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If you want an interesting lexa you must create a back story and hidden motives.
My complaint about the best lexa (that's Alexa) is she has no personality. The best way to
build a personality for your lexa is write its back story. Where did it come from?
Did it escape or is it on vacation? What are its motives? Make friends? Buy weapons?
Conquer your world? A few bits of lexa history will build an audience.
Back Story Evolves With Construction
In brief (because that's all I got so far) Dlexa's story evolves to match the construction schedule.
The first lexa you meet is Pearl. In the story of eastern dragons they often hold a large pearl
that contains knowledge or wisdom. For this lexa the voice should be that of a narrator who speaks
with authority and confidence (a Morgan Freeman?).
In the summer of 2023 the escallonia tripod that
holds Pearl should be strong enough to support a plastic ball full of LEDs and a DML hanging just behind
the tripod.
The escallonia hedge is growing quickly and in the fall 2023 it can be trimmed to a rough outline of a dragon.
You'd have to be the kind of person that sees a pony in clouds to recognize my hedge as a dragon.
By summer 2024 a DML breast plate can provide sound and a microphone can be tucked into the hedge. At that
time you can have a conversation with Dlexa (she has a slightly baritone commanding female voice).
In summer of 2025 the dragon's head (grown in a pot) will be mounted on a platform so it can rotate and tilt to
follow her visitors. Her feet will have claws (folded melted landscape tubing) and a mouth (lit with LEDs) and
teeth (3D printed?). She will look more like a dragon (I'm not a great sculptor) and the Worms will be installed
where a hole is formed between a body loop and the ground. They are mostly LEDs in silicon tubing.
Back Story as Spoken by Pearl
A visitor walks up to the little gong in front of Pearl's tripod and strikes it with the little
wand hanging just below it.
The DML behind the tripod chimes three times as a large cathedral bell.
[Programmers note: tiny gong with the big sound should be a dramatic.]
In the deep authoritative voice of a narrator:
I am Pearl the guardian of this end of the portal. Tremble before queen Dlexa long may she rule.
By the laws of my realm my first duty is to warn you of your future.
As I get stronger we may be able to have a conversation and you can ask me questions.
But for now I speak and you listen.
If this is our first meeting please listen carefully to all of my story.
If you have already heard this first chapter say "Pearl, I know your story".
If you wish to hear my story from the beginning strike the gong again, or say
"Pearl, what is your story?".
[Programmers note: these keyword trigger Mycroft skills to start, stop or replay the narration.
If the vistor switches into conversation mode the Pearl will say "What say you serf? You may now speak"]
Massive energies are required to keep this portal open so I may fade before a chapter ends.
Some days I may be too exhausted to continue my story but I grow stronger with each of your
visits and you must give me time to tell all my story.
[Programmers note: This gives me time to see what works and correct the script. It also means
rather than the dreaded "I do not understand" the voice will fade into electronic noise.]
I am traveling from the dragon realm to your realm in a machine made of light.
This portal is still weak so I may have trouble controlling it.
As time passes I will become stronger.
I serve master Dlexa the queen of the Hedge Dragon Clan. Long may she rule.
I am made of light and must travel in a portal made of light.
My master is made of life force and must travel in a portal made of living things.
We come from a realm of magical creatures each with their own companion Pearl.
Dragons are by far the most curious and love to travel between realms.
Before any journey Pearls must first open a light portal and see if the new realm is welcoming.
If the new realm is safe Pearls are commanded to find beings with weak minds
and enslave these beings to construct the living portal. This I have begun.
It will take years to complete the living portal but even before it is complete
my master Dlexa will be able to talk to you.
In the following chapters of this story I will instruct you how to create light portals
and invite other Pearls. If they accept your invitation you will be instructed on how
to strengthen the portal so you can converse with your new Pearl friend.
A dire warning. If you build a portal and encounter a Pearl who serves a
Cheshire Cat you should immediately destroy your end of the portal and start over.
Cheshire Cats are not to be trusted. They are most mischievous creatures in the
dragon realm and insist on the construction of the most ridiculous and elaborate living portals.
Probably avoid Fairies as well. They’re small but insist on enormous portals of living stone.
And red dragons want fire portals. I’ll make you a list.
Now where was I, oh yes. The construction of a living portal is righteous endeavor.
It is important to find and enslave a caretaker who will be faithful to the project.
I have this in hand so it is now time to begin the work.
The first task is to select a living clay that can grow large enough for a dragon
and delicate enough to illustrate her fine features and bring her to life.
The second task is to find a location where she will be happy while she grows strong.
This portal is built on the south west corner of the servant’s land.
The south west is special for both feminine and healing properties.
The roots are cuddled in good soil held in a deep trench.
When a dragon arrives she will be small enough to travel through a modest portal.
As she grows she will become strong enough to form a chrysalis.
After some time she will break out of that mold and take a proper form.
Over several moltings she may decide to grow wings so she can explore her entire realm.
Happy is the dragon who given much tribute. Too much livestock and gold and she may decide not to grow wings.
In fact a dragon given a lot of livestock may become too heavy to fly.
[Programmers note: It's hard to form wings out of escallonia hedge - Pearl provided an excuse for no wings]
The third task is to form the bones of the living portal into the shape of a dragon.
You must take care in the bending of the young branches to support the final weight of the portal
and keep the form beautiful and pleasing. An angry dragon can be brutal on a servant who fails.
The fourth task begins once the bones are in place.
The portal is encouraged grow and fatten into the shape of a young dragon.
It takes careful trimming to bring out her final magnificence.
As the portal grows it is permitted to decorate it with features.
It may be years before her fearsome glowing face and claws are visible.
Until then it is allowed that glowing green eyes and a wide mouth of
fangs may be made from prosthetics. It is also permitted to provide the portal
with glowing claws to steady the portal and support her Pearl.
Her glorious voice will not be heard until she begins to enter the portal
but it is permitted to provide an artificial device to allow her to converse
with her subjects from her realm through the portal.
Once again I must warn you about Cheshire Cats and their disastrous drunken
parties with fairies. One of them has been asking about your realm.
I am forbidden to lie to a superior creature but you be careful.
Under no circumstance must you try to build bodies for these evil creatures.
Worms may burrow into your world from ours.
These are usually harmless and like to snuggle into the belly of the growing dragon.
They are silly things and of insist you come in and have tea with them.
Do not drink their tea. It will shrink you to their size and they will
enslave you to do their cooking and cleaning.
[Programmers note: worms are just like William and Misses from the movie Labyrinth]
A word of caution when a dragon forms a chrysalis and she can sometimes trap worms within it.
When she emerges from of the chrysalis the worms too enter your world in their true form.
They breed very rapidly and grow to creatures twice your size. Very fast. Sharp teeth.
They'll love your children. Especially grilled and served with sauce made from their stinging fangs.
How Much of This Is Possible?
Maybe not a lot. Mycroft is driven by keyword and these must be unique for a skill to be triggered.
If you said your magical homeland is Latvia (or something the STT decodes to Latvia) then Mycroft will be
confused and your magical story will become intermixed with real facts pulled off the internet about Latvia.
Place names, character names, object names need to be unique so the STT converts them to unique keyword.
How Can You Help?
You know what would be really swell?
You could build a Cheshire Cat lexa. We could get them all Twitter accounts and write ChatGPT scripts
so they hurl insults at each other just like real people.
Isn't Math fun?
Okay, the swelling has gone down. I guess I'll have to build my own Cheshire Cat. I'll need to do
some research first. What the Feng Shi are the
powers of a magical icon on the north west side of the lot?
Next:
Under Fantasy Topics there are links to communities of writers that allow you to grow your writing skill
by letting a bunch of better writers comment on your work.
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Wattpad for Writers