Merle Silver

[Guest Ivan]

Name

Merle Silver

 

Pic

 

OOC History

Merle comes from the Blue Skies/South Seas project. This is just another way for me to develop the character.

 

Personality

Merle Silver is a methodical maverick- a quiet genius who finds his goals met through the four P's: planning, precision, patience, and persistence. In his youth he was a wild eyed scholar, fascinated by and dedicated to the study of change on even the most microscopic level. Driven to understand all manner of change, he noticed all of the current schools of thought he studied were incomplete. So it was, at the ripe young age of 37 (though he barely looked out of his teens at the time,) Merle Silver founded the discipline of Chemancy. Twelve decades on, Professor Silver is still pursuing his craft, albeit much more subtly than in his glory days. In his time he has been hailed as both a crackpot and a visionary. Though he eschews both labels, his modern humility has done nothing to temper his passion for defining and refining the parameters of parachemistry. For the past fifteen years he has been living in the Guildhouse, working on a third book to complete his trilogy of texts concerning Chemancy. As a hobbyist Merle is an accomplished brewer, and his beers receive almost universal praise from even the staunchest connoisseurs.

 

 

Fictional Character Biography

He was born in 1888 on a tiny, colonially occupied island in the South Pacific; the illegitimate son of legendary banker-turned-pirate Jeremiah "Church" Morgan and Angelica Silver- an heiress and balloon enthusiast. With the financial backing of first his mother and later his father, Merle was able to attend any school in the Empire, and spent a good deal of time traveling between various universities. After experiencing the ravages of the First World War while studying in Prague, Merle retreated to the South Seas where he began developing the nascent theories that would eventually become the backbone of Chemancy. World War II came soon enough to the South Pacific, and Merle moved himself and his mother to Khazan, where he first encountered representatives from the Guild. His mother returned to the South Seas in the mid 1950's, to live out her days with Church Morgan's first mate. For several decades Merle traveled the world, perfecting Chemancy to the point where the magical world, (ever slow to accept change,) began to accept it as a legitimate and unique discipline, and not merely a branch of Alchemy as had been previously suggested. In 1994 he was offered a private research grant by the Shallow Guild and invited to live at the Guildhouse full time. He has been there ever since.

 

The Quick & Dirty Description

Merle is the progenitor and preeminent practitioner of the radically misunderstood art of Chemancy. He is a genius chemical engineer, an expert in potions, and a careful planner. He is an artisan and craftsman, with a knack for imbuing mundane objects with extranormal properties. He also loves to fly and claims to have invented the perfect parachute.

 

Powers and Abilities

Chemancy is the ability to effect change in an object or substance through a combination of proper preparation and sheer force of will. Chemancy in and of itself is a frustrating, tedious, and often fruitless art, and it is only when combined with years of diligent study, hours of meticulous preparation, unbending focus, and clarity of vision that it reaches its truly fearsome potential. Merle, through a literal century of study of various other disciplines (including Chemistry, Bio-Chemistry, Alchemy, Physics, and Thaumaturgy) is still the unabashed expert and most prominent pioneer in the field. Unlike the majority of his contemporaries, Merle views magic and science as interwoven dialogues, inextricably linked and co-dependent. This is reflected in his both of seminal works on the subject: Parachemistry- Channeling Electron Transference and the ever popular Alchemy Exposed- Transmutation by Second Order Reaction. As Merle's power relies heavily on preparation, he is fairly ineffective in most direct combat. Given time, however, he is capable of mounting a formidable defense. Through some unknown means- be it magical, chemical, or natural- Merle ages about half as slow as a typical human. He was born in the late 1800's, and yet he appears to be in his late fifties.

 

Equipment

Merle maintains a rather large, well stocked laboratory within the Guildhouse, spending his days writing and researching in relative peace, occasionally producing oddball potions at the request of the Guild to earn his keep. The ceiling in his room is enchanted to mimic the "magic hour" sunsets of the South Pacific (when it is "on,") a clue as to why he tends to lose track of time easily when working. Merle's choice of transportation is a mercurial (some would say stubborn) hot air balloon which he keeps moored near the Guildhouse Stables. The Balloon is heavily enchanted and- when in flight- it cannot be detected through purely conventional or purely supernatural means, although Gate has proven to be able to sense its approximate location. On those rare occasions when he leaves the Guild grounds Merle typically carries a custom sidearm that can fire metal slugs and/or electrical charges. His marksmanship leaves something to be desired. When traveling any serious distance he carries a flask filled with whiskey, a white cotton handkerchief, and wears orthopedic shoes.

[Guest ThePoet]

Well, I seem to be in a reviewing mood as of late, so I'll try Tarv's system with the ten elements. Also, I'll be reviewing Brag, Nico, and Merle as a collective since they do or will tie into the same storyline.

 

Entertainment: 7

Basically these three stories were like a candy bar. They were good, decently tasty, but ultimately not enough. I really wanted more. It's like your parents making you go to sleep when the sun is still out, I just felt gipped.

 

Originality: 6

I honestly expected more from you Ivan, but these are pretty stereotypical. An immortal royal person of some kind. You did get points for using a goblin. A maverick genius studying forbidden arts and a severely traumatized girl who somehow got some magical powers. Pretty generic and there's nothing yet that separates these characters from similar ones I've seen elsewhere in literature. This score could definitely go up. If you're going to write a fic or have already done one and I've missed it, this score could easily hit 8 or 9.

 

Fluency: 7

Again just above average. Maybe my view is skewed by my lack of understanding a goblin dialect and mannerism, but I had a tough time reading Brag. As for the other two, they did do better than Brag, but they still got a bit muddled in parts.

 

Plot: 8

I might be overly generous here, but you've set up a good foundation of characters. A huge part of plot for me is solid characters. Other's might judge differently and they have every right to, but I've already got a sense of plot from the characters and there hasn't even been a major, present day event yet.

 

Characterization: 9

Not perfect, but who is. On their own, these characters would have gotten 7s, maybe an 8. But the cross-referencing in Nico's sheet raised it. She'll attack Brag on site, interesting tidbit. Silver has sympathy for her, but is it genuine sympathy or him wanting to research? A bit of mystery there that I liked.

 

Distinction of Voice: 8

Brag was excellent. The score of ten was right on from Tarv. Nico and Merle didn't do it for me. I realize they didn't talk, but even a third-person's diction should give some insight into the character. This third-person was too generic to give much distinction. I or a number of others could imitate rather easily.

 

Descriptions: 7

What you have is good, but see the comments in the entertainment section. I could use a lot more and I know you'll deliver.

 

Enhancers: I'm still trying to grasp how to grade these, so I'll skip the category.

 

Grammar: 10

I wasn't looking for anything, but I didn't find anything in the run of reading things. For that you get a ten. This score could drop if I find something.

 

Theme: Too early to grade a theme, so I'll leave this category as well.

 

Overall: 62/80

77.5%

 

Not bad, considering a number of scores could be raised by simply adding more quality writing.

 

A couple notes: I've never been reviewed by Tarv. I feel very left out.

Grano, you asked me about reviewing the Eyes, I'll try to hit it after lunch. No guarantees.

 

-ThePoet

[TroytheRobot]

I reviewed Andrew Crenshaw for you poet. I'll do another review for you if you like.

 

Enhancers: I'm still trying to grasp how to grade these, so I'll skip the category.

 

-The enhancers category was a section I created to determine how well the writer used literary devices (metaphors, similies, foreshadowing, symbolism, flashbacks, plot twists. etc. etc.) in order to enhance the quality of the story. I usually grade it based on how effective the writer used those "enhancers", and how well they fit in correlation with the rest of the story/character. Hope this answers your question.

 

 

I'm honored that one with your reviewing caliber would use my system. Thanks.

[Guest ThePoet]

Upon further examination, you did review for me Tarv. I apologize for forgetting. If you feel moved to review something for me, go ahead. No pressure either way. Also, thanks for the Enhancements clarification. Those conventions involve too much delving for my current state of mind. The current state is struggling to stay awake after ODing on Boston Market for lunch.

 

-ThePoet

[Guest Ivan]

Very cool. Thank you, ThePoet.

 

As I've said before the three characters were designed to be used as reference material more than entertainment, so the fact that I'm still able to wrangle a passing grade is pretty awesome. Merle and Nico were designed for somewhat utilitarian story functions, to provide color to the Guildhouse and help populate it. Brag, while I do have stories to tell with him, isn't a mainstay, but I threw him in first to help fill the pot. These three, along with Gate, Tchuuu and Samas are a good start for the Guild, and the idea is to create a certain atmosphere that makes people want to write stories.