Glacier

The top of Windemere
Impenetrable ice crown
There since the beginning
Unchanged and unclimbable
Walls to slick for hands or gear
Those that fly
Will never find the top
And spells are eaten by the ice
Even the gods are blind
To what lurks upon the other side
They have long since forgotten
The mystery of the world
Leaving mortals to wonder
What the Ice Crown hides

This is the poem that I wrote today about this story idea.  Long ago, Angel of Tears was a stand-alone world that I came up with at an odd moment.  At a party that involved a strip club and this idea dawned on me while getting a lap-dance.  Some friends still think I miss the point of strip clubs because I think up ideas and hold conversations with the women.  If I’m giving away money then I want something more out of the deal.  Anyway, this idea is what came from it.

The concept was a simple one, I think.  There once was an angel who was the only being on a planet of mostly water.  She had the ability to look into other worlds and one day learned how to pull people into her world.  She grabbed people from every time period, world, and dimension that caught her interest.  One day, she found a world that intrigued her and she stepped through.  The angel lost her memory and became a mortal in our world while her world was cursed.  Every being turns into a half-demon under certain circumstances until she is returned.  At the age of 40, the change is permanent and they’re bestial, so they’re put on a heavily guarded island.

The overall story involved a group of ‘pirates’ led by a rather bumbling captain with a sword that can cut through to dimensions.  He wasn’t really bumbling, but I gave him terrible direction sense.  His crew consisted of a cowboy, magical paladin, caveman with smilodon, robot, Egyptian priestess, alien bounty hunter, and a sickly Apocalypse survivor.  They find the angel making money as a stripper because she wants to keep her apartment and eat.  Chasing them is a set of rival pirates and a Demon Queen that was created to stand in for the angel.  Obviously, the Demon Queen didn’t remove the curse and took over, but she wants the angel and the pirate captain for her harem.  I thought that was more interesting than a kill them or retain power motivation.

When I transferred the idea to Windemere, I needed a place to put it where the rest of the world wouldn’t get involved.  This is where the Ice Crown came from.  This ‘world’ is isolated and doesn’t realize it’s part of a bigger place.  Only on person has ever escaped, which is why there is a small samurai culture in one area.  I’m still wondering if I should ever have this area merge with the rest of the world.  I already have a lost continent doing that schtick.  Maybe have a hero go to it during the final battle of Windemere.

Another problem is that I can’t figure out what triggers the half-demon change.  I kept thinking rage, but that’s been done to death.  Maybe I can pick a deadly sin for each character that he or she can succumb to and change.  It’s really tough to figure out because I don’t want to the change to be fully controlled.  They have control when in the form, but they can’t control the change.  Otherwise, it isn’t much of a curse.