Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

If there's one thing I've gotten quite bad at as I've grown older, its finishing the games I've bought. I'm not sure why that is, though no doubt laziness has something to do with it. However, proving that miracles occur from time to time, I did recently finish a game and that game (as you can tell by the title of this post) was Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (which I will refer to as simply Ghost Trick from now on) is an adventure game created by Shu Takumi of Capcom, which was initially released on the Nintendo DS in 2010 and then ported to the IOS. Its the later version of the game which I've played.

Ghost Trick opens up in a junkyard, where a man has just been killed. You, the player, is the ghost of said man. As a ghost, you suffer from that most common affliction among video-game protagonists: Amnesia. Fortunately,you soon meet up with another ghost, Ray, who informs you that  in your current state, you possess a variety of new abilities, such as; being able to possess objects, travel through phone-lines and finally, turn back time to four minutes before a person's death. Using these abilities, you save the life of Lynn, a young detective who was present at the junkyard and so, the two of you team up to solve the mystery regarding your identity. The first thing you learn is your name: Sissel. Better hurry up though, because you only have until dawn to find out the truth about yourself.

As one would except from a game by the creator of the Phoenix Wright series, Ghost Trick is filled with colorful, memorable characters, ranging from the instantly likable Missile (who is the best dog in all of gaming) to the flamboyant and suspicious inspector Cabanela and many others. Of course, like any mystery-story worthy of the genre, few of these characters are who they truly appear to be, including Sissel himself. Story-wise, Ghost Trick is also very good, with a plot that takes many twists and turns and never failed to keep me engaged, wondering which new development would wait around the corner.

When it comes to the actual game-play, Ghost Trick uses the iPad's touch controls excellently. When I played the Ubisoft WWI game, Valiant Hearts on my iPad, I sometimes got annoyed with how the game controlled, but this was not an issue here. Puzzles vary in difficulty, though I wouldn't call any of them really hard. The only time I found myself getting frustrated with the game was during the ninth chapter, in which you have to help a prisoner escape from death-row. This part of the game was quite tedious and I soon resorted to a walkthrough, in order to get past it as quickly as possible.

All in all, I highly recommend Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective to anyone who wants a great adventure game. In my opinion, it stands as one of the best representatives of its genre.

Visiting Prague

For once, the lack of new posts is not due to the blogger's habitual laziness. I spent the past few days in Prague, accompanied by my parents and only recently got back home. I enjoyed my visit to the Czech capital immensely; Prague is a beautiful city, with impressive architecture Its easy to see how writers like Gustav Meyrink could create some of their most famous works living there.

We were fortunate enough to have good weather, which certainly aided the experience. The only time we experienced rain was during our last evening in the city.

Among the highlights of my visit, I must especially mention the Karel Zeman Museum. For those not in the know, Karel Zeman was a Czech film director and animator, famous all over the World for his innovations in visuals and special effects. The Museum is well worth a visit, regardless of whether or not you're aware of who Karel Zeman is.

Another positive thing about Prague, at least if you're a tourist, is how inexpensive everything is, particularly the food and drink. Speaking of food, we found an excellent Italian restaurant called Tempo Allegro, close to our Hotel. Highly recommended if you like Italian food and who doesn't? 

For the bibliophile not versed in the Czech language (which I'm not), it pleases me to tell that Prague features quite a few English bookstores and so, I've had ample opportunity to add to my library. Its possible that I may review some of the books on my blog in the not-too distant future, though I make no promises.

All in all, I had a great time and would definitely return to Prague at some point. If you haven't been there, I recommend a visit.

Comics That Should Be Translated: Il Etait Une Fois en France

Ever since I first discovered him, the Frenchman Fabien Nury has quickly become one of my favorite comic-authors.. Nury's work tend to fall under the "historical fiction"-genre, which as, you may know, is one of my favorite genres. Of all the comics that Nury has written, my personal favorite remains the one which introduced me to his work: Il Etait Une Fois en France (Once Upon A Time in France), drawn by Sylvain Vallée.

Il Etait Une Fois en France is based on the true story of Joseph Joanovici, one of the more obscure, yet fascinating characters of that horrible time in history known as the Second World War. In the comic, we follow Joanovici from the moment he arrives in France as an illiterate, Jewish immigrant, to his rise as one of the nation's wealthiest men and a hero of the resistance, to his eventual downfall.

As one would except from a comic like this, Il Etait Une Fois does not lack in suspense. The reader is treated to some very tense moments of sabotage, double-crossings, scheming and murder, as Joanovici does his best to live and prosper, making himself indispensable to both the Nazi occupation forces and the French resistance, while ultimately being loyal only to himself. However, Il Etait Une Fois en France is first and foremost, a character-study and its creators paint a very compelling portrait of their protagonist. Joanovici is a very ambiguous character, one who's both easy to root for and condemn, at the same time. On one hand, he's an opportunist and war-profiteer, who will betray and/or kill anyone, including his closest comrades, in order to prevent his double-dealings from being revealed. On the other hand, he also finances the resistance and uses his money and influence to save many lives.

Though Joanovici is the star of the comic, he's far from its only memorable character. Fabien and Nury surrounds their anti-hero with a strong supporting cast, consisting of family, friends, convenient allies and enemies. Among the characters that make a particularly strong impression are Lucie, Joseph's highly competent and loyal assistant, who also becomes his mistress, and Lafont, the diabolical head of Paris' gestapo and easily the most despicable character in the comic. Both of these characters, as well as several others, are based on historical figures.

On the visual side of things, Sylvain Vallée's artwork, with its realistic style and muted colors (courtesy of colorist Delf), compliments Nury's story very well. There were times during my read of Il Etait Une Fois en France, when Vallée's artwork made me think of some of my favorite classic movies, which I feel is appropriate.
As of the time of this post, I've yet to read the sixth and final volume in this series. However, even if it should turn out not be up to the same standards as its predecessors, I can say without a doubt that Il Etait Une Fois en France rank among the best comics I've read and one that's more than deserving to be available in English.

Chapter 4

"Forgive me, Princess,  but was it really necessary to ruin my dress like that?"

Merees shrugged.

"My apologies, I acted in the heat of the moment."

The two girls were alone in Merees' bedchamber, the princess having dismissed her maid.
At the moment, Merees was seated on the edge of her bed, watching Risha slipping into the dress that the Princess had picked out for her from her wardrobe.

"Besides", she added. "You look great in that dress." I want you to keep it, to replace the one you lost."

Risha looked down at the dress she was currently wearing. She had to admit that it was pretty, with its pattern of silver-colored birds against a pale green background. Still, the lynx-girl couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret, as she looked at her old dress, which now lied in a pile on the floor. That dress had been a favorite of hers.
Of course, she reminded herself, that was not something that Merees could have known.

"Thank you, Princess", she said and, after a moments hesitation, curtsied.

"Think nothing of it", Merees replied. "More importantly, what was it you wished to tell me, that couldn't be told in the dining-hall?"

Risha took a deep breath to steel herself and then, she told Merees what she and Leorin had learned. The princess listened attentively without interrupting, though Risha couldn't help but notice that Merees eyes had begun to flare and smoke was streaming from her nostrils. Risha had barely finished before Merees rushed up from the bed and, to her shock and surprise, pinned her against the wall.

"Liar!" The Green dragon snarled.

Instinctively, Risha unsheathed her claws and swiped at Merees' face, it only brushed past the dragon's nose, but it caused her to release her grip for a moment, allowing Risha to slip past her.

"Princess", she said, in an imploring tone. "You must believe me. Why would I lie about something this serious?"

Merees glared at Risha and then, she curled up on the floor, hiding her face in her hands. Risha found herself unsure of what to do. At times when her brother felt sad, she'd hug him to make him feel better, but somehow, she wasn't sure if that was the appropriate thing to do in this case. Finally, she hesitantly reached out her left paw and slowly patted Merees on one of her head-spikes.

The gesture caused the Princess to look up, she swallowed and wiped the tears that were streaming from her eyes and down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry", she said, with a sigh. "Of course, there's no reason for you to lie to me. Its just
that...Argath has always acted so kindly towards me, despite our difference in age and she's our father's most loyal supporter, the one who will surely inherit his throne. Why would she want to kill him? Or any of us for that matter?"

Risha thought about this, she had to admit that her story sounded fantastic. Then, she remembered something.

"The fox who was with your sister".... she began.

"I know who you mean, what about him?"

"He said something about it being a shame that you'd have to die, since you were innocent." Risha's eyes became wide like saucers and she made a little gasp. "Princess, can something have happened that could have caused Argath to harbor a grudge against the rest of your family?"

Merees furrowed her brow in deep thought for a few seconds, then she shrugged.

"If so, it must have happened before I was born. I'll ask Keron about it when this is over. Perhaps he knows something."

"What will you do now?" Risha asked..

"Do you have any proof of this, that we may present to my father?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Well, in that case, we can't accuse Argath directly. All we can do is try to prevent her plans, I'll speak to the Captain of the guard, telling him to double the security around my father."

"What if the dessert itself has been tampered with?"

"Somehow, I doubt that. Argath knows that my father won't eat anything that hasn't been sampled by his food-taster beforehand."

Risha had to concede that the Princess had a point there. Then, another thought hit her:

"Once Argath notices that her plans have been thwarted, won't she try again later?" She asked.

"Don't worry", Merees replied and for a moment, a flame burned in her eyes. "She won't get that chance, I'll make sure of it."

Risha swallowed, the Princess' word had an ominous ring to them.

"Are you going to kill her?" She asked, in a small voice.

Merees sighed.

"I'd much rather have Argath's treason exposed, but if that's not possible, than, yes, I would kill her.
Before she could do the same to me, or anyone I care about."

Risha shuddered inwardly. For a moment, she felt glad that she was not a member of a family in which you could trust no-one, not even your own  kin.

 Suddenly, she became aware that Merees had said her name.

"Forgive me, Princess" she said, lowering her eyes. "My thoughts wandered."

"I noticed", Merees replied and put her hand on Risha's shoulder. "I want you to know that even though these revelations are painful, I'm thankful that you told me about them. Whatever happens, you and your brother will always have my gratitude."

Then, the female dragon did something unexpected; she leaned forward and gave Risha a quick peck on the cheek.

For a moment, Risha stood there, frozen on the spot. She could feel herself blush under the spotted fur. As if in trance, she brought her paw up to the place that, for a brief second, Merees' lips had been in contact with and touched it. It was than that she realized that she was alone in the room. Shaking her head to get her bearings, the lynx-girl hurried out the door, after the Princess.

****

When the two girls returned to the dining-hall, Merees immediately signaled for a nearby guard to come over.

"Tell the Captain I wish to speak to him", she said.

The Rhinoceros-guard saluted and went away, a moment later he returned with the Captain of the guard, a dignified-looking eagle, whose face was only marred by the dueling-scar that ran across it.

"I am at your service, Your Highness", the Captain said and clicked his heels together.

"Captain, there have been rumors from a reliable source that an attempt on the king's life will take place during the desert. I need you to make sure that this attempt is not a success."

"I shall double the security, Your Highness", replied the captain and after a quick salute, went to fulfill his task.

"There we go", Merees said. "Now, I don't think we can do anything but wait."

Risha agreed and so, the two friends went and took their seats at their royal table. As they sat down, Risha turned to look at Leorin. For some reason, her brother seemed to be in a bad mood, he sat with his arms crossed and his ears laid flat on his head.

"What's wrong, Leo?" She asked.

"I couldn't warn them", the kitten said in an angry voice. "Both mother and father were to busy talking and when I tried to tell them about what we heard, they brushed me off."

"That's too bad. Well, cheer up, little brother, you did what you could."

"I guess. So, how did it go for you, sis?"

Before Risha could answer her brother's query, King Sharan rose from his chair and, with a gesture, demanded everyone's attention:

"Everyone", the king said. "I hope that you saved some room for dessert."

"What are we having?" Someone among the guests called out, the mood in the dining-hall was at this point sufficiently relaxed, that no-one no longer cared about this breach of etiquette.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that", answered the king. "However, I've been told that our esteemed head of the kitchens, Master Bureno, considers it his master-piece. Well, I imagine that all of you are as excited as I am to see what he has created. So, without further ado, let's bring in the dessert.

King Sharan snapped his fingers and immediately the doors opened and the kitchen staff paraded in, as if they had been standing outside, waiting for the right moment. In the front walked a large boar, upon whose head the kitchen-master's high, white hat sat like a crown. This was, of course, Bureno himself. After him came his assistants and sous-chefs, all dressed in their white uniforms and wheeling in front of them, trays loaded with coffee, tea, spoons, plates and cups, which they proceeded to set the tables with. Finally, the dessert itself came and when they saw it, a collective gasp came over the guests' lips:
The dessert was a large cake, made out of marzipan, chocolate and meringue, depicting various important events in Vinoli's history.

"Look, dear!" Nasari said to her husband, pointing at the cake. "You are on it!"

 Indeed, a tiny, marzipan version of Jeraddin, leading a small group of soldiers, made out of the same material, could be seen on the cake. Of course, the general was not the only one represented in this way; at the very top of the cake, a younger version of Vinoli's monarch could be seen, striking a majestic pose.

"Magnificent, Bureno" said King Sharan with a nod of appreciation. "It almost seems a shame to eat it."
The head of kitchens beamed, looking as proud as a peacock.

"Oh, but your majesty, I have poured my very soul into this cake. It is my magnum opus, so naturally, it tastes even better than it looks."

The King could not help but chuckle at Bureno's lack of modesty.

"Very well", he said. "You may begin serving it."

Bureno bowed and went to the task of cutting a large slice of the cake, which he elegantly placed on the king's plate. King Sharan was just about to bring a spoonful of the sweet delicacy to his mouth, when a voice interrupted him:

"Father, are you not forgetting something?"

The King slowly put the spoon down and turned towards the speaker.

"And what would that be, Merees?"

"Why, aren't you going to let your food-taster try it first? Just to be on the safe side?"

Upon hearing these words, Bureno stiffened visibly and glanced at the princess with the look of wounded pride written all over his broad face.

"Your Highness", he said, "I assure you that I myself have prepared this cake with my own two hands. There is nothing mischievous about it."

"No-one is accusing you of anything, Bureno" the King said. "However", he continued, looking pensively at the slice of cake sitting in front of him. "As you may know, Telias here  has the finest taste-buds in all Vinoli, It would be a shame if he missed out on your masterpiece."

With those words, the king waved for the food-taster to approach. Using a tiny spoon of his own, the hare chipped off a small piece of the King's cake and brought it to his mouth. Around the table, everyone's eyes were focused on the food-taster, as he savored the small piece, rolling it around in his mouth, before swallowing it.

"Delicious", he said, his tongue sweeping over his lips.

"Have the whole piece" King Sharan said, magnanimously. . "I'll take another one."

"How are you feeling?" Merees asked the food-taster, somewhat brusquely.

"Perfectly fine, Your Highness" came the reply.

"Well, Merees" said the king. "It seems you owe master Bureno an apology. "

"You're right, father", the princess agreed and with that, she rose from her seat and looked at the head of the kitchens.

"Please accept my apologies, master" she said. There was a stiffness in her voice as she uttered these words, but Bureno either did not notice it or pretended not to. Instead he gravely nodded his head, showing that the apology was accepted.

"Well", said King Sharan. "Now, that we've cleared things up, I'd like to try the cake myself. You may begin serving it, Bureno. Again."

Bureno did as the King ordered and soon everyone was enjoying the cake, praising its taste and the skills of its creator. No, not everyone; around the royal table sat four guests who did not partake of this treat. 

One of these four was Keron, who, not having a taste for sweets, had politely declined his slice and was now sipping contently at his coffee. The other three were, of course, Risha, Merees and Leorin, whose slices sat untouched on their plates. It wasn't so much that the cake didn't look appetizing to them, but rather that they were too tense to enjoy it: Argath's assassins, whoever they were, could strike at any moment. Risha looked around the room, there seemed to be more guards in it, than before. Hopefully, they would be enough.

At that moment, the general revelry was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a chair being pushed back. It was none other than the King, who, standing up, leaned on the table with one hand, while clutching his broad forehead with another.

"Is something wrong, father?" Merees asked, with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"I..I don't feel so well", the King replied. "I think I need to go and lie down for awhile".

He reached out for his cane, but as he was about to grab it, a choking sound erupted from his throat and he fell to the floor, red foam appearing in the corners of his mouth.
At once, every guests were on their feet, the dining hall filling with a multitude of voices:

"Your Majesty!"

"Father!

"What's going on over there?"

"Something's happened to the King!"

"Where's the court physician?"

"There he is!"

"Move aside! Let him through!"

The royal physician, an aging griffon wearing a pince-nez on his beak, made his way up to the royal table.

King Sharan, meanwhile was not the only one who was in need of medical attention. Thekros, too, had collapsed on the floor, with the same symptoms as his father. The doctor crouched down on the floor and began to examine the fallen monarch.

"What's wrong, doctor?" Merees asked, anxiously. "You must save him!"

The Doctor's only response was a sigh and then, he turned his head upwards and looked at the princess and the others.

"There's nothing I can do, Your Highness" he said. "His Majesty is beyond any help I can give."

Queen and Country

Dear reader, are you by any chance, familiar with the TV-series, The Sandbaggers? If not, I should tell you that it was a British espionage-series, created by Ian Mackintosh. The series, which ran for three seasons, before ending abruptly due to the mysterious disappearance (and most likely death) of its creator, starred Roy Marsden as Neil Burnside; the ruthless, but oh-so effective, head of operations of the British secret service. As spy-fiction goes, The Sandbaggers had much more in common with Le Carré than Fleming, meaning that an episode consists of about 90% of people talking to each other, either on the phone, in the street or in an office and the remaining 10% (or less) are dedicated to action-sequences.
I love The Sandbaggers, it is, hands down, one of my all-time favorite TV-shows. However, as you have undoubtedly figured out by looking at the title, its not the main subject for this post. The reason why I brought up the show, is because writer Greg Rucka has acknowledged it as the inspiration for his comic, Queen and Country.

Of course, there are some notable differences between the two. For example, Queen and Country began publication in the early 00's, meaning that the Cold War is over and that terrorists, not communists, are the chief enemies of the Western world. Another difference lies in the main characters; rather than letting the head of operations be the main character, Rucka decided to focus on one of the field-agents (or minders, as they are called) instead. Furthermore, said field-agent is a woman; Tara Chase, who deserves a place among the great female lead characters in comics. She's backed up by a solid supporting cast, including her boss, Paul Crocker, a worthy successor to Burnside.
I've currently read five volumes of Queen and Country, each one better than the last. Rucka does a great job at spinning suspenseful plot-arcs that keeps the reader intrigued all the way to the end. All the while keeping his characters and their relationship, both professional and otherwise, interesting.
Like all the great works in its genre, Queen and Country comes with a dose of moral ambiguity as Tara and the other agents on occasion have to compromise their morals and ethics in order to carry out their mission. One particularly memorable example of this occurs in the fifth volume (drawn by Carla Speed McNeil, each volume has a different artist), in which our heroine commits an act that, while perhaps understandable, in some ways, nearly pushes her into villain-territory. I won't say what it is, you'll have to find it out for yourself.

If you're a fan of good spy-fiction, Queen and Country is a must-read.

Chapter 3

The Great dining hall of the royal palace was a long, rectangular room, with enough space to house hundreds of guests without trouble. At the time our story takes place, the dining hall was seldom in use; the king and his children tended to have their meals, or entertain any visitors in their respective quarters. This evening, however, the hall had been opened up for the festivities and the guests had now begun to take their assigned seats at one of the tables. Jeraddin, Nasari and their children, were seated at the same table as the royal family. Aside from King Sharan, who occupied the seat of honor and Thekros, there were two more dragons present:

The First one was Keron, who was known throughout the kingdom as a scholar of some renown. As the King's oldest child he had been originally chosen to succeed his father. Unfortunately, Keron had been born with a weak constitution and the doctors had told Sharan that ruling a kingdom would be too demanding on the prince's health.
The Other was Merees, the youngest of the King's children and considered by many to be the most beautiful. After having helped her oldest brother to his seat, the young princess took her own seat, which happened to be next to Risha.

When all the guests had taken their places, the King tapped his jewel-encrusted goblet, with one of his claws, in order to call for attention. All the guests turned towards their monarch, the king cleared his throat and began to speak:

"My friends and loyal subjects", he said, his voice reaching to the farthest corners of the room.   "I know that you're no doubt eager to feast upon the various delectable dishes that my chefs, under the supervision of master Bureno, has prepared for us. Before that though, there are a few things I'd like to say. Do not worry, I promise, it shan't take long."

Here, King Sharan paused, took a deep breath and looked at the guests, who were all hanging on to his every word.

"It has been my privilege", the King continued, "to have been the head of this nation for over three centuries now and I hope that I've proven myself worthy of the task bestowed upon me. However, I could not have done it myself: Your ancestors helped me to bring peace and prosperity to this land of ours and you have followed in their footsteps. You have served me and the people of Vinoli well and I have no doubt that your descendants will do the same. I thank you."

At this moment, King Sharan raised his goblet.

"My friends, a toast: To Vinoli."

"To Vinoli!" Everyone shouted at the same time, the sound of their cheer causing the walls to vibrate.

With the speech over, his majesty gave order for dinner to be served. The collective mouths of the guests began to water as they saw the variety of meticulously prepared dishes, that were being carried out in front of them. Naturally, the king was served first and he was just about to start eating, when a thought entered his mind, like a thief sneaking into an unguarded house:
What if the food had been poisoned?

Long, long ago, when he was a relatively young and inexperienced ruler, King Sharan had fallen victim to an assassination attempt, when a jealous pretender to the throne poisoned his food. The Poison had been strong enough to kill a horse, but fortunately not strong enough to kill a dragon. However, the King had been ill for some time after. Ever since, he had employed someone to taste his food, to see if it had been tampered with. As luck would have it, there had never been another attempt to poison the King, aside from that time (perhaps the failure of the first attempt served to discourage others, who can say?), but the fear that one day, someone would find a poison strong enough to take his life, lingered deep in the dragon-king's subconscious and occasionally that fear woke up and made itself reminded.

King Sharan looked at his food, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it and besides, his daughter had been in charge of everything. Surely, Argath wouldn't try to poison her father? The mere thought was preposterous. Still, what if someone else had persuaded the chefs to put poison in the food? Someone like Thekros, for example? 

King Sharan looked at his son through the corner of one eye, he had never liked Thekros and that antipathy had only grown stronger over the years. The King's low opinion of his son had only been strengthened further by reports from his spies, who had often seen the Prince in places of ill-repute, consorting with shady and uncouth individuals. Yes, if anyone was capable of poisoning their own sire, it would be Thekros.

Having made his decision, king Sharan held his plate out for his food-taster.

"Try some of this. A little bit of each", the King commanded.

The food-taster, a skinny hare with sunken eyes, who had inherited his position from his father, when the old man had died of a brain-aneurysm at the age of 70, sent a silent prayer to the appropriate deity and produced a small fork and knife, with which he proceeded to cut a slice of each piece of food, which he then popped into his mouth. As the food-taster chewed vigorously, the king studied his face with a mix of hope and anxiety.

"How do you feel?" He asked after awhile.
The food-taster swallowed and seemed to be pondering the question.

"Like usual, your majesty."

"You do not feel ill or anything?" The king asked, hesitantly.

"No, your majesty, I feel fine."

Feeling more at ease, king Sharan took the plate from the food-taster and started eating, as he swallowed a morsel, a look of pure bliss came over his face. The servant, seeing that the king was satisfied, began serving the other guests.

As the hours passed and the drink and food were consumed, the mood became less and less formal; the guests conversed more freely with one another and soon the hall was filled with a plethora of noises, including someone bursting impromptu into song, heated arguments (some of which ended with both parties clearing their schedules for a duel, when the time was right) and laughter. At one point, Leorin turned to his mother, reached out and nudged her shoulder.
Nasari, who had been talking with Keron about a treatise of his that she had read and found interesting, excused herself and turned towards her son.

"What is it, Leo?" She asked.

The kitten looked around and motioned for his mother to bend down. Nasari did so and Leorin whispered into her ear:

"I need to go."

Nasari turned to her eldest child, who was engaged in conversation with Merees; the two of them having discovered that they shared some similar interests and had hit it off quite well.

"Risha, go with your brother", she ordered.

Risha sighed, annoyed by the interruption.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. Make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

Reluctantly, Risha got up, excused herself and left the dining hall, along with Leorin. As the two siblings walked through the corridors, she turned to her brother.

"Let's find a bathroom, so we can get back. There has to be one here somewhere."

"That's fine", Leorin replied and smiled mischievously. "I didn't really need to go, that was just an excuse."

The lynx-girl shut her eyes and groaned in frustration. She loved her brother, but there were times when he really got on her nerves.

"We're going back", she said and reached out to grab hold of Leorin's paw, only to find that he was gone.

It didn't take long for her to find him, he was climbing the stairwell up to the second floor. Risha could move quickly when she wanted to, in the wink of an eye, she stood at the bottom of the stairwell.

"Leo, get back here!"

Alas, her brother did not listen.

"You'll have to catch me first!" He replied and bolted upstairs.

Cursing all younger siblings over the World and their obstinacy, Risha dashed after him. Upon rounding a corner she found Leorin crouching by a door, his ear pressed against it.

Risha approached, intending on giving her brother a peace of her mind. She was just about to speak, when to her surprise, Leorin turned around, signaled for her to be quiet and waved at her to come closer.

"There are people in this room", he whispered, excitedly, as if he was revealing some great secret.

"I heard that one of the King's daughters was sick and couldn't enjoy the party", Risha whispered back. "This must be her room. Anyway, we shouldn't be here, let's go back."

"She doesn't sound sick", Leorin replied. "Listen."

Against her better judgment, Risha found herself intrigued, she put one ear to the door. Two voices, a male and female could be heard on the other side, this is what they said:

"Its almost time for dessert, isn't it?" Said the female voice.

"I believe it is", answered the male voice and burst into laughter. "A toast to your ascendance, princess", it proceeded to say in an almost comically formal tone. "May your reign be long and prosperous."

"Thank you, Lorenzo" the female voice replied. "Its been hard, forcing myself to feign loyalty to the father I despise all these years, but it will all be over with, soon enough.

"Shame about Merees though. After all, she has nothing to do with this."

"Yes, that is a shame. Among all my relatives, she's the only one I retain any genuine feelings of kindness towards. Part of me wishes she could spared, but sadly she has to die with the others. Though I will shed sincere tears over her corpse."

Risha felt her heart beat faster, a mix of fear and excitement mingling in her mind. Somehow, she and her brother had stumbled upon a royal conspiracy, just like in the novels she loved to read. She was just about to tell her brother that they should leave and tell someone about what they had heard, when the door opened and a one-eyed fox, dressed in elegant clothes, stepped out. The two siblings pressed themselves against the wall. Fortunately the fox did not seem to notice them and hurried down the staircase.

Risha and Leorin waited until the fox's footsteps had died away and then sneaked downstairs, as quietly as they could.

"Who should we tell about this?" Leorin asked as they headed back to the dining hall. "The King?"
His sister thought about it for a second and then shook her head.

"No, somehow I doubt that he'd believe us. After all, it seems like this Princess is very close to the King and besides, we have no proof."
"So, what will we do? We have to tell someone."

"Well, Princess Merees is one of the targets, I'll talk to her. Meanwhile, you can talk to dad, since he's one of the kingdom's heroes, maybe the king will listen to him."

"OK."

While Risha and Leorin were gone, Merees had remembered an amusing story, which she felt the need to share with someone. However, everyone else at the table were busy talking to each other and it would be rude to interrupt, so the princess was delighted when her new friend and her brother returned to the dining-hall and sat down at the table.

"You have to hear this...", she began, smiling brightly. Then, she stopped abruptly, as she noticed the serious look on Risha's face.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, sympathetically.

"Princess, there's something I must tell you", the younger girl answered. "Its very important."

"Well, what is it?"

Risha was just about to reveal everything, when she noticed that the fox she had seen coming out from Argath's room was present in the dining hall, he was leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed over his chest and maybe it was Risha's imagination, but she could swear that the fox was looking directly at her. Had he noticed her and Leorin after all? No, he couldn't have, could he?

"Princess, this is really something that needs to be discussed in private."

"Really?" Merees looked surprised. "Well, I can't just leave, not without a good excuse and besides, I need you to come with me."

The Princess tapped her chin, pondering a solution. Then she suddenly reached out and swept her glass off the table, causing it to land in Risha's lap. The glass was still almost full and the stains started to spread over the lynx-girl's dress. Risha looked at her ruined dress in disbelief, then at Merees, who stood up. with a shocked expression on her face.

"How clumsy of me", she said. "I've ruined your dress! Come with me, you can have one of mine!"

Having said that Merees turned to the king and curtsied, Risha followed her example.

"Father, I'm afraid that I've ruined the General's daughter's clothes. Will you excuse us, while I attempt to fix things."

"Very well", said the King. "Just don't take too long; dessert will be served soon."

"We'll be just a second", the princess replied and grabbed Risha's paw. "Come with me."

With that, the two girls left the dining hall, as they walked past the place where the fox stood, Risha couldn't help but take a quick glance at him. Her heart almost got caught in her throat, when he looked back at her and winked slyly.

A Collection of Great Characters

Perhaps the most important part of a work of fiction for me and I'm reasonably sure some of you would agree, is the characters. Now, its of course possible to have a great work of fiction, which relies less on the strength of its cast, than things such as plotting, world-building, etc. For example; I'm a huge fan of the stories written by Jorge Luis Borges, but if you asked me if I had a favorite character from his works, I'd be hard-pressed to think of one. Those are exceptions though, as a rule I find that a cast of well-drawn, engaging characters is the key to a truly great story. With that in mind, I've picked out ten characters that I've found particularly memorable over the years. These aren't all my favorite characters, of course (that would be a way longer list), but they're ones I found particularly worthy of recognition, for a variety of reasons.

Al Swearengen (Deadwood)

If you asked me what my favorite TV-show is, than there's a pretty large chance that I'd answer Deadwood and one of the many things that contributed to the brilliance of this sadly short-lived series, was its cast of characters, one character in particular: Al Swearengen played by Ian McShane. Based on a real life Saloon owner of the same name (though the character's personality and mannerisms are obviously the invention of the show's writers), Swearengen is a man willing to commit any crime, provided that he will profit from it in some way. He's also charming, funny and strangely likable, which probably serves to make him even more dangerous.
As the Deadwood went on, Al transformed into something of an anti-hero, frequently going up against people even worse than him, such as the show's ultimate big bad; George Hearst. However, no matter which label you want to put on the guy, Mr. Swearengen remains one of the finest characters ever to appear on Television.

Ed (Digger)

I'm a fan of characters that start out relatively simple and gradually reveals themselves as deeper and more complex as the plot goes on. Ed from Ursula Vernon's web-comic, Digger, is a great example of this type of character. Introduced early on in the story as a weird hyena that tries (and fails) to eat Digger (the main character), Ed comes of at first as the character who will play the role of comic relief and little beyond that, an impression which his tendency to refer to himself in third person does nothing to help. However, as Digger continues, Vernon starts to reveal more sides to Ed's character; showing him to be both courageous (its he who performs the most heroic act in the comic) as well as surprisingly insightful regarding a variety of topics. Of course, one can't talk about Ed without at least mentioning his back-story. I won't go into too much detail, but suffice to say that its a sad one, containing both abusive relationships and murder. Ed is by far the most purely sympathetic and lovable character I have on this list, I'm pretty sure its impossible to read Digger without wanting to give the poor guy a hug.

George Smiley (George Smiley series)

Who is the greatest secret agent or spy in fiction? A lot of people when asked this question would probably go with James Bond, but for me, another name comes to mind. That name, is George Smiley, the star of several books written by John LeCarré, most notably the trilogy which consists of the following books: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. Now, Smiley has none of the style of 007. Instead, he's a grey, middle-aged man of the kind that you wouldn't look twice at if you saw him on the street, or on the bus. However, he is a far more compelling character than Fleming's super-spy. Discreet, clever and manipulative, Smiley's the kind of guy who'd go into your country, figure out its secrets and you'd never even knew that he was there.
Plus, he's been portrayed by both Alec Guinness and Gary Oldman, which is not something to be sneezed at.

MacBeth (MacBeth)

When I was a kid, my mom took me to see a local performance of MacBeth, it made a huge impression on me and to this day it remains my favorite of the bards' plays and its titular character my favorite Shakespeare character. I'm pretty sure that my affection for villain-protagonists can be traced back to this play. No, MacBeth wasn't my first of these, I was already familiar with the Brain from Pinky and the Brain and Edmund Blackadder, to mention just two examples. However, unlike these two characters, MacBeth's villainy was not played for laughs, something which no doubt contributed to my fascination for the character. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Thane of Cawdor, like most of Shakespeare's creations is an extremely complex character and I never get tired of either reading about, or watching him wrestle with his conflicting emotions, whether its his doubt, his guilt or his ambition.
Hail, MacBeth, king hereafter.

The Nameless One (Planescape: Torment)

If there's a game that proves that games are capable of telling stories just as deep and involving as any other medium, it must be Planescape: Torment, a game which took the hoary old "amnesiac protagonist" cliché and made it interesting. The main character of Planescape wakes up in a morgue, without no idea how he got there or who he is. However, one thing soon becomes clear; he is immortal and so, our "hero" begins his journey through Sigil: City of Doors in order to learn his identity. During his journey he's joined by a variety of characters, some of which he shares history with.
Planescape: Torment is a game that has been rightfully praised for its strong writing, something which is particularly true when it comes to its characters. This game features one of the strongest and most memorable casts to be found in the medium, from a wisecracking floating skull, to a succubus, thorn between her desire to live a life of Good and her nature as a creature of Evil. However, its the Nameless One who is the heart and soul of the game and the developers deserve a lot of credit for making a character whose personality is largely dependent on what choices the player makes, into a deep and intriguing protagonist, regardless of the path he pursues.
What can change the nature of man? I may not know the answer to this question, but I do know that the Nameless One is one of the greatest characters in gaming.

Oscar Francois de Jarjayes (The Rose of Versailles)

I wanted to include at least one female character on this list and so, I thought long and hard which one to choose. Eventually, I decided to go with The Rose of Versailles' Oscar Francois de Jarjayes. From an early age, Oscar was raised as a boy and trained in all manners of manly activities, such as sword-fighting and horseback-riding, which she, of course, does better than any man in France. Of course, being a badass isn't enough to make a great character. Fortunately, Oscar also benefits from a strong, memorable personality, which makes her very easy too root for. As the story moves on, we also see her being thorn between her loyalty towards the crown she has sworn to serve and her increasing sympathy towards the people of France. She is, in short, one of the best heroines to ever appear in a work of fiction.

Pfirsich Rommel (The Desert Peach)

The fictional, homosexual younger brother of Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel, created by Donna Barr. Much like Ed, Pfirsich can, at a first glance, come of as pretty superficial and shallow, the vehicle of cheap jokes. However, he soon reveals himself to be intelligent, brave, compassionate and honorable, while also being a fully rounded and believable character. Possibly my favorite hero in comics.

Philip Marlowe (Philip Marlowe series)

I have a deep affection for the old-school, hard-boiled private-eye and out of all the representatives of this particular archetype, Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe is, by far, the best one. A tarnished knight, Marlowe wanders the mean streets of the city, solving crimes and waxing cynically about the society he inhabits. Anyone who has the least bit of interest in crime and mystery-literature, owe it to themselves to make Mr. Marlowe's acquaintance.

Don Quixote (Don Quixote)

What list of great characters is complete without The Knight of the Mournful Countenance? Don Quixote is certainly an interesting character: On one hand, he's a figure of ridicule; a deluded kook who fancies himself a knight in shining armor. On the other hand, in some ways, Don Quixote really is the knight he imagines himself to be; the wizards and giants he fights might be products of his imagination, but that doesn't really makes the chivalry or courage he displays on his quest any less real. Its easy to laugh at Don Quixote and the mishaps he gets into, but I must admit that there's a part of me that can't help but feel admiration for the man.

Steerpike (Gormenghast)

He has neither magical powers nor dark armies or evil henchmen at his beck and call and yet, Steerpike, the arch-villain of Mervyn Peake's first two Gormenghast novels, is one of the greatest evil-doers to come out of the fantasy-genre. One of the things that make Steerpike so interesting is the fact that its very easy to root for the guy, at least when the first book begins. After all, Steerpike starts out at the lowest rung on the castle's hierarchy ladder, so its understandable that he would want to improve his lot in life. Not to mention that he's both intelligent and charismatic. However, Steerpike actually achieves this goal when doctor Prunesquallor agrees to take him on as his apprentice and it soon becomes clear that Steerpike is only planning to use his new master as a stepping-stone to climb higher and higher.
A consummate actor and manipulator, Steerpike cares for only one thing: Power, but he's quite skilled at making other people believe that he cares about the same thing they do and that he's on their side. He reveals himself as more and more evil as the plot progresses and its a testament to Peake's writing that even when I had reached a point where I just wanted Steerpike to die, I was still fascinated by him and wanted to know what he would do next and that, dear reader, is the sign of a truly great villain.