Fenn walked along his patrol route in the dungeons of the Troll Caves. He was young for a guard, but he had worked extremely hard to get the honor to work in the royal dungeon. After all, he was one of the first generations of his family that looked somewhat normal since his great-grandfather had fallen in love with a human explorer who came to Trollada looking for adventure. He was one of the few in his family that could even start to consider rejoining normal troll society.
Fenn was tall for a troll, at barely four feet and eleven inches, with black hair and very brown eyes, which was also unusual for a troll. He had a very strong, stocky build and his skin was a stone-ish green-grey, even odder for a troll. The Troll Caves were a maze of catacombs, tunnels, and mines remaining after many centuries of mining. Every last bit of valuable metals and gems had been mined out. The majority of troll-kind loved riches immensely, but Fenn couldn't really see why it was such a big deal. He did think things like gold and diamonds were pretty, but he certainly wasn't obsessed with it like the other trolls were. Perhaps it was the human blood in his veins. As he walked on from his break, he heard hushed voices up ahead. He hadn't been a guard for very long, but he recognized the voices as those of Georx and Xllie, the resident gossipers. As he approached them, he hid behind the corner to listen. “I'm tellin’ ya Georx, the rumors are true. We are getting really close to crossing the river and into the open seas. Our boats are getting more and more powerful every day. It won't be long before we can get across and take whatever we want!” Xllie exclaimed. “Yeah, well. I don't know, Xllie seems awfully unlikely. That's probably about as true as the king being controlled by some glowing rock. I ain't buying it.” Georx said. “Oh man, don't even get me started on King Trorg and that stone. Trorg has been acting so strange lately. He’s been talking to himself a lot. His advisers say he’s mumbling things about an Oracle and how we will get to places none of them have ever been able to travel to. He’s either completely lost his marbles or that rock is controlling him. But who cares if it leads to us getting out of these stinking caves though right?” Xllie said with an enthusiastic whisper. “Yeah, whatever. That kinda stuff is impossible, we don't have access to much magic, let alone mind controlling stones. That stuff’s never gonna happen!” Georx said loudly, ending conversation. Fenn turned back from where he'd come, but his mind was swimming with these rumors. Boats able to leave Trollada, a magic stone controlling the king, an Oracle. They really were fantastic claims, unbelievable really, but he just couldn't get them off his mind. Something very odd was happening and Fenn needed to find out what and soon.
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The Struggle Is RealThe struggle is real
The world is on fire, And everyone is a liar The struggle is real There is temptation and sin around every corner I swear it is torture The struggle is real People are drawn in and dragged down As everyone has a nervous breakdown The struggle is real War, famine, and death abound And the wire around the worlds neck is tightly wound The struggle is real I have seen so much pain It has been seared into my brain The struggle is real The world is dying And everyone is crying The struggle is real The world is on fire, And everyone is a liar Hey GoogleHey Google
Who is the best old fellow? Who is sometimes mellow? Who likes to have some Jell-O. Hey Google Who is the man who raised my parent? I would think it would be apparent I do not think he is transparent Hey Google Answer me this, what is so good about grandpa? Is it how much he can get into quite a hoopla? Or is it how he has quite a handsome jaw? Hey Google No, it is not any of those things It is how he gives his grandchildren wings And gives them knowledge like cool mountain springs Hey Google This is why I love my grandfather He is my best forefather And he is unlike another They say that the dandelion field just outside of town is a magical place. Supposedly you can find all kinds of strange and magical creatures out there if you time it just right. I never believed the people who claimed to have seen such fantastical beasts, until one day I saw them myself.
Just after school, I was coming home when I decided to cut through the dandelion field. As I approached the field of gold, I could hear chanting far off in the distance. As I drew nearer and nearer, the words became clear. Like music to my ears, I could understand what was being said. "Weeds or gifts of gold? A place where two worlds meet Come young, come old, And rest your weary feet!" The voices drew me closer and closer until I could see into the golden flowers of the dandelion field. Flittering all about were fairies, all chanting and singing their strange song. I snuck near to the wondrous little festival, admiring the strange little pixies as they enjoyed themselves. Finally, I was so near that I reached the edge of the woods, where I could nearly reach out and touch the magical little people. Just in front of me was the prettiest little fairy, with golden hair and sky blue wings. I reached out to touch the apparition when the little folk finally noticed me. All of a sudden, in the strangest uproar, the fairy folk charged at me, singing their song like a war cry. The magical little beasts chased me out of the field and back to town until my feet could carry me no more. As I shut my door quickly behind me, I finally stopped to consider what just occurred. Now don't you ever let people tell you there is nothing magical about dandelion field. I know for myself now, whether you choose to believe or not, there is something magical about dandelion field, where worlds meet. Meet Admani, the dragon that stands guard over the Fire Stone. As wise as he is ancient, Admani has protected the Fire Stone for countless years. A good soul in a fierce and fiery body, Admani has only stuck around for all these years to find someone that can protect the Fire Stone and use its power properly. Will James and his friends be worthy of the Fire Stone, or will they all be burnt to a crisp? Find out in Stones of the Middle Lands: The Castaway Hero, out now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!
Hello folks, I am back, despite the fact that I am now sick as a dog! So for today's blog post, I would like to talk about what makes a great villain; according to YOU! So without further ado, here are the top 5 responses I got from all you amazing people on what makes a good villain. #5 - BetrayalThis is a very specific quality of a villain that requires specific circumstances to pull off. I have personally seen this in a few really great villains, but it is a rare quality of a good villain. This quality of betrayal is where the villain essentially hides in plain sight until the moment is right before striking. An excellent example of this would be in a plot along these lines: The hero enters their new world, and is completely bewildered. They meet a person who helps them out and seems trustworthy. They journey together to stop some great evil, building trust along the way. Then, when they arrive at where this great evil is, the companion reveals themselves to have been the great evil the whole time, devastating the hero and completely tearing the hero down. This would be a perfect example of a betrayal quality within a story. #4 - Heroic QualitiesNow this quality is one that intrigued me when I was told about it. The person who mentioned this when I was inquiring from everyone what made a good villain had to actually explain it to me. According to her, this quality of a villain is when the villain has a heroic quality such as courage or self-sacrifice. Having qualities like this opens the villain up for being more realistic and even lovable. In addition, it opens up the opportunity for the villain to have a redemption arc. #3 - BackstoryHaving a good backstory is what I (and apparently all of you) think is a very important part of a great villain. A great villain has a tragically twisted backstory. What I mean by this is they have a sad and relatable backstory. Perhaps the villain lost their family, or had to deal with some kind of detrimental ailment. In any way, shape, or form, the best villains have something tragic that happens to them that turns them down the path to darkness. A great example of this would be Killmonger from Black Panther (I know, nerdy me bringing the MCU into things). His father is killed by his uncle, the old kind of Wakanda. This sets him down the path to where he wants not only revenge for the death of his father, but also wants to liberate those that are oppressed, (more on villains having a good argument later). So your villain needs to have a really sad or twisted backstory to be great. #2 - Confidence/MercilessConfidence is something that shows that your villain is powerful. When your villain is so confident that they will win, and when they remain chillingly calm in combat with the hero, that just exudes power. Great villains have the confidence that no matter what the heroes throw at them, they will emerge victorious. Once again returning to an example from the MCU, lets talk about Loki for a moment. Throughout every movie that Loki is in, he is calm almost the entire time(except when seeing the Hulk haha). This makes him so much more likable, as well as frightening. The second part of this quality is being merciless. When the villain doesn't care about granting mercy to anyone, even when they are willing to admit defeat, this shows you just how far they have gone. When you have a villain with no mercy, you just know how evil they are. #1 - Relatable/Moral or Logical ArgumentNow this is the number one quality of a great villain according to me, and especially according to all of you. A great villain has a decent moral or logical argument, and is also relatable. Starting with having a moral/logical argument, lets once again return to the MCU, this time with Thanos "The Mad Titan." When you look on the surface of what Thanos is trying to accomplish, wiping out half the universe, it just seems purely bad. But as Thanos explains, he is wiping out half the universe so that people can continue to survive and thrive. He believes that by killing half of all life, he is saving the rest of life and improving the quality of life across the universe. Now, he still sounds crazy, but he actually has a decent reason and logic behind his actions. And the second part of this is being relatable. When a villain is totally two dimensional, with no even remotely human qualities, they don't click with the reader. But when you add some humanity in there, such as realistic weaknesses or other human qualities, the villain becomes much more to the reader. When the reader can recognize the villain as a human(or alien, god, extra-dimensional being, whatever), they relate to the reader. To end1. Moral/Logical Argument and Relatable
2.Confidence/Merciless 3.Tragically Twisted Backstory 4.Heroic Qualities 5.Performs a Betrayal I am going to be perfectly honest with you guys, I have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with you while planning this blog post. I love hearing your thoughts on things like this, and I think I may start doing it more. I hope this has been helpful to you when you are creating your villains, or just as food for thought. I don't think I'll be able to look at villains quite the same again, and this has certainly been insightful for me. But I want to hear your thoughts in the comments. Are there any qualities of a great villain that you feel I missed or should be mentioned? I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. Until next time, keep on writing! |
Welcome to The Writers Block!AuthorKen Mears is a new 17 year old author, here to share his wisdom, advice, and experiences with you, the reader! Archives
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