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Frequently Asked Questions about Oremander:
Of course Corleer has other names! Lots of them. It is known as Threadfinder, Sew-Sword, Storm-Thorn, Glynn, Ujoume, the One-Eyed Blade, Hevelastas, and Dragonwhisker, just to name a few. And no, Loloke is just Loloke. The two are very good friends and have much in common. They share the title of "Sea Savior", both being big-hearted bastions of bravery and benevolence who aid those in need. They have been spotted having a good time at the Deep Sea Dive-In. For Bahrakhen's birthday, Oremander got him a bag of jelly beans and a nice claw-woven scarf. It's not entirely known. Many say her eyes can see into men's hearts and know their true intentions. Others say they can calm storms and put wind in the sails. Oremander does not condone acts of piracy. Most pirates are bad. They attack and rob people, and often do worse things (like kidnap them, hold them for ransom, act mean, and behave in a slovenly fashion). So Oremander is quick to stop them. She is not against swashbuckling in general. In fact, she has several friends who are swashbucklers. She draws a line between criminals and those just simply "living the lifestyle". But the next time you find yourself endorsing the pirate life with your jolly roger t-shirts and your fake hook-hands and eye-patches, don't forget to thank Oremander for saving you when a pirate plunders your ship and all your possessions, ties you up, says mean things, and gets unforgivably careless with their personal appearance. Oh, and privateers might be okay; it depends. You got me. Oremander's also known as Sea Cat, Brume-Lantern, the Argent Ally, Quartz-Claws, the Seamstress, the Sea Mistress, Pirate Prouncer, and Steelguard. Pirates call her : Stormwitch, Roger's Foil, Squall Queen, Sea Harpy, Bilgeworm, Needlesnake, Fog Adder, Scalawag's Scourge, Filcher's Foe, Lootnabber, Quarryclincher, the Silver Strumpet, Madam Meddler, Grinstealer, Rompspoiler, Rumspiller, Neptune's Nuisance, Hag-in-Shining-Armor, and the Banshee of the Brine. Most pirates call her Mrs. Sterling or Lady Sterling. Let's say Oremander flew down to interrupt a particular nasty (and foolhardy) pirate in the middle of his evil-doings. He might greet her by saying caustically : "Well, if it don't be Mrs. Sterling! Come to join us for a cup o' tea then? Care for a crumpet? And how is yer Ladyship this morning?!" To others, however, the name elicits fear and respect. The wiser pirates refer to her in hushed and warning tones : "Ye best beware, lest Lady Sterling sews new buttons in yer coat!" Some magical metal that can shift size & scale. I heard a story once from a very fortunate woman named Erika Saulson who met Oremander when she was a young child. Erika asked her where Corleer came from. Oremander told her quite a fascinating story in response. Apparently, long long ago, she asked the sooty blacksmith god Vulcan to forge it for her as he was wont to do for heroes. He was reluctant at first, feeling that a tiny insignificant needle was far below his craft. "A needle?! Wouldn't you rather have a great big imposing deadly destructive weapon worthy of your legendary name?", he asked her. But she insisted that all she required was a simple sewing needle. Hoping to trick Oremander into changing her mind, Vulcan refused to make Corleer, telling her that he would only do so if she completed a series of dangerous quests. Surely, he thought, she would realize that a big war-axe or giant bladed sword was the weapon of choice during all those perils. How else, thought Vulcan (whose clothes were never cleaned as near as my research indicates), would she succeed with all these run-ins against all the terrifying vicious monsters she had to defeat? He figured she would be sure to come back, her quests incomplete, pleading with him to make her something useful and big and menacing-looking. And she'd never want a dumb useless needle again. But that's not what happened. Oremander completed all of Vulcan's quests and never had to use a weapon of any kind. She used her wits and compassion instead. When she returned victorious after the final quest, Vulcan had no choice but to forge Corleer. Just to make sure, Jupiter sent his Lightning-men (who, according to Erika, swing from lightning bolt to lightning bolt like Tarzan does) to make sure Vulcan did as promised. After forging Corleer, Vulcan remarked that it was his finest accomplishment, and he was moved to tears (I wish he was moved to take a shower, but we can't have everything). What his sooty narrow mind hadn't realized was that Oremander could use her creativity and imagination to make the "simple" needle very useful indeed. And she still does. Leonard, Maxwell, and Archer were born at precisely the same time to Mrs. Ashley Pricott and Mr. George Godfrey Darnicle. The three boys growing up were very bright and excelled at everything they did. Mrs. Pricott, who coined the word "exceedled" (and won an award for the word three years in a row at festivals), would often say to her children, "You have all exceedled my expectations! Good show!". The encouragement helped, and soon all three sons were fine strapping young men, well-groomed and educated. Unfortunately, Leonard and Maxwell grew up to be criminal masterminds. The sea seemed like a good canvas for their sinister plots and devious machinations. Inseparable, they set sail on their vile ship "Duplicity", venturing forth to explore new horizons in villainy. The third identical brother, Archer, never really got along well with the other two They disagreed on a number of important points, including values for things such as other people's property, well-being, and lives. They also didn't see eye-to-eye on the whole 'World Conquest' issue. Archer felt it wasn't something he was interested in, and Leonard and Maxwell pretty much felt like it was all they were really about. They parted ways and did not keep in touch. Archer Darnicle (known in certain circles as the Red Ace) was something of an action hero. Where his brothers took to sea, he took to air. He would swoop down in his bi-plane, leap off in a feat of acrobatic daring, and deftly flourish a rapier. Archer was an aviator and a swashbuckler. An accomplished showman as well, he would often perform his exciting stunts for charity events. He was a good respectable and honorable chap, well-liked and admired. His brothers, dubbed the Double Darnicles, were his exact opposite, and up to no good. They were far worse than pirates. Their schemes, if made successful, would mean their absolute control over the entire world, or at least its destruction. Easily, one of those two. Someone had to stop them, but who? Oremander boldly volunteered. Her needle's eye was on them all the time. But despite numerous foilings of their connivences (and many utterings of "Curses!" and "You'll rue the day!" from the twins), they were still at it, escaping just in time from authorities, and resiliently jumping back to their previous stations of evil masterminds at-large, armed and dangerous, and quite capable of crime and corruption. Oremander was understandably frustrated. Archer (the good one) knew none of this. One day, he decided to go for a trip to a secret island where he heard there were fabled Monkey Eggs. But a mechanical failure in his plane forced him to make a emergency water landing halfway there. Always a mechanical whiz, he fixed the problem and was all set to continue on his way when Oremander spotted him. Thinking he might need help, she flew down to offer it, but then she saw his face. To her, he looked just like one of the Darnicles! Well, he was one, so that was no surprise. But she didn't know there was a triplet. By the way, shaving his mustache (always a good way for men to achieve a cleanly look) would have helped Archer avoid complicated comparisons, but the Darnicle men throughout history are very proud of their mustaches, and will never remove them even if certain inevitable associations with reprobate relatives are made. Oremander, thinking she finally had a Darnicle alone, attempted to capture Archer and bring him to the authorities. Now, one thing about Darnicles: regardless of their alignments to ethical systems, they don't like being captured. Many believe this has something to do with their ancestor Dobel "Dust-Devil" Darnicle, who stole the king of Viglom''s crown at age 10 and never stopped running from bounty hunters for the rest of his life. He gave the crown to his son right before his death, and urged him to keep on running, and he did. Then when he was nearing death, he gave it to his child with the same mandate : "guard the crown for no reason until your death!", and his child gave it to his child, and on and on and on. It became a relay race, and no descendent dared return the representation of royalty for fear of their relative's wrath (Shelly Darnicle, the brother's great-great-great aunt, was the first to give the crown back. The family had had it for over 300 years and Viglom was no longer a monarchy, but she was still thanked and rewarded with Viglom's highest honors. She is currently a justice of the peace there)). So eluding one's captors is sort of a Darnicle family trait, passed down from generation to generation. And even good-natured Archer couldn't escape genetics. Oremander and Archer fought an exciting aerial battle! No one was hurt or anything. And both sides were mutually impressed with each other's derring-do on display. Archer, always a good sport, finally gave up and landed his plane, smiling all the way. He apologized to Oremander and complemented her. His amiable nature and usage of phrases other than "Curses!" and "You'll rue the day!" in such a situation clued Oremander in to the fact that he might not be one of the Twins after all. And indeed he was not. The two became good friends after that and would often laugh over the years about how they first met. Archer offered to help Oremander in her attempts to stop his brothers. She was grateful for his help. With their combined derring-dos the two were able to foil the Double Darnicles once and for all. (It also helped that Archer knew several childhood anecdotes about his brothers). Leonard and Maxwell were arrested and served prison time for their diabolical deeds. Archer and Oremander may still be friends for all I know. Archer, feeling an impulse to explore, flew his plane to the other demilyr, and was never seen again. But perhaps he's returned and is hanging out with Oremander as we speak, for they both enjoy adventure so very much. That would make him over 150 years old, but hey, stranger things have happened (*wink*). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you've got any questions, I'd be glad to answer them the best I can. Click here to e-mail me! |