2017-10-18 21:29
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description
<p>The Shrike isn't a popular bird, and it's not hard to understand why. It does not sing in the traditional sense, only capable of a rhythmic form of screaming instead; from this comes the English name of 'shrike', a mutation of 'shriek'. It does not hunt within its means like the usual bird of prey, instead choosing to catch and impale prey, often while they're still alive, and larder them to eat later. When it needs to feed, it bears down on the wooded spit, using it as leverage to rip its unfortunate victim to shreads, and that informs its latin name, Laniidae, which translates approximately to 'butcher'. Where similarly revolting birds can take solace in good PR, vultures make great moms and tend to eat things that are already dead in a relatively humane manner, the Shrike struggles to find any redeeming qualities.</p> <p>Yet, it hails is from the superfamily of Corvoidea, home of the most astonishingly intelligent and curious birds that Aves has to offer. It is an iconic branch, and if you were to quiz the average person on birds, they'd stumble on most of its chief members in no time at all. The hauntingly beautiful Raven, the colorful and melodic host of Jays, and the eponymous Corvus crow are all likely candidates, and the more astute or metaphorically inclined may even bring up the Magpie or the Rook. Fair few would bother to bring up the Shrike, if they knew of it at all.</p> <p>The protagonist has had few hobbies, but among them was a stint in bird-watching. He treasured the time dearly, no matter how brief, and as a habit he began to name his videogame characters after the birds he had seen, taking advantage of his priority access to a number of new MMO to lock down high-demand names; he'd take Hawk, Falcon, or Dove, it became something of a habit even as his memory of the birds he'd seen began to fade. A nice, short, numberless username was also something of a status symbol, and given his unique situation, he had nothing but free time- more than a few games saw "Raven" or "Eagle" demolish their leaderboards and dominate their arenas.</p> <p>Great Crusade Online, the biggest game of the decade, caught him (and everyone else) by total surprise. It didn't try to curry favor with his family by sending him a copy, let alone the necessary equipment to play it. It was announced only a few weeks before release, and that meant he had no advance warning save up and buy it the good old-fashioned way. G.C.O. was heralded as the greatest videogame ever in decades before it even hit the shelves, and when it arrived, it swept in like a tsunami, obliterating the market and making a new one in its image. It was a cultural phenomenon and he was thoroughly missing out.</p> <p>It took some creative corner cutting and a few months of hard worj, but finally, his "pod" was finally ready for its maiden voyage. It booted, the login was clean, and the game ran perfectly- but what about his name? He was late to the game, and even if people were moving from traditional screen names to something a bit more roleplaying-oriented, all of the obvious birds were liable to be taken. He crawled his memory for something a bit less on-the-nose, and for the first time in years, his thoughts wandered to a certain little bird.</p> <p>"How about 'Shrike'? Wait, what do you mean that's my Race!? Let me pick a different name! Advanced AI, my ass!"</p> <p>...so much for 'smooth sailing'.</p> <p>G.C.O.</p> <p>﹏﹏﹏</p> <p>Of no relation to either The Great Crusade or the recent Shrike book for Warhammer by Games Workshop. All similarities in these cases are superficial; please don't sue me. Feedback welcome and encouraged, never be afraid to review or comment.</p> <p>Should all go well, Shrike will span the past, present, and future of RPGs, explore the nature and implications of a fantastical VR game and how it might affect the real world, and deliver a mixture of high-octane fights and interesting, relateable characters. It's a lot to shoot for, but if I do it right? It should be something unique even within the fairly saturated field of VRMMO stories. Wish me luck, I'll need it.</p> <p>HQ/Kindle-Grade cover art. Book Cover 1.0: "Thorns"</p>
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