Chapter 11, baby!

Check the table of contents

They're listed in the Table of Contents under Arden Ranger, the name they originally appeared under when they were published in Teemings. But I'm assured the acknowledgments list my real name, so that should make Mom happy.

In case you're interested:

Hate Crimes.

A History of Angelo Saxon Wedding Customs.

Tales from The Raven is one of a series of short stories involving the supernatural world. I borrowed heavily from White Wolf's World of Darkness for this one. At the time, I was very involved in the local WW gaming group in my area, and one doesn't play Vampire and not write at least one story set in that world.

All the tales are told from the POV of the Raven's bartender as he relays the evening's events to the bartender of another club. The Narrator has no idea what kind of world he works in. You're only getting one side of the conversation, a device I used to make my story stand out from the others that were submitted for the workshop.

It was also written at about three AM the night before it was due.

Huh. I hadn't realized how whiney Shaun was until just now.

I can talk about it with you all day. I am happy to share my opinions on Snape's morality, on Dumbledore as a less then perfect, and probably manipulative, but well meaning old coot, on why I think Harry is a saint for putting up with the people around him, and then I'll rail against the notion that Harry has to die in the end and then assure you that there is no other option in the end for Severus Snape but a dirt nap.

I am not, however, one of those that can write at length and in a scholarly fashion about the world of Harry Potter. You will not catch me speculating on Snape as a Christ figure, or if Albus lured Olivander into hiding so the wand maker could kit out the house elves or goblins with wands for the upcoming Battle Royal. You will not find me on the various Harry Potter forums getting worked up into a frothing fit while debating every little detail, or making lists of all the possible clues in all the books and JKR's interviews. Although, to be fair, I did try that once in trying to figure out the identity of the Half Blood Prince before the book came out and I sucked utterly at it. I was convinced it was Hagrid.

I am, however, an obsessive reader of Harry Potter fan fiction. It's is my guilty pleasure that has become an addiction since I discovered that it wasn't all really ridiculous slash pairings (Harry and Snape? As if.). I have read a lot of completely absurd fictions, and some that should never, ever have been allowed to make it to the Internet because they are written by illiterate 12 year olds trying to write romance, or who think "angst and suicide are cool!". But I have read some that have taken my breath away, and I'll be happy to give you a link if you ask. They are brilliantly written, the characters first given life by Rowling transcend her rather mundane style. It's in the pages of fan fiction that I have fallen completely in love with Sirius Black, where I have developed a quiet lust for Remus Lupin and Madame Hooch. I have had my opinion changed of Albus Dumbledore: from the all knowing, wise grandfather presented in the books, to a fallible old man who has forgotten what it means to be a child, and can often miss the forest because he is so busy watching the trees. I have become a staunch supporter of the Harry Potter who has had enough of the Dursleys, of being treated like a mushroom, of being told he has to save the world but not being helped to do so. I cheer when Wussy!Harry finally looks at things that make no sense in his life and throws off his shackles, his watchers, the hanger ons, and becomes Independant!Harry, or better yet: Angry!Independent!Harry. Pity it isn't canon.

I enjoy looking through name dictionaries and learning the origins of a name, the meanings assigned to it by different cultures, and the changes wrought in it by different languages.

Being a long time gamer, I do this quite a lot. Usually, I have a vague concept that is often based on an image I have found. Then I look for a name that embodies something about the character that I have in my mental file cabinet.

Other times, I admit, I just go for a name that I happen to like the sound of. When I like a name, I really like it, and it finds its way into more places then I originally intended.

Let's take the name "Portia" for instances. I like the name so much that it has gone from the name of a game character, to the name of my protagonist for The Silver Labyrinth.

Portia: English. From the Roman family name Porcius, which means "pig". This is the name of a character in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice' who disguises herself as a man in order to defend Antonio in court. This is also a moon of Uranus, named after the Shakespearian character.

When I chose the name, I knew it was from MoV, and I liked the sound of it. I enjoyed saying it. Portia. It just rolled off the tongue. The character in my head looked like a Portia. When I looked in the baby name book on my bookshelf, it claimed the name meant "by the sea. From the term Port." It was not until I was looking the name meaning up for this post that the root word of porcius ever came up.

If I had known the roots of the name at the time, would I have still used it? Possibly. The character's mother would probably have known the name from the play, and not cared about the origins. The player, as in me, may well have discarded the name, though reluctantly, because of its origins in the murky mists of time.

And this would have been a mistake. Portia the character evolved into just exactly the type of woman would have disguised herself as a man, with no regard to the personal risk involved, in order to go into court and defend a friend. Portia the game character is intelligent, headstrong, stubborn, loyal, and temperamental. To me, the meaning of the name had moved beyond its origins.

When it came time start laying the foundations for The Silver Labyrinth, there was no other name that would do. My protagonist was going to have to be intelligent, headstrong, stubborn, loyal, and temperamental in order to get through the tasks that lay ahead of her.

To me, the name of a character says a lot about the character, whether it be a game character or a literary character. It defines the character in my mind. Perhaps I assign more importance to a name then most. But then, I assign quite a bit of importance to the naming.

The story idea is based on the dozens of spiral labyrinths to be found throughout the world.

These have always fascinated me. What are they really? How is it that they are everywhere? What brought all these civilizations of the world to come up with an very nearly identical design? What meaning as been assigned to them by who and why?

These are questions that the protagonist of The Silver Labyrinth has been asking herself for years. Questions that will be answered, at least in the world of my archeologist, by the unplanned adventures of my protagonist. Adventures that all started with the finding of a necklace at a market stall in a small village on the isle of Crete.