Tag Archives: Bardulf

Jasmine Story – Snippet 16

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A continuation of The Jasmine Story notes:

Event Cards

The great continent of the Mid-Realm has long heard the battle cries raised between the forces of good and evil.

The evil sorceress, Melantha, has conjured a terrifying demon force against anyone who would oppose her.

The dark prince, Bardulf relies greatly on the ability of his spies and assassins to secure his position, while the Ice king,Thorgall, rallies his mighty troops to fight for victory.

As a champion of good, Jasmine has united her allies to keep the Mid-Realm free. The varying strengths and weaknesses of the four factions make them evenly matched and deadly foes as the balance of power in the Mid-Realm teeters on the brink of war.

Thus the characters from The Story of Jasmine fantasy adventure (last published in The Dragon Magazine), continue to interact with each other in a product of beauty, excitement and suspense.

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Now that I type this, I realize this was one of the first snippets outlining the card game I developed based upon The Story of Jasmine.

As I developed the card game, the details of the story continued through the cards.

More about the Jasmine: The Battle For The Mid-Realm card game.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Story – Snippet 10

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Bardulf-Thaatur “Axewolf of the Darkness”

Bardulf is the main vilan of the story, at least at the very beginning.

Through treachery and a touch of magic, the dark prince used the mysterious Ring of Emeth to bewitch UR’s princess, whose proud beauty fascinates him. By placing the ring on her finger, she immediately fell under his spell. Intending to marry UR’s princess himself, he planned to secure the rich kingdom of UR for himself, With ambitions to conquer the whole of the Mid-Realm, the subduing of UR through political marriage was only his first step towards this goal.

Although he lost the princess due to the incompetence of his soldiers, he knows the loss is only temporary. He can always find her with help from the ring of Emeth. A dragon-lizard named Gryth is attracted to the ring. Through the dragon-lizard’s connection, he is able to “watch” Jasmine’s progress from afar. Jasmine cannot remove the ring. In the meanwhile, Bardulf pretends to the King of UR, pretends that the princess is in his stronghold, and that she has already consented to be his Queen.

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I would have said that the above text is also from Installment 13. But after comparing it with the actual panel (below), I find that it is not. There is more and better information in my notes. I think space limitations caused me to abbreviate the ideas stated above.

This is the text accompanying Bardulf’s illustration. It’s from the 1st panel of Installment 13.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Story – Snippet 6

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The Story of Jasmine notes continue:

Heta was a key player in the battle against evil. It was with her help that Erlkyng initially won the first Battle for the Mid-Realm. She was Erlkyng’s base of support — they both knew it. Giving birth to Arial’s physical form took Erlkyng’s life. But it also took Heta’s youth. Thus, in one sweeping moment, Heta is at once virgin, mother, and crone. In her crone state, she accompanies Arial as her guardian, Ermengarde.*

Although much more delicate, Arial took on Heta’s features and appearance during her physical transformation. Therefore, the child of Arial and the King of UR also resembled Heta. During Arial’s pregnancy, when Arial needed strength to sustain her physical form, Heta asked the members of her Order for their life force energy. Understanding well the future of the Mid-Realm was at stake, they agreed to the sacrifice.

When the child is born, she holds the collective life force of the whole Order of the White Flower. Upon the birth of the child, Arial’s form dissipates. Heta, now as Ermengarde, becomes the child’s devoted nursemaid and guardian. Through songs, music and poetry, Ermengarde always encourages the development of the young princess’ wild, rebellious wind spirit.

At the point in the story when Ermengarde and Princess Arlet** flee together on horseback to escape from Bardulf’s ambush, they race towards the grove where the magic was initially performed sixteen years previous. A stray arrow pierces Ermengarde who pushes the princess into a mass of braided vines covering the mouth of the Crystal Caverns. The wall of jasmine vines give way and protect the young princess from the fall, as seemingly she’s swallowed by the earth. The jasmine flower*** wall springs back and blooms to congeal the entrance to the crystal cave.

Dying, Heta calls out to Arial to give Glynn a boon to protect “Jasmine” on the quest she must undertake. Then Heta turns into stone, becoming a guardian of the crystal cave’s entrance. Upon taking her stone statue form, she resumes her youthful beauty. (Also, Glynn will know Jasmine by her resemblance to Heta.)

When the pursuers find Heta’s stone form, they mistake her for the princess and become fearful of the magic of that place, lest they be turned to stone as well. But Bardulf is no stranger to magic and is not afraid. When Bardulf locates the place and inspects the statue, he notes there is no ring upon its finger. With his sword, he cuts away the wall of vines and discovers the entrance to the crystal caverns.

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*Ermengarde or Ermengard or Irmingard or Irmgard is a feminine given name of German origin derived from the German words “ermen/irmin,” meaning “whole, universal” and “gard” meaning “enclosure, protection.” Thus her name means to protect the whole.

**Princess Arlet is, apparently, one of the names I assigned to the Princess of UR before she becomes Jasmine. The Princess Flavia de UR seems to be another name I used for her.

*** The jasmine flower is associated with love. Jasmine also symbolizes beauty and sensuality. In some cultures, Jasmine represents appreciation and good luck. When used in religious ceremonies jasmine represents purity. The meaning of Jasmine varies depending on the culture and setting.

© 2018 DARLENE