Tag: fantasy

In Transit: Free Writing Time!

Hello airport. Hello internet. I’d like to say it’s been too long, but…

I sit here in Toronto staring out at the tiny people on the tarmac, as they rush around like ants trying desperately to keep the machine that is the airport well oiled and moving. It is here that I finally realise I have a few hours, might as well write something.

It has been awhile since I blogged, or written for that matter, and it feels good to pound on this keyboard of the thousand dollar machine I had hoped would help me write more often and be more organised. I had brought it along for this entire two week trip, and I turned it on for roughly ten minutes at my mother’s house to show her how cool technology is. Now though, I am excited about one fact and one fact alone. Forced writing time.

When I was visiting my best friend in Edmonton, we came to the conclusion we are both absolutely terrible at finishing things. Even if we do, we move on as if we ran it over in a Ferrari. I finished my novel and my lovely girlfriend is still working on the edit. I started the second book, but have finished a single chapter. I have probably planned more of book three than of book two. This aside, he and I discussed the very problem we have and came to a conclusion: We have a problem and we need to fix it. Then we went our separate ways. Now I am emailing him almost every second day bouncing ideas off him and stirring his creative pot. The problem is even with my trilogy a third of the way to completion, I have begun building a new world around the collection of all of my ideas. Not one. Not two. But all!

The concept had come to me awhile ago when I began to get fed up with coming up with new ideas. New stories would present themselves, new characters would interrupt dialogue and new worlds would stand at the end of a pier waiting to be explored. Now, to counteract this rampant idea generation, I’ve begun changing my science fiction ideas into a fantasy setting. I have intertwined stories into lore. Characters have begun interacting with each other instead of existing in totally separate worlds. Now I have a world that gets richer every time I have a new idea. Not only that, but I have managed to tie it into my current trilogy. What this means however, is despite the world being similar to ours, now it is becoming a monster in its own right. Jefferson and crew are now building lore into the world that has apparently been brewing in my head for years. It finally feels like everything is coming home.

Jefferson and the Magician’s Curse will happen centuries before the story I will set in the created world. This has lead me to consider abandoning Jefferson (for now) in the hope that I can use the points I am aware of now to build the lore for the new world. Jefferson and Gabriel will live on as some of the first magic users (especially powerful ones) which opened up the doors for cults, schools, and the whole basis for magic in the future. Not only this but there are ramifications from their actions that still reverberate centuries later, without people realising it. Also the way that magic works in my world has distinct consequences in the Jefferson trilogy that will be branched out upon as newer forms of magic and different schools come into light. In case you didn’t notice, I’m a bit excited!

I often wonder how long it took to build consistent worlds like those experienced in Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and how long I should work on my own before writing the story in it. I suppose as with anything it will be finished when it is finished, much to my dismay. For the meantime, I will get back into it so that I can smash that NaNoWriMo target. I am unsure as to which story to contribute to or which lore to write exactly. Something tells me if I start working on that world, fifty thousand words will be achieved within the time frame. The thing will be, forcing myself to make the time.

Until next time lovely ladies and gents! Happy writing!

Also touch base guys! Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? What are you working on? Are you in the same boat as me? Anyone want to get back in touch for some writing updates!? I did enjoy keeping up with those of you who were interested! Talk to you soon!

Sharing Is Caring

Well, I’ve got a much more interesting following than I did a mere week ago. Now what to do with you… hmm?

Perhaps I could stalk all of your NaNoWriMo posts and post your word counts… MWA HA HA, no no… too evil!

Or you could volunteer your information, and I could dedicate a post to you fine ladies and gents beyond the typing glass! That’s entirely up to you, let me know if you’d be okay with that and I may have a weekly monday post that tosses out the previous week’s wins! This would also allow you guys to see who else is following along here as well as how they’re doing so you can offer them support just as I have you! That’s my hope, anyone seen that movie called… umm, what was it? Pay It Forward! That’s it! Well if you liked how you felt when some random guy swung by and tossed you a follow, or a like, or even a fabled comment; I ask of you to pay it forward and offer one of the struggling NaNoWriMo Writers your support so they can know, we’ve got their back too! If you guys would like me to post the title of your story or even a link to your NaNoWriMo page, let me know! I’m willing to go all out!

So I will be the first one to share my story with you… I always struggle to tell people what my story is about because it has been inspired by a number of things. Currently I am up to the eighty five thousand mark of the first edit for my novel, Jefferson And The Magician’s Curse. The lovely cover at the top right was made for me by a young lady who was offering free covers last year by the name of Fena Lee. She did a fantastic job and is actually part of the reason I pushed on. You see, she listened and made me the exact image that I had in mind for my cover and in taking that time she inspired me to be sure I finished the story. I told her that I would use her cover and I think even if I am heading out to get published, I may see if I can use that design as it is important to me.

Would you like to hear some details of the story? You would? I was hoping you’d say that! *Wink*Wink*

***

Magicians and circuses, orphanages and escapes; these are the obsessions of one young boy. As Jefferson the orphan escapes to the circus, he finds his obsession with illusions runs deeper than he ever imagined. Leaving the abusive carers he’d been entrusted to, he embarks on a journey of self discovery and lessons under Gabriel The Great. As they travel, Jefferson learns that most illusionists are part of a secret society of good magicians who protect the world from the forbidden arts.

The forbidden arts are guided carefully in the world by warlocks, evil magicians hell bent on destruction and power. The forbidden arts come with a price. Casting magic normally draws upon the caster’s own energy and spirit, thus limiting the type and strength of the spell cast. Yet the warlocks have the ability to channel the energy of others, through themselves, for greater spell power and destruction. Casting these spells links the caster mentally and spiritually with their victim for eternity, causing most warlocks to hear many voices and leading them into the depths of insanity. Their heart taints black with the Magician’s Curse, the veins blackening outward from over use of the forbidden magic.

Luckily for Jefferson, these magics are nearly forgotten… Unlucky for him, shadows move in the darkness and the forbidden arts begin to rise up, threatening the weakened societies of magicians and the world itself. Will Jefferson fall to the allure of power from the forbidden arts, or will his master’s teachings be enough to guide him through these dark times and into times of peace? As his destiny balances on the edge of a knife, two secret societies and the world await to see who will be victorious… and who will perish.

***

Okay, hopefully that sounds good. It does to me, but I am virtually sleep deprived and worked through… so it could be the equivalent of the song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and I might not even notice. Strangely enough though, I spelled that right on the first try. Good to know where my brain’s priorities are! I should be able to edit the final fifteen thousand words in the next week or so, but I also have to puppy proof my house. We get our pups (A Dachshund and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) around the seventh of December if all goes well, and here’s to hoping it does! But before that I need to completely destroy and rebuild the back garden and go all “Better Homes and Gardens” on its sorry excuse for a planter and install a raised veggie patch complete with a tiny peeing area for new pups. Should be fun! By the way, I’m a nerd and not handy in the slightest… so, does anyone know if IKEA sells raised planters? That’d make life easy!

In closing, if you do want to be mentioned in tomorrow’s post, please let me know! I’m hoping that everyone will be up for participating, I think it’ll make this particular group closer than others and it gives you that sense of, “I have to write so everyone can see my progress!” Remember, try my five tips from the last post if you’re struggling and I guarantee you’ll start to see results! Either way do what is best for you and good luck with your writing ladies and gents! Thanks for stopping by again!

The Waiting Game

Within the dimly lit confines of a small office/storage area, I sit begging the last person who was assigned a review of my story to complete it. It has been three days now since I made the decision to try publishing my short story. It sounds great, and I am beyond excited at this point. Why wouldn’t I be? I’ll just make a dollar eBook, and see if I can get noticed while I work on my novel. The goal was twenty individual reviews and critiques of my story before I begin the process of cleaning up the formatting for an eBook. This entire experience will be invaluable for when I eventually complete my novel. However, one thing is holding me back. It’s not me, nor anything overly technical… but it is out of my control.

This one jerk, most likely sitting in their mom’s basement, is apparently too busy to give my story a look. In a sense, it almost feels as if fate itself is telling me something: I’m not ready. I feel ready though, I mean the short story has come a long way. I’ve managed an average rating of just over eight out of ten, which for my first foray into the public domain, feels incredible! But as my beard grows thick while I wait, my patience grows thin. Who is this mystery person who is keeping me waiting? I’ll bet when they do eventually get around to it, they’ll toss out a generic score of six and give me all one line responses and no constructive criticism. It will make my day.

Then, I will destroy them.

For now though, I wait patiently. Like the hen on her eggs, I will wait until the time is right. I made this deal with the universe, the least I can do is abide by it. Damn universe… grumble, grumble… In the meantime I’ve been writing thousands of words! Last night the only thing that made me stop was exhaustion! Which doesn’t exactly sound good, but my muse had grabbed me by the hand and lead me into the seedy underbelly of Cope Dia City. I found a character I had briefly written about in another story, in the middle of a new one. So now he needs to raise $100K before the man he dealt with decides to take his house and life from him. Guess that’s what happens when an assassin needs a loan.

The novel has been going well too. I’ve pretty much got four stories on the go at the moment, plus I try and write in one blog or another at least once a week. The only problem is one of my on going story ideas is rising up with more scenes popping into my head on a regular basis. If you’re a writer, you know what I mean. If you’re not… well, thanks for coming by and supporting me first of all! Secondly, a scene flash could be anything from a piece of dialogue which drives a whole scene or a simple pose that ignites a creative fire. The latest idea has grown from a simple idea, into a raging inferno.

It may consume me.

I may let it.

The idea centered around the Lord of the Heavens deciding it was time for his resurrection. Every time the Lord returns to the world as a spirit, the world showcases the issues through whatever way is most effective. This isn’t the first time, in fact the Lord has fallen to the world quite a few times. The time line is a bit hazy now, but as of right now I am dealing with different factions and how their leaders interact. Each leader is only trying to make everything better for everyone involved. The world is plunging into chaos as people are roaming, killing, conquering and pillaging. The Lord does not understand why his creations have fallen so far from their intended existence, and decides to return. Unlike his last appearance as Jesus, The Lord appears in the body of a twelve year old girl. The world thrusts The Lord into the eyes of a child and forces her to endure many hardships by resurrecting her alone and orphaned.

The other factions begin their planning. Gabriel is left in charge of the Kingdom of Heaven once again, and he feels strongly that it is now or never. If the Dragons, Celestials and Infernals were all granted immortality, why shouldn’t the humans? After all, The Lord granted immortality to his protectors among men, The Templar. He decides to visit Lucifer at the gates of Hell, and they discuss their plan to find The Lord while he is in his weakened state, and kill him.

The Templar Immortals catch word of a star appearing in the sky for only one night, and they begin their hunt for The Lord. They were granted immortality for their efforts in spreading his words throughout history and for staying true to themselves. They would be the first to find the girl, and Mary takes her into protection until she learns what she needs to for her return to the heavens. Mary’s interactions with Gabriel are most unpleasant as Gabriel considers them weak and feeble, despite The Lord’s favor upon them.

The Infernals are a neutral force, mostly in favor of their own lord Satariel and his brothers. They are the embodiment of Chaos and are brought into an alliance with the celestials to help hunt The Lord. After their eternal imprisonment, they make a pact with Gabriel for their freedom to walk the world but Gabriel and Lucifer force Satariel to agree never to march on the Kingdom of Heaven. They bind the agreement with their souls and the hunt begins.

The dragons are the most ancient of beings. The Lord was a dragon originally, and shaped the world in memory of his own birth from an egg. He populated it with dragons of all sorts, and upon the realisation of his duties as a creator, he left Bahamut and his family, Tiamat, Yahweh and Vrtra, to rule the world. The dragons became violent and began fighting over petty things such as land, scenery and eventually food. As dragons began killing each other, The Lord returned to them and realised they were lonely and unchallenged. Thus, he created humans.

Eventually humans began to evolve and survive alongside the dragons, and a new harmony was achieved. The humans however, were expanding at an alarming rate, and began to cut into the other food sources. Finally, dragons descended upon them as prey and humans began to hunt them in return. As The Lord returned to the earth, he came in the form of an angel to aid the men against their fearsome foes. As The Lord realised the humans were small and fragile compared to the larger and wiser dragons, he created the celestials to aid in the battles against them. Together humans and celestials drove the dragons from earth and they descended into an eternal slumber on a planet away from the reach of humans.

Until now.

The dragons in their ancient wisdom realise the malicious intent of the celestials descending upon earth. Bahamut with his all seeing eyes, rallies the dragons to return to their home for the first time in many millennia. As angels and demons hunt The Lord who is protected by the Templars and dragons descend upon the world from the stars, will The Lord learn the next lesson in time to save himself and his most treasured creations?

Who knows?

It’s late/early and I should sleep/collapse. Let me know what you think of that idea!

Final Note: I still await the next review…

Thank You Mr. Bradbury.

For any budding writer, there comes a point when you simply stop and ask yourself:

“Can I go on writing?”

For me this question comes every time I attempt the illusive novel I’ve been working so diligently on. I can create a thousand stories and histories for a world, but to create a single novel feels like trying to climb a mountain while towing a mack truck. With the right tools, maybe.

Nevertheless, I had actually stopped working on it for a few days and began to feel my muse creeping up on me. Well I decided to devote to the other side of writing, reading.

With the new household iPad in tow, I gathered a number of the books I own in PDF form and some I didn’t. One of the books that caught my eye was actually a book by Stephen King. On Writing seemed like exactly what I wanted, one writer’s journey into success.

I could not have been more wrong.

I read in about seventy five pages, then skimmed roughly thirty more. What I realized? Stephen King was a terrible writer. The one thing I gathered from his book however, was he was an excellent editor. Not a bad note to take from a book, but I had wasted some time reading it. I could have spent it coloring or writing my own work.

After I rinsed the words from my eyes I decided to give Ray Bradbury’s book, Zen in the Art of Writing, a go. I mean after reading Stephen King’s memoirs, nothing except Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey could be worse. I sat down and started reading. Then I kept reading. Then I had to do dishes… yet I continued to read. Then I sadly had to go to work.

I had only managed to read a third of the book, but I realized that Bradbury’s love for writing matched my own. Even at his age his imagination ran wild, frolicking in the meadows of his mind, arm in arm with his muse. Reading his word play and seeing his passion come to life in these humble pages, it completely rejuvenated me! I spent my evening thinking of ideas I would immediately put into play as soon as I could.

But first…

I continued reading, completely entranced by this man’s words. I realized many things while reading his book.

One, I’m no where near publication ready.
Two, write more short stories… and then write more.
Three, write one thousand words a day.
Four, ignore the temptations of wealth.
Five, read more.
Six, do not search for the ultimately unique idea, that is nearly impossible.
Seven, embrace all the senses when writing.
Eight, everyone should read this book.

I continued through to the end and felt more satisfied in the conclusion than in any fiction I’ve read recently. The man stood and delivered from his soapbox, a message that should never be lost. I’m still absorbing what he crammed into those tiny pages, but he gave me exactly what I needed.

Inspiration.

You see, I’ve been overwhelmed with the creation of an entire world. I think I may not believe in God now because one being simply could not create so much without getting distracted by their own creations. One man has two children and suddenly there are hundreds of stories of them separated from each other, together and then in pairs. Then, they arrive at an inn with a blind barkeep who has large scars across his face.

What’s his story?

Well he was attacked by a werewolf and now after taking a sideshow cure, he must remain indoors as he only transforms if he is bathed in the light of the sun.

But what of this sideshow?

Calcorious Malinex, the leader of the circus, began the show when he happened upon a free elephant and a bearded lady. Thinking his luck too good to be true, he continued on until one night he was viciously attacked by a wolf. After slightly curing himself, he now infects others so that he may then sell them the vaccine which may cause death, dismemberment or some random transformation alteration.

What about this glorious cure for werewolves?

Well, when Calcorious began experimenting he found that he had somewhat cured himself, gaining control over most of his transformations. That is until any lunar or solar eclipse, when he uncontrollably transforms and releases the pent up aggression. Other symptoms include daylight transforming, hairless transforming, were-human (always wolf, except human on full moons), control over transforming (except on full moons), weekly transforming and finally weather transforming.

So, I find myself going crazy trying to focus on the story I am trying to write. A long time ago I told a friend of mine that if we wanted to make a game, we couldn’t start out with something huge. We should start small, so we could work as a team and hone our individual skills before embarking on an epic quest to create the one game to rule them all.

It’s ironic that despite being the one who gave the advice, I never followed it either.

I’ve been trying desperately to write the “one novel to rule them all”, and in doing so, began to despise the one hobby I truly love: Writing. As I read of Bradbury and his almost obsessive compulsive writing habits, I realized that his short story writing habits would help me greatly.

So, that brings us to this week.

I finally decided upon an ending I wanted to write and after that, the rest began to fall into place. I imagined the ending I had being the very top brick in a pyramid and from there I began to almost build backward and forward. The story quickly ran away, with me trying to hold on for dear life.

In five days I easily wrote over 8500 words, only really stopping to work, clean, live and edit. This made me consider many things. In five days, I had written one tenth of the first Harry Potter book worth of words. Also, I didn’t stumble over my own creations. I only added what back story was necessary and kept only the main characters with interesting names. I also cut down my word count by changing the main character’s mentor to Jason instead of The Mentor or Her Mentor.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my latest short story. I’m not a praying man, but please, if you read it feel free to leave me any feedback either through the website, my email or even facebook. Any sort of feedback both positive or negative would be extremely appreciated as my plea on facebook fell on deaf ears!

The aptly named “Circle of Vengeance” is a story about an eight year old girl who’s father leaves with a mystery man, only never to return. Ten years of training later she is ready to confront her father’s killer, the self proclaimed greatest swordsman in the realms, and sets out on the journey to his mountain top castle.

It may sound like the typical story of revenge, but please, read it and get back to me! Thanks so much and I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post!

One final note, this story exists thanks to Mr. Bradbury helping me get past my own hurdles. Thanks Mr. Bradbury. I wish I could have met you when I had the chance!

As Promised: Progress!

So I hope many of you enjoyed the last post of my wonderful trip to Melbourne, now that it is mostly behind me (I am still considering seeing what my other options are for this stupid ticket) I push forward back into focusing on my creative writing. I am always writing, but sometimes I focus less on the story progression and more on the idea generation process of writing. Luckily for me, a friend of mine happens to be a writer as well and offered up a blog post for me to dissect and enjoy. As I headed over to her page and read up, I can tell she has gone through something definitely very similar.

So today I told myself, to hell with writing. I decided not to write a single word. Now you’re wondering how I made any progress at all, and I can tell you it probably won’t seem like it to the common blog reader. I have been fighting this large demon called “Organization” and he has been quite the contender. We have been evenly matched, and he frequently pulls out ahead. Damn demons… fighting dirty… Ahem! Anyway, so today was my first victory in the ongoing battle! I took a look at how I write and it is sporadic at best. I write all the time, but I imagine aliens finding my notes long after we are all dead and gone and considering the fact that I may be what ended the world. I swear I’m not crazy! Just a bit… nutty.

Today I armed myself with a new tool before work, I found myself figuring out exactly how I could write as much as I want, never stop and just associate what I wanted. Also, if I die, the USB drive that all this information is on should go immediately onto the internet. You see, I’ve spoken of Excel before and that had its time. But I was still having the issue of other ideas flying in no matter how in the zone I was. Then while I was reading the billions of pages of information on the Wiki of Ice and Fire it all just came together. These fans have created a Wiki about the books, characters, events, and the list goes on. I have no fans to make my wiki for me, however I found out how to create a private one from a USB stick. This may be a temporary fix, but I will be damned if it didn’t feel great! Let me explain why the wiki format has been helpful in my writing thus far.

I started off with Media Wiki and found myself staring at the basis of a writer’s creation… and the bane of our existence. A blank page. I realized (like most men) that instructions probably would be helpful, but who needs those? I searched for something I knew didn’t exist and created my first page. Then I linked that from my main page. And then… I giggled. Not a manly giggle (if one does indeed exist), but a giggle like a school girl who just found out the guy she likes feels the same. Yeah, I think that’s close enough. So after my “Tee-hee!” moment, I began converting some partial ideas into wiki pages. The moment I realized I was potentially wielding the Excalibur of writing tools was when I introduced a new character, then I made a link to a new page in the wiki based off the character’s name. Then I created their back story. And then I kept going, and gave details to the cities that character had visited and the people I mentioned in his biography. And then… I giggled some more. You may have heard me comment that I believe my Muse had “inceptioned” her Muse? Well, now I was following her down the rabbit hole.

Rabbit hole? What the hell am I talking about?! Imagine this for a second. You drop into a completely blank space. A clean canvas completely surrounds you and then you think up, I don’t know, Westell Potts. For me, I imagine him probably different than you do. But now it is you and Mr. Potts. Where does he fit in? For me, Westell sounds like a fat, lazy guard, so we put him in a castle. As the details of who Westell actually is come to fruition, the castle builds itself. Who does he serve? A king? A queen? A… Unicorn? After you make your decision the other details fall into place until finally you have a Kingdom. But is the kingdom on a hill? Near some water? Now you begin filling out the wiki page for the kingdom. Then the king (in my case). Then his devious brother. Then his sullen kingdom of “unworth”. Then why did he get the crappy kingdom? Events unfold. Stories bloom from within the story itself. Finally, I have some manner of organization that works for me. Also because I hate clutter and the such, the clean chaos contained within the wiki allows me a great deal of power at the cost of formatting. Will this be an efficient use of my time? Perhaps not, however if I complete a story because of it… then the investment is worth it indeed!

So as I have told the many who have read my posts before, I will keep you posted. This is meant to be a journal of my works as well as documenting my path to an eventual (and dreamed about) publication. Are any other writers out there using the wiki format? Has it helped? Has the trade off been worth it? I would like to thank the lovely Natalie over at her blog for her continued help and guidance as well as another friend who offered me an email, Ms. Stares, for her helpful hints as well. If anyone would like to leave a comment, or email me feel free! I try and reply to any who take the time to send me a message and it doesn’t even have to be writing related! Thanks for tuning back in to my blog and hope to hear from you readers out there beyond the text box!

Free Writing Short Story: A Whisper Amid The Willows

(Today’s story is a quick practice in free writing, it generally works for short stories and I plan for this one to be very short!)

Horse hooves drone almost in unison, driving dust into the clammy midnight air. In the moonlight, the horses are ridden by a group of hunters. One stops and dismounts, surveying the area to the side of the path. He turns and shouts back to his group. “Aye! It crossed ‘ere.” His gruff voice sends some birds fluttering out of a tree, startled from their perch. The man ties his horse to a nearby tree as the others dismount. Another man, taller yet slimmer in build, wonders over to the side of the path. “Well I’ll be damned, that bloke was tellin’ the truth!” As the group of five gathers around, the full moon glimmers in the small puddle that has formed within a large paw print.

The first man, having tied his horse up, returns to the paw print and kneels beside it. “She said the damn thing was as big as a bear.” The others laugh nervously at the notion, but their confidence is high. After all, five men can take down a bear, what is to stop them from killing a wolf? As the men scatter to tie up their horses, the man kneeling calls out and waves the taller man over. “Aye Christoph, this ‘ere be no normal wolf.” Christoph laughs, his voice cracking slightly, hinting at fear. “What are you sayin’ Papa? You believin’ in werewolves?” His father shakes his head. “No. This ‘ere’s a silvermane paw print.” He stands holding a small bit of shimmering silver fur, and he takes a deep breath. “I wish it were a werewolf.”

As  father and son take point, the other three cover them from behind. “Clay, what do ya think a silvermane looks like?” A man looking as if he’s seen many hunts in his day turns to face the young man who questioned him. “A silvermane, boy?” He chuckles to himself at the boy’s startled reaction. “A silvermane ain’t no ordinary dog, nor is it a wolf. No. The silvermane is a rare magical creature. Its fur shimmers in the moonlight, but that is only if it wants ya ta see it.” He judges the boy’s reaction and turns to the other man taking up the rear. “Tell me, Sharn, ya ever seen a silvermane?” Sharn looks sternly at Clay and shakes his head. “No Clay, I can’t say I’ve ever seen one. But I think you shouldn’t fill Dayden’s head with stories. He’s more nervous than a hen in a fox den.” They both turn to Dayden and notice he is visibly shaken. Clay nods to Sharn. “Aye, but that’s all they are. Just stories.”

“Papa, why are we hunting this animal if it is so rare?” Christoph looks to his father’s eyes for the answer. “It’s become a man-eater and once they get the taste for flesh, they continue to hunt it.” As they come to a slight overhang, they wait for the rest of the group to catch up. Christoph clears his throat. “Do you think we’ll find it?” His father turns to him and grins wildly. “I think we’re on the right track.” His eyes dart to Christoph’s feet where more fur can be seen shimmering in the moonlight. As Clay and crew catch up he glances between the boy and his father. “Why’ve we stopped Mandarus?” Christoph looks to his father, astonished by the fact someone used his full name. Mandarus looks between the members of the group. “Because, we’re catching up. So I want you blokes to be ready for it.”

As the men descend the steep hill near the overhang, they trees seem to have grown closer together. Mandarus readies an arrow and looks to his son. The silent nod gives Christoph a vote of confidence in his father. Clay begins to travel wide, and Sharn and Dayden go wide away from him to the right. A slight snapping of a twig sends everyone’s head spinning, and the group sees a small pheasant rushing through the brush. Mandarus easily pins the bird to a tree, and the group stifles a laugh. “Damn bird nearly scared the piss outta me!” Christoph shakes his head to his father’s grin. Mandarus turns to Sharn and Dayden and they shake their heads. As he turns to get the approval of Clay, he finds him out of sight. “Clay?” Mandarus whispers in anger. “Clay, where’d ya go?” As they walk over near where he was, a small tuft of silver fur shimmers in the moonlight. As the group tightens their formation, a breeze blows the scent of wet dog into the air.

Meanwhile on the path, a group of travelling monks come across a group of horses tied to some trees. One monk turns to another and grins. “My prayers have been answered!” As he rushes over to the nearest horse, the other monk shakes his head. “I doubt that, I believe these horses are here for a reason! They are most likely a group of hunter’s horses.” As the two pause to consider that fact a slight breeze carries the scent of wet dog and a slight murmur. “Did you say something?” The monk by the horses turns sharply toward the other. “No… did you hear something?” As the two monks stand staring at each other, it comes again. “…Hellllp…” Suddenly the small group of monks flock to the horses and tear off into the night. The horse hooves drone almost in unison, driving dust into the clammy midnight air.