon and the claws and teeth to match its temper. Fanglors are highly intelligent as well. They come from the same class of predatory mammals as the smaller and more common Lygor, but are much more rare and 3 times the size. Skylark is a castle Fanglor who’s been away from the dangerous hillsides above BOK for some time… the most adventure she gets these days is chasing Zabbles magic books around the towers into the wee hours of the night. Occasionally Zabble lets her out to roam the hillsides which is good for her… and sometimes she comes back with cuts and scraps and tattered hair and bloody teeth behind a sneaky Fanglor grin. She needs that. Don’t we all. Sometimes she comes back with other things.. which brings me to Ezra. Erza came from a rather unexpected litter of three, she was born just about the time I arrived at the Towers. It’s not known how Skylark became pregnant with three Fanglors but we suspect it happened on one of her hillside adventures. Sometimes I think Ezra looks for her father in the hills, I just sense it. She was barely walking when I arrived at the castle. Zabble tells me that the moment she saw me she instantly dragged herself over to me and fell asleep on top of me. I don’t recall the event but I often hear about it as I could hardly breath and Zabble found it quite amusing that Ezra left the safety of Skylark to investigate me so quickly. I also hear about how my eyes were glowing as Ezra approached… I was a little scared of Ezra at first apparently. Ezra has slept with me ever since. I didn’t have much control over my tattoos then. They seemed to almost act on their own, which still comes in handy as it’s almost like they can tell the future or see things that are unseen to my own eyes and giving me a strange warning of what’s to come or what they fear could happen. It’s funny that some people still associate sight with eyes when really there’s so much more going on to be seen and felt without eyes at all. At least that’s what Zabble is showing me and what I’ve been learning all these years. Ezra and I have become quite close over the years and I really can’t imagine being without her anymore. Oh well, just some words I felt like penning this morning. I’m off to Bok for supplies and some ravens feet, Erza seems to have eaten all of Zabbles stock and I would hate for him to reach for the empty bottle in the midst of one of his crazy potions ideas only to find the empty bottle turn over with Fanglor slobby dripping from the rim. I can hear him now….. “EZZZRAAAA… “ he would say and the hallways would answer back…. “EEEZZRRRAA”.







Just a few video clips from inside the lower tower to a little chorus idea/sketch of something new I'm working on with Lord Ramsay of Remrod. I love words.


Lord of the Golden Tower


"I sailed away

Into the black

With open eyes, to find

A reason worth a damn

I tried to stay

But she was fast, so fast

The river bled, and she said

Welcome to BOK my friend"


Oh, who’s the lord of the golden tower

My lord, it’s you… it’s you

Oh, who’s the lord of the golden tower

it’s you… it’s you


So seasons came

And seasons went

I was adrift, with my wits

Lost now and then

No letter left

No somewheres end

No jack or Jill, just will

And a whisper.. that said


Oh, who’s the lord of the golden tower

it’s you… it’s you

Oh, who’s the lord of the golden tower

it’s you… it’s you


SOLO


The road was far

The magic lost the shine

They called us gods

But still we seem to die

So we watch the stars

And wonder where it ends

Lights in the dark, don’t stop

There’s something up ahead


Who’s the lord of the golden tower

The one who dies at the final hour

Who’s the lord of the golden tower

It’s you.. its YOU!!


Who’s the lord of the golden tower

The one who dies at the final hour

Who’s the lord of the golden tower

It’s you.. its YOU!!


Its You.


Updated: Nov 1, 2021


ree

Just a little Monday update. Spent Thursday night doing some final edits on the Stargazer video with Doug Weiand in the Black Tower of Vernon. Things went great and I suspect we’ll have one more day or 2 before we put a cap on it. I enjoy the final editing days and it's nice to have other people involved in the process at certain times... it’s nice to see them get what they want and personally rewarding for me to be part of that. As a story teller and highly visual person myself, the power of video just blows me away. My ideas always seem so far beyond my capabilities, but still I reach and try and pursue things I dream about. Some dreams are certainly not for the timid or shy. I’ve filmed and directed a few music videos in LA before, so I’m familiar with the process of presentation to band members and the refinement that is almost always needed to make sure everyone is happy and satisfied with the transitions and clips. It doesn't always go over well at first, but it almost always ends well. Everything is a process. First video run is generally a good sketch, the details come after, similar to painting a picture or writing a song… you have to build the foundation underneath first... then it starts getting really fun near the end. You can also screw things up as well.... It happens. But your always a clip and skip away from turning the tide. I have two additional shoots I did for the “Stargazer” video which I thought would help on the final sprint to the finish line as well. So, between the new footage add ins and another session or two with band members for closing edits…… I’m still about 2 weeks away from burning the master. What can I say, it’s a process and the stargazer story is almost done.




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