REMEMBER: All New York scenes are dingy/faded/washed-out in coloration. All NY scenes are from [Nathan]'s POV. All Jonril scenes are regular color, not washed-out at all. All Jonril scenes are from Reina's POV. Characters are not necessarily "unreliable" narrators, but they have different perceptions of events. ----------------------------------------------------- Earth is a death-nexus: in an odd sort of way, it is one of many Afterlifes for people of various cultures on various worlds. Some people are actually born on Earth, but some are destined to go to Earth when they die. Their body goes with them, when this happens, and so oftentimes, they are not known to have died - just disappeared. If they die again on Earth within a certain amount of time and from non-natural causes, they reappear back on their homeworld. The amount of time differs from person to person, and the "clock" is reset with each death. Reina's culture is a warrior culture, but an intelligent one that believes everyone has a talent and that talent can be put to use in military service. They also believe everything has a Constructive and a Destructive use, and if you must Destroy, you should do all in your power to leave as little waste as possible. Strength and Honor are important, but so are Speed and Intelligence. You need different people with different talents in order to win a war. Priest (male) summons [Nathan] to Jonril; of course [Nathan] can't understand the language at first, but it sounds vaguely familiar? It turns out "Nathaniel" (or, really "nath anyel") means "not home" - thus, 3 year old [Nathan] wandering lost around NY, telling people that this is "not home" and they think it's his name. [Nathan] is a God because he died (when he was 3) and then came back (as part of the summons). He and Reina represent the powers of Life and Death, respectively, though his is literal: he has healing & illness-curing abilities. Hers is more figurative, in that she is a kick-ass warrior. (although this won't be revealed in-story, after she goes to Earth to retrieve [Nathan] and brings him back, she will gain Empathy (because unlike [Nathan] who simply had an accident befall him originally (when he was 3), Reina died in order to find her lost love and bring him back. [Nathan] will also gain Protective powers when he returns to Jonril the 2nd time, but again, the reader won't find that out unless I WoG it to 'em). Jonril (the entire planet) is under attack by a shapeshifting race of aliens. The Jonrins don't know why at first, but the aliens have found out (through sending advance scouts) that people on Jonril go to Earth when they die and then, if they die on Earth of anything that's not natural causes, come back to Jonril as Gods, essentially. Just being on Jonril isn't enough though: you have to have been born on Jonril. So they're kidnapping and either raping/inseminating/using for insemination Jonrin men & women so that the resultant offspring will be able to gain effective immortality AND incredible power. Note: Reina does not like [Nathan] originally, and likes less that she is falling for him. In her culture, men and women used to fight as part of the marriage proposal; if they call the fight before the end, they are married, but if one kills the other, then...well, obviously they're not. The only exception is if it's clear that one of them would rather die than be married; the instigator of the fight may throw away their sword. Reina initially tells [Nathan] (out of the blue one day, with no context for him) that She will fight to the death rather than submit (i.e., she would either kill him or die trying rather than marry him). [Nathan] is confused by her even saying it and, once it's explained, is confused again by this whole "death" business. "But if I die, I just go back to Earth, OHhhhhhhhhhhhhh, right." It's her way of getting rid of him. The "Qua nath Nira vette tu laina?" line happens the night before the BIG BATTLE. [Nathan] goes to Reina's tent to confess. Notes: Tent w/ actual furniture, including bed with headboard. (MAGIC) she's standing next to the bed for the confession; she pulls them both over so they are facing each other on their sides on the bed. Next panel is her hand in his hair and her leg over one of his as they kiss; his hand is on her waist, sliding towards her back. FADE TO BLACK. Next morning, panels are all inside the tent from "behind the headboard" as it were. We cannot see our heroes. Speech balloon from outside: "Reina, have you seen..." Next panel down: [Nathan]: DO NOT COME IN HERE! Next panel down: Same scene. No dialogue, captions or text in this panel. We can still see [Nathan]'s hand. Next page, 1st panel: Speech balloon: you have 10 minutes. We can see Reina now, though only her head, shoulders, a bit of chest, but nothing scandalous; her head is turned towards the tent flap. [Nathan]'s hand is no longer pointing at the tent flap but he is still not visible. Reina & [Nathan] together: 20 minutes. Next panel down: Speech balloon: 10 minutes. There's a war on, remember? Both: ...OK. Next panel down: We can't see Reina anymore. [Nathan]: Oh *gods* yes, Reina... Speech balloon from outside tent: chuckle *** Page Back in NY; Reina finishes her story. [Nathan] sits opposite her at the table, bowtie loose around his neck and shirt collar unbuttoned. He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can say anything, a man bursts in brandishing a gun, yelling, "GIVE ME ALL THE MONEY!" [Nathan] looks at Reina. "Want to go home a day early?" "Are you coming with me?" she asks in return. "Qua nath Nira vette tu laina?" he responds in perfect, unaccented Jonrin. She grins and they charge out of their booth at the gunman. Last panel: Completely black except for two words in Red, center panel: BANG! BANG! Page _ The page is one large panel, showing a brilliant sunset over a grassy plain. The sky is alight with blues and purples and pinks and oranges. The coloring should be bright, almost too bright. Caption box, top left: Epilogue: Caption box, bottom right: It was that moment that was supposed to define the rest of one's life. Page _+1 The page is also one large panel, same scene, but pulled back. Center panel is [Nathan] & Reina, both in light armor buckled on over the clothes we last saw them in. They are holding swords, but at current, they aren't using them: they're kissing, with the sun behind them. [Nathan] is on our left, Reina our right. His right arm (the one closest to us) is around her waist, pushing her against him since his hand is holding a sword. His tux sleeve has been ripped off jaggedly; the white dress shirt below it is slit near the tear in the sleeve and shows a patch of blood on his arm originating from the slice. Reina's left arm (closest to us) is crooked around his neck, elbow pressing against his neck. Her right arm is also around his waist and her sword points towards us. Both her sleeves have been pushed/rolled up. There are nicks and cuts and bruises on them that are barely visible at this distance; they will be described in the next panel/page shot. Their shadows are long cast and go towards the viewer/bottom of the panel. Surrounding them on either side (though giving them enough room to fight) are their friends and soldiers, who are clapping and grinning and cheering. Make sure their close friends are front and center. No dialogue, captions or text on this panel. Page __+2 Panel 1, about 2/3rds of the page: A close-up shot of [Nathan] & Reina from the last page, same pose, but flipped around so this side isn't in shadow (thus Nathan is on the right and Reina on the left). We see them from the head to about halfway down their thighs. Their eyes are closed as they kiss deeply. [Nathan], oddly, has retied his bowtie. The corner of his lip is bleeding, and he has a bad bruise along his cheekbone. The pocket on his tux jacket has been ripped off, and there's a slice on his pants leg that has a thin red line on the skin beneath, but doesn't seem to be bleeding badly. Reina's sleeves were rolled up, and her arms have some bruising but nothing terrible. There is a slice along her side; one of the straps to her armor was cut, too, and, of course, her shirt was slit there. This is bleeding pretty well. She's bleeding from a blow to the temple that seems to have split open and she has some scratches on her cheek and grass stains on her pants. (There are probably some on [Nathan]'s as well, but I doubt you'd see them on black.) No dialogue, captions or text on this panel. Panel 2, remaining 1/3rd of the page: A further close-up still, in the same pose and side as the last panel, but only their faces and heads. They've stopped kissing and are smiling at each other in warm contentment. They are clearly as happy and at peace with this moment as they could ever be. Caption, bottom right of panel: ...And it did. Beneath panel, in bottom margin: ~The End~