An Epic Fantasy in less than 900 words!
The Heart of the World
Lorell looked at the giant crystal before here, shocked to see that it was actually pulsing, almost like it was breathing. The massive building sized purple stone was called the Heart of the World, but even after five years of trying to find it, she never expect it to actually resemble a real heart, down to the beating.
Five years. Had it really been that long? She remembered the day when Rumidon arrived at her village across the mountains. He had come following prophecy, trying to determine where the Keeper of the Heart would spawn. Never did Rumidon, that kindly old sage, ever expect to find the actual Keeper. Never did Lorell expect it would be her. But, apparently, a dark force did, for following the old wizard were goblins. They attacked and burned her village, killing everyone, all while she was showing Rumidon where crystal grove was, and her talent for manipulating the crystals.
He showed surprise at her talent, though she at the time didn’t know why. She never told anyone at the village of her gift, the ability to manipulate crystals with but a though, change their shape, make them grow, even cause them to explode, but she didn’t think it unusual. Surely if she could do it, then so could others. He told her that no one could do it. Or at least, no one except the Keeper, who was destined to repair the Heart of the World, and thus save it.
When she saw the death and destruction, Rumidon took her away in a haze of tears. They arrived at the city of Dath’on, where she met and befriended the dwarf warrior Burnell. When the goblins attacked them in their inn, Burnell joined them, and Rumidon decided that they would need to find the heart of the world. For if goblins were on the loose, it meant that the World Killer were also free, and once again trying to destroy the Heart. It would be up to Lorell to repair whatever damage they had managed to do already.
She smiled. How long ago that all seemed. She didn’t believe in any of it, but she wanted revenge on the goblins for the death of her people. A year later, following Rumidon from library to library trying to find the location of the Heart, she got it. But at a great cost. Burnell was dead, but the goblin king was left burning, a crystal spear through his heart. But during that time, they made new friends. Prince Comar, of Atha’na, who declared his love for Lorell, and she for him. A year later, chasing more rumors, they were married. A queen now, ruling by her husband’s side, the quest for the Heart become secondary. She defended her kingdom from the World Killer, who sent the massive black dragon Magrathorn to destroy them.
Finally, though, the World Killer left behind a clue. The Heart was left in a great cave, one that held the secrets of the Age of Myth, when the Gods still walked the earth, and men fought demons, and the elves still lived. Rumidon knew where such a cave was, from his previous research. It took nearly a year of hard trekking and battle to get to, but her husband and the wise old wizard at her side, she made it. She was here at last. And looking at the massive crystal before her, she knew what she had to do.
She took a deep breath and walked into one of the massive veins and deep into the heart itself. It was light inside, but all purple, and it took her eyes a few moments to adjust. Here, she could see the damage that was being done, and instantly felt how such damage was causing distruction to the world. Earthquakes from that crack, wars due to this fissure. It was all hear, and only she could read the lines of power. No, not only she.
She turned and saw another woman there. She lowered her hood, and Lorell smiled. She was Lorell’s twin, in fact as well as features. Her long lost twin, thught dead when she fell into the river when the two of them were six. She had suspected a few years ago, when she saw the World Killer and sensed her with her power. It made sense. Who else had the power to affect the Heart of the World besides another with her ability with crystals. And who else could that be, except her twin.
“Hello, Lorell,” her sister said, a twisted smile on her face.
“Hello, Lanell,” Lorell said. “Shall we end this?”
“Lets,” Lanell said.
Lorell charged her sister, ready for a deadly embrace that would likely kill them both. But she was prepared. Their deaths would be the only way to save the world, to preserve the Heart. She was joyous for it. For though they had been separated in life, they would be forever joined in death. In the most appropriate place for it.
The Heart of the World.
The End
Showing posts with label Epic Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epic Fantasy. Show all posts
Friday, February 11, 2011
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Next Big Thing, or Starting a New Project
So, here I am, NaNoWriMo over, and as a result, I am caught up on my 1 Story a Week project. So, currently, I have no pressing writing deadlines, no projects in the work. So, of course, I am going mad. I need a project to work on. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been nice to have a few days off, but I’ve been writing almost every day for nearly a full year now, and it starts to itch at me that I’m not writing. So, that means it’s time to start a new project.
Before I get into the actual starting, let me back up a few steps.
Obviously, before starting a new novel or story or whatever, I need an idea. I’m not going to get into how to get an idea, that’s a subject that would require it’s own post. Maybe something I’ll do later. Usually, though, I get ideas from all over the place, and sometimes at places and times I’m not expecting. So, I carry around an idea journal, just so I can write the idea down. This prevents me from saying, “Man, what was that idea? It was awesome, but I can’t remember it!” later.
Once I have the idea, I enter what some people call Step 0, and what I call the Daydreaming Stage. This is where I let the idea percolate in my brain, and will literally daydream about it. I take notes on particularly interesting bits, so I have those later. This stage includes all kinds of things, too, like world building, characters, bits of dialogue, settings… I’ve even had the history of a magic sword pop up in daydreaming for a story, something that never made it into that particular story. But, it was nice to have the notes for my own reference, in case it was important for the story.
The length of time needed for daydreaming a particular story varies greatly. Some ideas only percolate for a few days, while others will sit in my brain for years. Also, I generally have more than one story idea roaming around in my brain at one time, so daydreaming may be going on for various stories at one time. And this is a good thing, because some times I realize that two story ideas work better together. Or maybe a particular setting element from Story A works fantastic in Story B, so I add it there too.
At some point, however, the daydreaming has gone as far as it can, and its time to start doing the actual writing. Now, I’m not strictly an outliner, I do prefer a little seat of my pants writing, or as one of my favorite podcast’s calls it, “discovery writing.” However, I have discovered that my writing is FAR better when I outline. So, I start there, with some outlining.
A few years back, I discovered a method of outlining for a novel called the Snowflake Method. If you don’t know what this is, go check it out at http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php. It’s awesome, and well worth the time. I’ve used it at least up to step 6 twice now, and have written fantastic stories that would have been total messes in their first drafts, including this years NaNoWriMo novel. I’m planning on using the total method for this current novel I’m going to be working on. More on that project in another post. So, I spend a month or two outlining. Maybe longer this time around, as I’m not working under a deadline. I want to do this novel right, so I’m not going to rush myself. We’ll see. At any rate, I start outlining.
While outlining, things will change, other ideas will pop into my head, and the daydreaming will begin anew. So, I keep taking notes, adjust my outline and keep moving forward. The key for me to remember here is that this is all part of the creative processes. It’s all writing, and most importantly, it’s all fun. Because for me, it is fun. I am working towards my end goal, a new novel, and I still get to daydream.
And when I get done with the outlining, I have enough material to do the actual writing. And as it states on the Snowflake Method page, this is where the real fun begins. Because while my notes and outline may say “the heroes fight and defeat a massive red dragon named Morgoleth, who posses the magic sword they need to defeat the Evil Overlord,” now is when I get to write HOW they defeat Morgoleth.
So, now that I’ve discussed all this, here’s what I am going to do. For the past few weeks, I’ve had two particular novel ideas fighting in my head for me to write them next. Both are fantasy books, one a YA and one an Epic fantasy that my head keeps telling me is a trilogy. We’ll see, but that’s where I’m starting at, a trilogy. At any rate, as of last night, the Epic Fantasy won out, so I’ll be starting on that project, probably in the next few days. The Daydreaming for this novel has been going on in my head in one form or another, off and on, for close to twenty years now, and actually got its start as a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Of course, this incarnation for it looks far different than that humble, High School beginnings, but the roots are there nonetheless.
So, I think I’ve rambled on enough about the starting process for me. It’s time for me to start with step one of the Snowflake Method for this project, the one sentence description, or as some like to call it, the Elevator Pitch. I may let you all know how that goes. I kind of like the idea of posting the processes of writing this novel as I do it. We’ll see.
So, until more memories of the future come to me, happy writing!
Before I get into the actual starting, let me back up a few steps.
Obviously, before starting a new novel or story or whatever, I need an idea. I’m not going to get into how to get an idea, that’s a subject that would require it’s own post. Maybe something I’ll do later. Usually, though, I get ideas from all over the place, and sometimes at places and times I’m not expecting. So, I carry around an idea journal, just so I can write the idea down. This prevents me from saying, “Man, what was that idea? It was awesome, but I can’t remember it!” later.
Once I have the idea, I enter what some people call Step 0, and what I call the Daydreaming Stage. This is where I let the idea percolate in my brain, and will literally daydream about it. I take notes on particularly interesting bits, so I have those later. This stage includes all kinds of things, too, like world building, characters, bits of dialogue, settings… I’ve even had the history of a magic sword pop up in daydreaming for a story, something that never made it into that particular story. But, it was nice to have the notes for my own reference, in case it was important for the story.
The length of time needed for daydreaming a particular story varies greatly. Some ideas only percolate for a few days, while others will sit in my brain for years. Also, I generally have more than one story idea roaming around in my brain at one time, so daydreaming may be going on for various stories at one time. And this is a good thing, because some times I realize that two story ideas work better together. Or maybe a particular setting element from Story A works fantastic in Story B, so I add it there too.
At some point, however, the daydreaming has gone as far as it can, and its time to start doing the actual writing. Now, I’m not strictly an outliner, I do prefer a little seat of my pants writing, or as one of my favorite podcast’s calls it, “discovery writing.” However, I have discovered that my writing is FAR better when I outline. So, I start there, with some outlining.
A few years back, I discovered a method of outlining for a novel called the Snowflake Method. If you don’t know what this is, go check it out at http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php. It’s awesome, and well worth the time. I’ve used it at least up to step 6 twice now, and have written fantastic stories that would have been total messes in their first drafts, including this years NaNoWriMo novel. I’m planning on using the total method for this current novel I’m going to be working on. More on that project in another post. So, I spend a month or two outlining. Maybe longer this time around, as I’m not working under a deadline. I want to do this novel right, so I’m not going to rush myself. We’ll see. At any rate, I start outlining.
While outlining, things will change, other ideas will pop into my head, and the daydreaming will begin anew. So, I keep taking notes, adjust my outline and keep moving forward. The key for me to remember here is that this is all part of the creative processes. It’s all writing, and most importantly, it’s all fun. Because for me, it is fun. I am working towards my end goal, a new novel, and I still get to daydream.
And when I get done with the outlining, I have enough material to do the actual writing. And as it states on the Snowflake Method page, this is where the real fun begins. Because while my notes and outline may say “the heroes fight and defeat a massive red dragon named Morgoleth, who posses the magic sword they need to defeat the Evil Overlord,” now is when I get to write HOW they defeat Morgoleth.
So, now that I’ve discussed all this, here’s what I am going to do. For the past few weeks, I’ve had two particular novel ideas fighting in my head for me to write them next. Both are fantasy books, one a YA and one an Epic fantasy that my head keeps telling me is a trilogy. We’ll see, but that’s where I’m starting at, a trilogy. At any rate, as of last night, the Epic Fantasy won out, so I’ll be starting on that project, probably in the next few days. The Daydreaming for this novel has been going on in my head in one form or another, off and on, for close to twenty years now, and actually got its start as a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Of course, this incarnation for it looks far different than that humble, High School beginnings, but the roots are there nonetheless.
So, I think I’ve rambled on enough about the starting process for me. It’s time for me to start with step one of the Snowflake Method for this project, the one sentence description, or as some like to call it, the Elevator Pitch. I may let you all know how that goes. I kind of like the idea of posting the processes of writing this novel as I do it. We’ll see.
So, until more memories of the future come to me, happy writing!
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